The Palgrave Handbook of Practical Animal Ethics (eBook)

Andrew Linzey is Director of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, and Visiting Professor of Animal Theology at the University of Winchester. He is the author of such works as The Global Guide to Animal Protection (2013) The Link Between Animal Abuse and Human Violence (2009) and Why Animal Suffering Matters: Philosophy, Theology, and Practical Ethics (2009). Clair Linzey is Deputy Director of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, and Associate Editor of the Journal of Animal Ethics. She has written entries for the Vocabulary for the Study of Religion, the Encyclopedia of Bioethics 4th Edition, the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Ethics, and the Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics.  

Series Editors’ Preface 7
Acknowledgements 9
Contents 10
Notes on Contributors 14
1 Introduction: The Challenge of Animal Ethics 25
I 25
II 29
III 35
IV 39
V 42
Bibliography 44
Section I The Ethics of Control 47
2 Introduction: The Ethics of Control 48
Self-Interests of Animals 49
Types of Control 50
Animals’ Self-Interests Matter in Ethical Analysis 51
Ethics as Restraint on Behavior 52
Discussions Concerning the Ethics of Control 53
3 Animal Justice as Non-Domination 55
The Legal Statuses of Property and Person and the Possession of Individual Rights 56
Animals’ Current Legal Status as Property 58
Legal Protections for Animal Welfare 58
Modifications of Animals’ Legal Status 60
Could Nonhuman Animals Be Conferred the Legal Status of Person? 61
The Theoretical Possibility of Modifying the Legal Status of Animals 61
Advocating in Favor of a Modification of Animals’ Legal Status 63
Should Nonhuman Animals Be Conferred the Legal Status of Person with the Corresponding Legal Rights? 64
What if Animal Welfare Really Mattered? 64
Being Property Is Being Dominated 66
Concluding Remarks on the Morality of the Control Humans Have Over Other Animals 69
Bibliography 72
4 Rethinking the Ethic of Human Dominance 75
Possibilities Within the Kantian Tradition 76
Dominion and Animal Welfare 80
The Animal Rights Challenge 82
The Hunter-Gatherer Ethic 86
An Ethic of Human–Animal Relations 89
Bibliography 91
5 Chain of Fools: The Language of Power 93
Paradox 93
Social Construction and the Power of Language 95
Animals and Language 96
Ideology in Language 98
Machines and Product 98
Science 100
“Ownership” 101
Purpose 103
A World of Hierarchy 104
Capitalism 107
Ordinary Folk, Extraordinary Malice 108
Another World 110
Bibliography 112
6 Our Moral Duties to Ill and Aging Companion Animals 116
Introduction 116
Companion Animal Relationships 117
Autonomy: The Ground of Our Duties 117
Duties Owed to Companion Animals in Relation to Illness 118
Best Interest Standard 119
Preventive Duties 119
Curative Duties 120
Palliative Duties 122
Duty to Provide Euthanasia 123
Duties Owed Companion Animals in Relation to Aging 124
Duties to Arthritic Animals 125
Duties to Frail Animals 125
Dietary Duties to Aging Animals 125
Dusty Rose 126
Conclusion 128
Bibliography 128
7 Speciesism and the Ideology of Domination in the Italian Philosophical Tradition 129
Introduction 129
Origins of Italian Philosophical Animalism 130
Origins of Italian Activism and Philosophical Change of Course 131
Genealogy of Ideology 132
The “Total Liberation” Movement 135
Why Italian Political Antispeciesism Is Fallacious 137
The Birth of Weak Antispeciesism 138
Synergies 139
Direct Arguments 140
The Meaning of “Political” 140
Only for Them 141
Conclusions: For the Future of Animals 141
Bibliography 142
8 Bioengineering, Animal Advocacy, and the Ethics of Control 144
Bibliography 161
Section II The Ethics of Captivity 163
9 Introduction: The Ethics of Captivity 164
* 165
10 Incarceration, Liberty, and Dignity 170
Incarceration and Confinement 171
Freedom and Autonomy 172
Dignity and Respect 177
Bibliography 180
11 Speciesism and Zoos: Shifting the Paradigm, Maintaining the Prejudice 181
Bibliography 194
12 Elephants in Captivity 196
Space and Sociality 198
Cognition 200
Learning to Be an Elephant 201
Captivity 202
Consequences of Captivity 204
Management of Elephants 206
Justifications for Captivity 207
Mixed Messages 208
Captive Breeding and Conservation 210
Education 212
Research 213
Current State of Elephants 214
Conclusion 215
Bibliography 217
13 The Marine Mammal Captivity Issue: Time for a Paradigm Shift 222
Who Are Cetaceans? 223
Moving and Traveling 223
Large Complex Brains 225
Intelligence and Autonomy 227
Social Complexity 229
Why Are Cetaceans These Sorts of Being? 232
Can Cetaceans Flourish in Captivity? 233
Physical and Psychological Damage 233
Cetacean Research Superstars: Where Are They Now? 236
Under What Circumstances Would Cetaceans Do Better in an Artificial Setting Than in One to Which He or She Is Exquisitely Adapted? 237
What Should We Do About What We Know About the Answers to the First Two Questions? 239
Bibliography 239
14 Whales, Dolphins and Humans: Challenges in Interspecies Ethics 247
Marine Mammal Science and Personhood 248
The Deontological Argument: Personhood, Ethical Standards, and Moral Rights 251
The Teleological Argument: Rights, Basic Conditions for Growth and Flourishing, Species Specific Standards 253
Conclusion 256
Bibliography 257
Section III The Ethics of Killing 260
15 Introduction: The Ethics of Killing 261
16 Religious Slaughter: Science, Law, and Ethics 267
Religious Slaughter—Kosher and Halal 269
The Scientific Evidence Concerning Religious Slaughter 272
Legal Perspectives on Religious Slaughter 276
Contemporary Philosophical Perspectives on Killing 281
Conclusion 284
Bibliography 285
17 Fishing for Trouble: The Ethics of Recreational Angling 289
Introduction 289
Recreational Angling 290
The Scope and Impact of Recreational Angling 291
Catch and Release Versus “Harvesting”: A False Distinction 292
The Fish-Pain Debate 298
The Paradoxical Psychology of Anglers 303
Alternative Sources of Value 306
What Are We Really After? 308
Bibliography 308
18 What Is Morally Wrong with Killing Animals (if This Does not Involve Suffering)? 314
Introduction 314
The Position to Be Challenged 315
Reason Number 1 317
Reason Number 2 317
Reason Number 3 319
Reason Number 4 320
Reason Number 5 321
Reason Number 6 322
Final Considerations 323
Bibliography 324
19 Killing Animals—Permitted by God? The Role of Christian Ethics in (Not) Protecting the Lives of Animals 326
Introduction 326
The Will of God 328
The Word of God 332
The Importance of Philosophical Ethics 337
The Necessity of a Theological Reorientation 340
Bibliography 341
20 Smoke and Mirrors: An Analysis of Some Important Conceptions Used to Justify Hunting 344
Bibliography 357
21 Comparing the Wrongness of Killing Humans and Killing Animals 359
I 359
II 361
III 362
IV 363
V 366
VI 366
VII 370
Bibliography 371
Section IV The Ethics of Causing Suffering 372
22 Introduction: The Ethics of Causing Suffering 373
Bibliography 379
23 Animal Suffering Matters 380
What Is Suffering? 383
Moral Worth, Suffering, and Nonhuman Animals 386
Suffering, Animals, and the Law 388
The Suffering of Companion Animals 392
Conclusion 396
Bibliography 397
24 Human Duties, Animal Suffering, and Animal Rights: A Legal Reevaluation 401
Rights and Obligations: The Interest Theory of Rights 403
Hohfeld’s Rights/Duties Analysis 405
Objections to the Duties/Rights Analysis 406
The Law and Animals: The Underlying Policy Considerations 409
The Development of “Animal Laws” 411
The Advantages of the Duty-Based Approach 415
Beyond Erskine: The Expansion of Legal Duties 416
Conclusions 419
Bibliography 421
25 Suffering Existence: Nonhuman Animals and Ethics 424
Introduction: Antinatalism and Suffering Existence 424
Born to Suffer? Antinatalism and the Notion that It Is Better Never to Have Been 425
Species Suffering 427
Suffering Domestication 429
Sharing Suffering: Haraway on Instrumental Relations in the Laboratory 432
Genetic Modification, Pain, and Nonhuman Animal Suffering 438
Conclusion: Practical Animal Ethics and the Cultural Economy of Suffering 443
Bibliography 445
26 Suffering of Animals in Food Production: Problems and Practical Solutions 449
Factory Farming: A Brief Background 450
Chickens 451
Cows 453
Pigs 455
Fish 457
Other Animals 459
Factory Farming and Human Suffering 459
Farm and Slaughterhouse Workers 459
Trends in Meat Consumption and the Promise of Consumer Engagement 464
Bibliography 470
27 Suffering for Science and How Science Supports the End of Animal Experiments 478
Why Animal Experiments Fail to Progress Medical Science 479
The Discordance Between Human Diseases and Animal Models of Diseases 480
The Insurmountable Obstacle of Interspecies Differences in Physiology 482
The Influence of Laboratory Procedures and Environments on Experimental Results 485
The Emotional and Cognitive Capacities of Animals 487
Conclusion 490
Bibliography 491
28 The Ethics of Preservation: Where Psychology and Conservation Collide 495
Bibliography 509
29 Bullfighting: The Legal Protection of Suffering 512
The Debate About Bullfighting 512
Bulls Are Especially Vulnerable 516
Tragedy and Cruelty 519
Bullfighting Protected as Intangible Cultural Heritage 521
Conclusion 523
Bibliography 523
30 Free-Roaming Animals, Killing, and Suffering: The Case of African Elephants 525
The Case of Elephants: African Perceptions 526
The Cultural Argument 528
The Scientific Argument 530
The Economic Argument 536
The Moral Argument 537
Bibliography 541
31 The Dog that is Willing to Die: The “Ethics” of Animal Fighting 544
Introduction 544
Animal Fighting: An Overview 547
Dogfighting 548
Dogfighting Today 550
The Dogfight 551
Fighting Dogs 552
Pain 557
Ethical Concerns About Dogfighting 558
Defending the Indefensible 560
Denial of Harm 561
Denial of Responsibility 561
Denial of Personal Responsibility 561
Appeal to Cultural Norms and Masculinity 561
Condemning the Condemners 562
Conclusion 563
Bibliography 563
Index 567