Ethical Treatment of Animals

Abstract

The non ethical and ruthless treatment of animals has always been a debatable public issue. The brutal treatment of animals takes place in the form of animal testing on animals, the heinous treatment of animals in electronic media, and mistreatment of animals in farms. Although there are standards and policies on the treatment of animals, it has been found that mistreatment of animals is common in both developed as well as developing nations. It took a long time for people to understand that animals too have 'rights'. This is not only an ethical issue but also philosophical in nature. The issues of animal liberation or the ethical treatment of animals was first raised openly back in the year 1975 with the publication of book called Animal Liberation. The animal protection movement that arose as a consequence is the largest of its kind and has continued thought the decades. Millions of Americans have supported the cause. The paper discusses the issue from a utilitarian perspective and provides contrast through perspective brought to the issue by relativism. It also provides my own reason for being against the cruel treatment of animals.

Table of Contents

Introduction4

Ethical dilemma of the issue5

Utilitarianism5

Relativism perspective7

Steps taken to improve the ethical treatment of animals8

My personal views on the issue9

Conclusion11

References12

Ethical Treatment of Animals

Introduction

The non ethical and ruthless treatment of animals has always been a debatable public issue. The brutal treatment of animals takes place in the form of animal testing on animals, the heinous treatment of animals in electronic media, and mistreatment of animals in farms (Festing, 1996). Although there are standards and policies on the treatment of animals, it has been found that mistreatment of animals is common in both developed as well as developing nations. It took a long time for people to understand that animals too have 'rights'. This is not only an ethical issue but also philosophical in nature (Rollin, 2005).

The issues of animal liberation or the ethical treatment of animals was first raised openly back in the year 1975 with the publication of book called Animal Liberation. The animal protection movement that arose as a consequence is the largest of its kind and has continued thought the decades. Millions of Americans have supported the cause (Herzog, 1997). But there are others who hold a contrary point of view. Research reveals that every year there are at least 50 million animals that are used in biological testing and medical experiments. This is a very large number and has very strong ethical grounds for reduction. By using better methods, the need for the use of animals can be reduced significantly (Cowen, 2006).

The paper discusses the issue from a utilitarian perspective and provides contrast through perspective brought to the issue by relativism. It also provides my own reason for being against the cruel treatment of animals.

Ethical dilemma of the issue

The ethical dilemma entailed in the issue is that whether or not animals should be accorded with the same respect and honor as that ...