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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Refining The Precautionary Framework, Jonathan Birch Jan 2017

Refining The Precautionary Framework, Jonathan Birch

Animal Sentience

Most of the commentators so far agree that the precautionary principle can be usefully applied to the question of animal sentience. I consider various ways of refining my proposals in light of the suggestions. I amend BAR to implement C. Brown’s suggestion that the scope of animal welfare law should be extensible by phylogenetic inference from orders in which credible indicators of sentience are found. In response to C. Brown, Mallatt, and Woodruff, I amend ACT to allow that a single credible indicator may sometimes call for urgent further investigation rather than immediate protection. In response …


Animal Sentience And The Precautionary Principle, Jonathan Birch Jan 2017

Animal Sentience And The Precautionary Principle, Jonathan Birch

Animal Sentience

In debates about animal sentience, the precautionary principle is often invoked. The idea is that when the evidence of sentience is inconclusive, we should “give the animal the benefit of the doubt” or “err on the side of caution” in formulating animal protection legislation. Yet there remains confusion as to whether it is appropriate to apply the precautionary principle in this context, and, if so, what “applying the precautionary principle” means in practice regarding the burden of proof for animal sentience. Here I construct a version of the precautionary principle tailored to the question of animal sentience together with a …


Animal Welfare And Animal Rights, M.E. Rolle Jan 2016

Animal Welfare And Animal Rights, M.E. Rolle

Animal Sentience

This overview of Broom’s book, Sentience and Animal Welfare (2014), considers the role the book could play in the animal rights debate. In a thoroughly researched and objectively presented text, Broom lays out information that could place doubt in the minds of decision-makers. By highlighting not just the ways animals resemble humans, but also the ways humans resemble animals, Broom shines a light on a solidly grey area in the animal rights debate.


Bureaucracy And Wildlife: A Historical Overview, Edward E. Langenau Jan 1982

Bureaucracy And Wildlife: A Historical Overview, Edward E. Langenau

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

This paper provides a framework for understanding the Government's position on many wildlife topics, including humane ethics. The Government's historical role in wildlife conservation is traced to pertinent theories of bureaucracy. It is shown that Government involvement in wildlife conservation increased through successive stages of change because of interest group activity.


Ethical Issues And Future Directions In Wildlife Management, John W. Grandy Jan 1982

Ethical Issues And Future Directions In Wildlife Management, John W. Grandy

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

Recent progress in the protection of wildlife and wildlife refuges is currently being undermined by the efforts of James Watt, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, who believes that commercial interests should take precedence over the preservation of pristine wilderness areas and wildlife sanctuaries. As populations approach extinction because of programs like decimation of habitats and predator control, the consequent loss is more than simply aesthetic: genetic material unique to each species will be lost forever. Particular issues of immediate concern are the fate of bobcats and whales, inhumane trapping, and the Endangered Species Act. As a longer-term concern, wildlife management's …