Animal welfare, philosophy and ethics

Philosophy can be defined as ..

The pursuit of wisdom or knowledge

Philosophy is better described as an activity ..

Typically the use of logical argument to enable critical consideration of particular questions

Philosophers tend to argue with each other in a meaningful way, creating their own arguments to ..

Justify a particular point or to argue against a position in an attempt to prove it wrong

Philosophy typically explore questions related to .. Metaphysics

The general nature of the world or theory of existence

Philosophy typically explore questions related to .. epistemology or the theory of knowledge

The justification of belief

Philosophy typically explore questions related to .. logic

The rules of valid reasoning and argument

Philosophy typically explore questions related to .. aesthetics

The notion of beauty and the philosophy of art

Philosophy typically explore questions related to .. ethics or the theory of value

The conduct of life

Animal welfare science

Measures the effect on the anima of different situations and environments, from the animal’s point of view

Animal ethics

Concerns how humans should treat animals

Animal welfare law

Concerns how humans must treat animals

Animal Welfare Science - When assessing an animal and their welfare we can consider several factors and perspectives ..

• Physical

• Mental

• Naturalness

Animal Welfare Science - Physical

Is the animal suffering physically, e.g. due to a growth issue, painful injury or disease

Animal Welfare Science - Mental

Is the animals suffering mentally, i.e. is it fearful or anxious

Animal Welfare Science - Naturalness

Is the animal kept in conditions that are not considered natural, e.g. a lion in a zoo or veal calk in a crate, hospitalised cat

Summary of animal welfare

Scientific discipline that allows us to scientifically measure parameters such as an animal’s behaviour or physiological responses (cortisol, adrenaline production) and use this data to determine the animal’s welfare status

Assessment of animal welfare

Should be quite separate from any ethical judgement but assessment of welfare could be used to influence ethical decisions about a particular situation

Ethics - Questions of right and wrong

• Ethics considers the fundamental question - what is right and what is wrong?

• Debated by philosophers for thousands of years

• Decisions usually based on (educated) opinion

• There will rarely (if ever) be a question of right and wrong that all people will agree on

• The area of philosophy that considers this fundamental question and many others is known as moral philosophy or ethics which we can apply to the difficult questions we ask about how we should treat animals

Philosophy and ethics encourages ..

Us to step back and look at fundamental questions related to how animals are treated by humans and encourages us to ask difficult questions such as animals have intrinsic value or do animals have rights?

Ethical theories can help to guide our actions and which can be applied to a consideration of how we treat animals. The three areas are ..

• Consequentialist theories

• Duty-based theories

• Virtue-based theories

Consequentialist theories

• Judge an action as right or wrong based on the consequences of the action

• The intention of the person carrying out the act is not considered

Utilitarianism is the most well-know type of consequentialist ethical theory. Utilitarianism states that ..

People should maximise human welfare or well-being (which they used to call ‘utility’)

Consider whether a cat should be allowed to be free outdoors or should be kept indoors .. Which aspects should be considered?

• The welfare of the cat

• Outside cats can be a nuisance to human neighbours

• Outside cats can be a threat to public health

• Outside cats mat hunt wildlife

Duty-based theories

• Ethics is based on the idea that we all have certain duties or actions that we should or should not perform irrespective of the consequences

• Also referred to as deontological theory

• Deontology asserts that there are certain rules that used be followed no matter the consequences

The deontological theory

Give rise to the idea of ‘rights’ which form the bases of the rules that are to be followed, e.g. we believe that humans have the right to life

Contrasting deontology with utilitarianism - example

• Premise - Killing 100 animals in a drug trial allows a drug to be developed that would cure millions of animals from a life-threatening disease

• Utilitarian principles - May deem this to be morally acceptable as the good (millions saved) outweighs the bad (100 animals killed)

• Deontological principles - May deem this to be morally unacceptable because every animal has the right to life, including the 100 ‘test animals’ and so to kill these for the greater good would be wrong (deontology places strong emphasis on an individual’s rights)

Virtue Theory - concentrates on character

• Importance of the ‘moral emotions’ such as sympathy and compassion and is concerned with our underlying emotionally influenced attitudes to animals

• Virtue theory argues that sympathy and compassion are virtues, and we should endeavour to develop characters that express these virtues

Deontology

The rightness or wrongness of a particular action

Utilitarianism

The benefits or disadvantages of an action’s consequences

Applying virtue ethics, your decision will be based on behaving as a virtuous person would behave, for example ..

A virtuous person has respect for all living things, therefore it would be wrong to hurt an animal and therefore will act virtuously and not harm them.

Does this animal have good or bad welfare? - Consider an animal kept in a research environment where it is vital (for the research to be successful) that the animal has little or no stimulus or resources other than the basics that ensure the animal survives, e.g. development of a veterinary drug.

We can urea scientific principles to measure certain parameters to help us determine the animal’s welfare status:

• Behavioural studies may indicate that the animal is bored (stereotypical behaviour may be present)

• Physiological measurement may suggest that the animal is stressed (blood cortisol or adrenaline may be raised) or possibly not

• An assessment of the physical health of the animal may reveal that, physiologically, the animal is fine

• All these parameters can be used to determine whether the animal’s welfare is good or bad

Consider an animal kept in a research environment where it is vital (for the research to be successful) that the animal has little or no stimulus or resources other than the basics that ensure the animal survives, e.g. development of a veterinary drug. - Consequentialist theory

May conclude that the consequences of the action of keeping the animal in this way are acceptable. Even though the individual may be suffering, the overall benefit to the species (as a result of the research developing a drug that will treat many dogs) and the public (pets are treated, education leading to further medical funding etc) is good (Greatest Happiness)

Consider an animal kept in a research environment where it is vital (for the research to be successful) that the animal has little or no stimulus or resources other than the basics that ensure the animal survives, e.g. development of a veterinary drug. - Deontological theory (duties theory)

May suggest that we have a duty to the animal not to keep it in such a barren environment and that the animal has the right to be able to express itself naturally which it cannot do in this enclosure

Consider an animal kept in a research environment where it is vital (for the research to be successful) that the animal has little or no stimulus or resources other than the basics that ensure the animal survives, e.g. development of a veterinary drug. - Virtue theory

May suggest that a virtuous person would not keep an animal in such a way