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A ‘‘Practical’’ Ethic For Animals, David Fraser Nov 2017

A ‘‘Practical’’ Ethic For Animals, David Fraser

David Fraser, PhD

Drawing on the features of ‘‘practical philosophy’’ described by Toulmin (1990), a ‘‘practical’’ ethic for animals would be rooted in knowledge of how people affect animals, and would provide guidance on the diverse ethical concerns that arise. Human activities affect animals in four broad ways: (1) keeping animals, for example, on farms and as companions, (2) causing intentional harm to animals, for example through slaughter and hunting, (3) causing direct but unintended harm to animals, for example by cropping practices and vehicle collisions, and (4) harming animals indirectly by disturbing life-sustaining processes and balances of nature, for example by habitat …


Science, Sentience, And Animal Welfare, Robert C. Jones Jul 2017

Science, Sentience, And Animal Welfare, Robert C. Jones

Robert C. Jones, PhD

I sketch briefly some of the more influential theories concerned with the moral status of nonhuman animals, highlighting their biological/physiological aspects. I then survey the most prominent empirical research on the physiological and cognitive capacities of nonhuman animals, focusing primarily on sentience, but looking also at a few other morally relevant capacities such as self-awareness, memory, and mindreading. Lastly, I discuss two examples of current animal welfare policy, namely, animals used in industrialized food production and in scientific research. I argue that even the most progressive current welfare policies lag behind, are ignorant of, or arbitrarily disregard the science on …


The Evolution Of A Volunteer Lake Protection Program, Maggie Shannon, Alexa A.E. Junker, Philip J. Nyhus, Cathy R. Bevier, Russell Cole Dec 2016

The Evolution Of A Volunteer Lake Protection Program, Maggie Shannon, Alexa A.E. Junker, Philip J. Nyhus, Cathy R. Bevier, Russell Cole

Philip J. Nyhus

No abstract provided.


Assessing Lakesmart, A Community-Based Lake Protection Program Dec 2016

Assessing Lakesmart, A Community-Based Lake Protection Program

Philip J. Nyhus

Anthropogenic impacts, particularly shoreline development and related nutrient runoff, threaten Maine lakes. The LakeSmart program was created in response to these threats to promote the use of lake-friendly landscaping practices. We used 237 surveys and 8 stakeholder interviews to investigate motivations that drive conservation behavior among lakeshore residents, to explore the effectiveness of criteria used for LakeSmart evaluations and to identify potential areas for improvement of its structural design and marketing strategies. LakeSmart participants were more likely than non-participants to recognize the threat of declining water quality, to adopt or enhance existing lake-friendly landscaping best management practices, and to help …