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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Animal Pleasure And Its Moral Significance, Jonathan Balcombe Jun 2014

Animal Pleasure And Its Moral Significance, Jonathan Balcombe

Jonathan Balcombe, PhD

This paper presents arguments for, and evidence in support of, the important role of pleasure in animals’ lives, and outlines its considerable significance to humankind’s relationship to other animals. In the realms of animal sentience, almost all scholarly discussion revolves around its negative aspects: pain, stress, distress, and suffering. By contrast, the positive aspects of sentience – rewards and pleasures – have been rarely broached by scientists. Yet, evolutionary principles predict that animals, like humans, are motivated to seek rewards, and not merely to avoid pain and suffering. Natural selection favours behaviours that enhance survival and procreation. In the conscious, …


T-61 Use In The Euthanasia Of Domestic Animals: A Survey, Andrew N. Rowan May 2014

T-61 Use In The Euthanasia Of Domestic Animals: A Survey, Andrew N. Rowan

Andrew N. Rowan, DPhil

A variety of techniques have been proposed and employed for the killing of domestic animals but relatively few have survived as suitable agents for euthanasia-namely, the induction of painless, suffering-free death. Some agents, such as strychnine, curariform agents, or potassium salts cause suffering while others have other disadvantages. 'lbday, dogs and cats are commonly euthanatized with sodium pentobarbital or with T-61 which is a mixture of a central nervous system narcotic, a paralytic agent, and a local anesthetic. The use of T-61 was first reported in the United States in 1963 (Quin 1963). The substance gradually became more popular because …


Humane Education: Perspectives Of Practitioners On Program Evaluation Efforts And Analysis Of Changes In Knowledge, Attitudes, And Empathy In Two Violence Prevention And Intervention Programs, Melanie Wagner Jan 2014

Humane Education: Perspectives Of Practitioners On Program Evaluation Efforts And Analysis Of Changes In Knowledge, Attitudes, And Empathy In Two Violence Prevention And Intervention Programs, Melanie Wagner

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This descriptive and comparative study examined the current landscape of humane education program evaluation and data analysis through a survey of humane educators across the country. Results of the humane education survey show that data collection and evaluation are occurring in humane education programs but these efforts do not capture and measure empathy, the primary goal of most humane education programs. Humane educators reported they felt the profession is progressive and relevant to a broad host of purposes, from building positive relationships with animals to playing a role in the larger social justice scheme. They also suggested that the field …