Animal Rights vs' Animal Welfare

1
Animal Rights vs. Animal Welfare

• Animal Rights intrinsic moral standing, we do
  not have the right to use another being -
  primary appeal to ethics and requires deliberate
  living
• Animal Welfare intrinsic moral standing, BUT,
  can be justified to use animals for greater good-
  acknowledges ethics, takes a path of less
  resistance, very diverse groups

2
Presumably similar goals

• Perspectives widely scattered within and between
  the 2 groups, language and ethics are often
  divergent and do not use the same assumptions or
  vocabulary
• Sometimes opposed to one another, such as issues
  involving meat production

3
Immunocontraception

• Birth control developed for overpopulated
  wildlife administered by an injection- not
  lifelong
• Acts by using the immune response of the animal

4
Immunocontraception

• Supported by the Humane Society, BLM, Zoos, US
  Parks Service
• Prevents need to control by hunting or poisoning
  populations that are over-abundant
• Opposed by some groups on ethical grounds-
  prevents natural life cycle, issue of respect
  does not address actual problem, only symptoms

5
IC on Elephants in S. Africa

• Supported by the Humane Society International
• Darted into the animals, on the condition that
  they would not be shot or killed intentionally
• Later, effects were found to be sterilizing,
  sterile animals cannot be removed

6
Animal Welfare

• Humane Society of the United States- not just
  pets- wildlife, research use, farmed animals too
• The HSUS is dedicated to creating a world where
  our relationship with animals is guided by
  compassion. We seek a truly humane society in
  which animals are respected for their intrinsic
  value, and where the human-animal bond is
  strong. http//www.hsus.org/ace/11681

7
Animal Welfare

• Animal welfare theories accept that animals have
  interests but allow these interests to be traded
  away as long as there are some human benefits
  that are thought to justify that sacrifice- peta
• The animal welfare philosophy endorses the
  responsible use of animals to satisfy certain
  human needs. fur commission usa

8
Animal Welfare on the UW campus

• IACUC- Institutional Animal care and Use
  Committee, USDA Animal Welfare Act
• ALL experiments concerning use of live vertebrate
  animals must go through a process of explanation
  and complete a training course
• Board includes a member of PETA, some laypersons
  and professionals

9
Animal Welfare on the UW campus

• Medical researchers, wildlife biologists,
  psychologists using animals all must take the
  basic training
• Specialized fields also take more specialzed
  training, this is true for specific procedures as
  well
• All facilities are subject to bi-annual
  inspection by USDA

10
Improvements have come!

• Three Rs- Replace
• - Reduce
• -Refine (Russell Burch, 1985)
• These have become almost universally employed

11
Animal Welfare and Wildlife

• International Fund for Animal Welfare
• Founded to stop the Canada seal hunt, recently
  announced to be 350,000 seals over the next three
  years
• Thought to compete for cod, blamed in part for
  the lagging cod fisheries in the North Atlantic

12
Animal Rights

• People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or
  PETA
• Membership of 750,000
• Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment
  on, or use for entertainment. www.peta.org

13
Anti-Animal Rights groups

• AnimalRights.net Debunking the animal rights
  movement
• Center for Consumer FreedomWe will provide a
  cohesive campaign to articulate the case for
  economic liberty in some of the most regulated
  industries in America.
• Fur Commission Farmed fur is a natural fiber and
  an environment-friendly resource
• Seriously Ill for Medical Research, Andrew Blake

14
Wildlife and Animal RightsHunting- food for
thought

• Is it better to hunt animals, like deer and elk
  for food and leather, etc.? OR
• Is it better to farm animals domesticated for the
  purpose of using their bodies for human needs?

15

Conservation Ethics Where do you stand ???
Anthropogenic Ethic Ethical duties only to other
humans
Ecocentric Ethic Ethical duties to ecosystems
Me
Biocentric Ethic Non-human animals have
intrinsic moral standards
16
What about abroad?

• In Haiti, sub-saharan Africa and some places in
  Asia, the rate of AIDS/HIV infection is estimated
  at 30 of the adult population, growing
  exponentially among women and children under 15
• Worries about animal welfare take a backseat to
  stats like that in the eyes of the world
  http//www.unaids.org/worldaidsday/2002/press/upda
  te/epiupdate2002_en.doc

17
Not as easy in other parts of the world

• Widespread poverty in some countries makes
  legislation for animals/ecosystems untenable
• More than 70 percent of the poor in developing
  countries live in rural areas and depend mostly
  on agriculture for their livelihoods.http//www.fa
  o.org/english/newsroom/news/2002/8705-en.html