REVIEW

You are welcome to discuss the final with each other in the comments to this post. Feel free to ask each other questions.  I may step in as well, but can't directly answer the exam questions.

What next?

ANSWER ONE

(1) In chapter 10 of Animalkind, I say that animal liberation will be an "endless story," not accomplished all at once like the abolition of slavery.   What reasons do I give for this prediction?

(2)  I argue that "innovations and alliances" have helped advance better protection for animals.  Give one of my examples of an innovation, and one of my examples of an alliance.


Why an endless story?

• blacks and whites the same, mice and men not the same
• "fuzzy boundaries" of respect--bees, bird "stalking", spying on animal burrows

Progress through innovation

• necessity is the mother of rationalization
• animal labor no longer necessary  --> we see problem --> we adopt humane stance --> we demand protection for animals 
• animal clothing no longer necessary?  
• animals as food - necessary or not necessary? 

Progress through alliances

• environmentalists and animal protectionists
• nutritionists and animal protectionists

Making changes, one step at a time

Animal Activism

THE TACTICS


education
helping individual animals

legislation
undercover investigations (Humane Society, PETA)

Attempt to prohibit (Iowa,  Minnesota, Florida)

NPR Story
The Roseacre Farm Video
New York Times, April 13

additional PETA tactics
attention getting billboards

street theater
property damage
harassment (throwing fake blood on fur coats)



Animal Liberation Front
destruction of labs
liberation of animals- slideshow
harassment of experimenters at work and home


THE PEOPLE

Jamison--is the animal rights movement like a religion?

1. conversion (formative events)
2. community (rejection by family, new friends)
3. creed (commitment, evangelism)
4. cult (pictures, clippings, letters)
5. class (vegan monks vs. laity)

Is this true?  Does it matter if it's true?

QUIZ

CHOOSE A OR B

(1)  (A)  Sunstein is pursuing what he calls the "bold strategy":  he's urging new rights for animals.  (B)  Sunstein is pursuing what he calls the "modest strategy":  he's looking for new ways to ensure that existing rights are upheld.

(2)  (A) Sunstein thinks there is considerable animal protection law in the US, but it is under-enforced.  (B)  Sunstein argues that there are no strong animal laws in the US, even on paper.

(3)  (A)  Sunstein thinks animals should be able to bring suit, with humans as their representatives.  (B)  Sunstein thinks only humans should be able to bring suit, because animals can't think rationally or talk.


(4)  (A)  Sunstein says a person can bring suit on grounds that they object to violations of existing animal protection law.  (B)  Sunstein says persons must be injured themselves in order to bring suit.

(5) (A)  Sunstein says existing law allows humans to help animals by claiming informational, competitive, and aesthetic injuries to themselves.  (B)  Sunstein says existing law allows humans to help animals by claiming only informational injuries to themselves.



(6)  (A)  Sunstein anticipates that Congress will one day grant standing to animals to bring their own lawsuits.  (B)  Sunstein anticipates that one day Congress will declare animals to be full-fledged persons, thereby giving them the power to bring suit.

Animals in Court

Animals as defendants in criminal courts

• animal trials in the middle ages
• The Hour of the Pig (Colin Firth as defense attorney for a pig)

Just for Fun

Awwww!

No to Legal Rights for Animals

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• I will be emailing you the next article on the syllabus on Thursday morning
• we are still going to have two quizzes before the end of the semester
• last day of class is Tuesday, which follows a Friday schedule
• I will be giving you the questions for the final on Tuesday
• today we talked about Posner and Epstein

Yes to Legal Rights for Animals

PERSONS VS THINGS
I.  Persons (you and me) -- rights 

• positive rights -- e.g. right to vote
• negative rights -- e.g. freedom from being tortured, murdered, kidnapped, etc.

II.  Things, property, commodities -- have a price -- can be bought and sold -- at most they are "protected"

MAJOR EXISTING LAW (protections)
(1) Animal Welfare Act 

• lexical approach to human priority - all human goals may be pursued, but we should harm animals no more than necessary, in the process

(2) State Animal Cruelty Laws

Texas 
Other States

(3) Humane Slaughter Act
(4) Endangered Species Act

REFORM (mostly more protection)

(1) Reforming the AWA--The UK approach

• balance (with discount) approach to human priority - some human goals ruled out, because costs to animals outweigh benefits to humans (even assuming discount)
• local vs. state panels
• which species? - mice and rats are covered, great ape research banned
• no cosmetic testing

(2) Reforming state animal cruelty laws

• Reforming animal agriculture
• state referenda--California Proposition 2

(3)  Reforming Humane Slaughter Act (more species)

REVOLUTION (personhood, rights for animals)

Steven Wise

• liberty rights - the negative right to be free from interference (e.g. free from torture, death, imprisonment)
• theory #1 - liberty rights derive from full Kantian autonomy (see p. 591)
• theory #2 - liberty rights derive from "practical autonomy" (see p. 592)
• from another article by Wise:  "A being has practical autonomy, and is entitled to personhood and basic liberty rights, if she 1. can desire; 2. can intentionally try to fulfill her desire; and 3. can possess a sense of self sufficiency to allow her to understand, even dimly, that she is a being who wants something and is trying to get it." (from Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions, Sunstein and Nussbaum, eds.)
• from Wise's book Drawing the Line--
  

 
Gary Francione

ALL sentient animals should be reclassified as persons, not property, and granted basic rights

• what would that mean?
• Gary Francione's website

WEDNESDAY:  Why animals should remain property (Posner, Epstein)
FRIDAY:  A moderate suggestion for fundamental legal change from Cass Sunstein

Subsistence Hunting plus Zoos

TYPES OF HUNTING
Survival hunting
"Canned" hunting
Sport hunting (for food)
Trophy hunting
Subsistence hunting

WHAT REALLY MATTERS?
(directly and inherently)

1. only individual humans (e.g. Kant, who disapproves of sport hunting)
2. only individual humans and animals (e.g. Regan and Singer, who disapprove of sport hunting)
3. only whole ecosystems (e.g. pure environmental holists, who disapprove of hunting only when it damages an ecosystem)
4. individual humans, individual animals and whole ecosystems (e.g.modern environmental holists)
5. individual humans and individual animals and whole ecosystems and species (e.g. advocates of US Endangered Species Act)
6. individual humans and individual animals and ecosystems and species and cultures (e.g. people who give some weight to preserving a cultural practice apart from its harm/benefit to individual humans and animals, ecosystems, or species)

ESKIMO WHALE HUNTING 
Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling
How does it look, from the six standpoints above?

WHAT ABOUT ZOOS?
Impact on individual animals vs. impact on species 
Your pictures

Is hunting good for wildlife preservation? (cont)

Today we will finish talking about trophy hunting (see Friday's post).

QUIZ

TRUE OR FALSE?

(1)  Gunn gives an overview of arguments against hunting. TRUE
(2)  Gunn thinks trophy hunting is never justified. FALSE
(3)  Gunn approves of Zimbabwe's CAMPFIRE program.  TRUE
(4)  Gunn talks about his own experience hunting lions in Africa. FALSE
(5)  Gunn is an animal demoter who thinks animals really don't matter. FALSE
(6)  Gunn says hunting is the main threat to wildlife in Africa. FALSE

Is hunting good for wildlife preservation?

PAPERS

• Open in Word, open drop down menu under View, check "mark up"
• To add/approve/dismiss comments, open drop down menu under Tools, select "track changes," select an option
• If you're puzzled by comments or want further help, make an appointment (tomorrow is good)
• some did not understand assignment (we'll discuss in class)
• APRIL 27 is the due date (now firm!)

***

TYPES OF HUNTING

Survival hunting ("Mr. Caveman")
Canned hunting
Sport hunting (for meat)
Trophy hunting
Subsistence hunting (today's reading, we'll discuss next time)

***

ACT VS. AGENT

(1)  The act (among the relevant considerations:  impact on animal, ecosystem, humans)
(2)  The agent (there can be permissible acts with bad agents--so the question of the agent is separate)

***

ABSOLUTE VS. COMPARATIVE

(1)  absolute questions (e.g. is this act of hunting morally permissble?)
(2)  comparative questions (e.g. is this act of hunting any worse, morally, than buying a McDonald's hamburger?

***

TROPHY HUNTING - AFRICA

POACHING





OVERPOPULATION AND CULLING





GUNN'S DEFENSE OF TROPHY HUNTING
 
CAMPFIRE - Trophy Hunting


Zimbabwe Safaris





***

Comic relief

Fall Course

You might like to sign up for...

Philosophy 3375
Topics in Moral Philosophy 

Procreation and Parenthood

Jean Kazez 
TTh 12:30 - 1:50  (Hyer 111)

This course will explore choices about reproduction and parenting:  Is there a duty to have children? Not to have children?  Are there already too many people?  Is it wrong to reproduce through cloning?  With the assistance of surrogate mothers and donated eggs?  Should we avoid having children with disabilities?  Should we use genetic screening or genetic engineering to have the “best” kids we possibly can?  Is gender selection ethical? What are the duties of parents to their children?  What are the rights of children?  How much autonomy are children entitled to?  What are their duties to their parents?

Readings will primarily be drawn from contemporary philosophy (e.g. Parfit, Glover, Sandel, Benatar), but we’ll also read some historic figures (Plato, Rousseau), as well as fiction and journalistic essays. In addition, we’ll discuss movies that explore procreative ethics, such as Gattaca and The Island.

Hunting

ANNOUNCEMENT

I will try to return papers (part 1) by Friday or Monday.  The delay will mean a later due date for the whole paper.  New due date is April 25.

HUNTING

Sport hunting (for food) - e.g. recreational deer hunting (today)
Trophy hunting - e.g. big game African safaris (Friday)
Subsistence hunting - e.g. Eskimo hunting (Monday)
Canned hunting - e.g. 777 Ranch


THE ACT, THE AGENT

1. The act--wrong or not wrong?
2. The agent--do hunters have reasonable motives?  do they have character flaws? 

•  wrong act, problematic agent (wanton pet euthanizer)
•  wrong act, unproblematic agent (pet euthanizer who reads wrong label)
• permissible act, problematic agent (recreational pet euthanizer)
• permissible act, unproblematic agent (responsible euthanizer)

 SPORT HUNTING - THE ACT

• Individualism--each animal has moral significance--we should assess whether hunters do wrong to individual animals
• Holism--only whole ecosystems have moral significance--we should assess whether hunting harms the ecosystem, not the individual animal--holism is "off the chart" (not in any of the camps)

WRONG VS. WRONGER

1. Is sport hunting (for food) wrong?
2. Is it worse than eating a hamburger?

 SPORT HUNTING - THE AGENT (Kheel's typology)

1. The happy hunter-motive is enjoyment, learning rules of "fair competition" (what are Kheel's doubts?)
2. The holist hunter--motive is to maintain healthy ecosystem (what are Kheel's doubts?)
3. The holy hunter--motive is to "revere and respect" nature (what are Kheel's doubts?)
4. But all three are also after...(according to Kheel)...masculinity, a quasi-sexual experience

WOMEN HUNT TOO....

INTERVIEWS

 #1

HUNTER:  I grew up hunting with my dad and all of his brothers and some other family members. It has grown to be a passion of mine and I truly love and enjoy the outdoors. When I am sitting outside I feel closer to nature, and I enjoy the freedom and the feeling of being out in the wild and in the open air. 

I never really feel bad because I mostly shoot for food. But at the same time I also go hunting for the thrill and passion, which I guess could be considered bad, but I personally don’t feel that way. I guess other could see hunting as a moral or ethical dilemma but for me it’s a sport and its something I truly enjoy.

#2

STUDENT: Hunting is a male dominant sport, and it is very clear that it is the male bonding experience and the amounts of alcohol involved that attracts the males; I personally believe it is an excuse to drink and behave like teenagers with no chaperones around. 

#3

HUNTER: As a kid, I would hunt green iguana, spiny-tailed iguana called “Garrobo,” armadillo, pigeon, and rabbit. At first, I learned from observing and watching the elders. I was told not play with or torture the animal. Then, my dad taught me children to hunt with a slingshot and with traps. I hunted with my brother and cousin at the ages of eight through ten. At nine years of age, I moved to the city and did not need to hunt anymore because I had a job. I hunted because my family needed food to eat. “Garrobos” and Iguanas are hunted during the day. Pigeons, rabbits, and armadillos are better available at night.

#4
STUDENT: How do you feel after you kill the animals?
HUNTER: I guess it might seem sad but it's really exciting when you make a kill because it is hard to do.

#5
STUDENT: My last question was whether or not he believes in the idea that “hunting plays a major role in the maturation process of young men? And if so, do you think the skills they learn from hunting will aid them as adults?” (Kheel p.460). X answered yes, he strongly believes it is a good way to learn morals and values. Through hunting experiences with his father growing up, he has learned many morals, a lot about nature, and the world around him.


#6

HUNTER: It’s not about eating the animals. It’s more for fun. It’s like guys who go fishing. People don’t think there is anything wrong with that. It’s the same thing. It’s fun and more of a competitive thing. Some days we don’t get anything, but the days you get something it’s this huge rush and a lot of guys are proud of their kills” 

#7

Do you feel a spiritual connection to the animal you kill?

“I do. I know many people don’t. Though, it’s something ‘real’ is the only way I can describe it. You respect the animal and don’t want it to feel pain. Though, it’s a connection that’s very hard to describe. I think that when you first start hunting you don’t understand, or if you never hunted it’s hard to describe. Though, it’s a connection and feeling of nature and a respectful kill.”

Why do you enjoy hunting?

“Well it’s a way to get away. Though, it’s something I have done growing up all my life, and it’s a way to…I don’t know ‘feel manly’ I guess. Working in an office all week is tiring sometimes it’s the perfect get-away. Though, I also enjoy cleaning the animal, and eating it. “

#8
Being a hunter myself, I find that I am a mixture of the different types of hunters Kheel discusses. I am a happy hunter in the sense that I enjoy the sport. I think it is a good way to bond with the person you choose to hunt with (my dad) and I like the adrenaline rush that comes with firing a rifle with such accuracy to perfectly hit a target from several hundred yards away. I am a holist hunter in the sense that I believe population control (deer and hogs) is the only way to successfully balance out an environment. If we did not have population control hunting then these species would cause even more problems to the ecosystem. I am a holy hunter in the sense that I do believe that being out in nature, killing and preparing my own meal that is 100% completely natural and acquired by me and putting in the hard work to do so makes me closer to nature and animals. I am a huge animal lover and I am 110% against factory farming, however, eating meat that I hunt myself is, to me, more than ok.

#9
HUNTER:  I like being in the outdoors and I like the tradition of it. It is something that has been done in the United States for man, many years and I think that it is cool that people are still doing it today. I enjoy harvesting wild meat. I think it tastes better and it is more satisfying to eat. It feels like an accomplishment to enjoy something that you have been patient and worked for. Also, hunting is necessary. Where I grew up in St. Louis, deer are run rampant. If they were not hunted, they would destroy vegetation, and could even injure people by running in front of cars. Another aspect of hunting that I like is that it is a bonding activity. It is something that you can engage in your whole life and pass on to your children.

More special animals

ANNOUNCEMENT

• We will not have class on Monday.  Please do the readings anyway and we will discuss next Wednesday.
• Please send me your paper by 6 pm today.  Find final topic approval email and reply to it, adding paper as an attachment (must be a .doc or .docx file)

ANIMAL PERSONS?

• the great apes
• dolphins  - video on self-awareness

WHAT IF THEY ARE PERSONS?

• conservation, welfare, entitlement  (Cavalieri's point)

INDIVIDUALISM VS. HOLISM

• The blue planet

 

Are Some Animals Special?

PAPERS DUE APRIL 8 BY EMAIL

(1)  Why is there any discount on animal interests?  (Is there?)

• Singer:  principle of equality - same interests count the same - no discount (but animals don't actually have all the same interests that humans do)
• Brody's defense of a discount: social distance view - animals are not family members, not fellow-citizens - they're "strangers" in some extreme sense
• Another defense of a discount: the interest in avoiding pain depends on (a) what it feels like PLUS  (b) what else it costs you - pain takes away higher quality hours from humans than from animals

(2)  Suppose there IS a discount.  Is it the same for all species?   Is this the right sort of picture? --

• humans - no discount
• the great apes - 10%  [chimpanzees, orangutans, gorillas]
• cetaceans -whales, dolphins, etc. 15%
• other monkeys - 20%
• dogs - 30%
• rats - 50%

(3)  What special protections are there, and should there be, for the great apes?

• actual extra protection: (a) special environments (b) CHIMP act (2000) - retirement, not death
• about 1000 chimpanzees used in US labs 
• used to be used for AIDS research, now used mainly for Hepatitis C research - used sparingly
• this fits "balance (discount) view" (with low discount) more than "lexical view"
• should we abolish use entirely?
• only the US and Gabon still use chimpanzees in biomedical research
• Great Ape Protection Act - would abolish all research on the great apes

 (4)  Background

• Jane Goodall 
• Primate Research in San Antonio
• Humane Society Investigation 

(5)  Why abolish research on the great apes?

• balance view doesn't apply to humans, doesn't apply to the great apes either 
• why are the great apes THAT special?  (are they?)
• are chimpanzees "persons"?  what is a "person"?  More next time...

Eagle Cam

Compare the Truman Show....does this violate animal rights?


Free video streaming by Ustream

Common Ground, Uncommon Ground

WHAT STANDARD?
Ethical standards vs. legal standards

1. What is the correct ethical standard for judging animal experimentation?
2. Should that standard be legally mandated by the AWA as the one applied by animal care committees?
3. What standard is currently applied by animal care committees, under the AWA?

POSSIBILITIES

1. Animals don't count at all - all animal experimentation permissible
2. Rights view (Regan) - all animal experimentation impermissible
3. Utilitarianism - (a) principle of equality + (b) maximize happiness - case-by-case assessment
4. BDO standard (see Singer) - case-by-case assessment - depends what you'd do to a BDO!
5. Balance standard (egalitarian) - accepts (a) but not (b) - Is this research necessary? Are costs outweighed by benefits? Are there other ways to get the same benefits? - case-by-case assessment
6. Balance standard (non-egalitarian): same, as 5, but with sliding scale (i.e. "discounting")
7. Lexical standard (see Brody--we'll discuss Monday)

 IS THIS RESEARCH Morally ACCEPTABLE?

Fat Monkeys

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

BEST AND WORST OF ANIMAL RESEARCH 

• Harry Harlow - video1 video2
• Jonas Salk 

POSITIONS

1. All permissible (Descartes, Dennett, others?)
2. All impermissible (Regan)
3. Utilitarians
4. BDO standard
5. Is it necessary? Are costs BALANCED by benefits?  Are there other ways to get the same benefits? 
6. Others

ANIMAL WELFARE ACT

1966 -Sports Illustrated and  Life Magazine articles leads to AWA  

• main point is to prevent lost pets being used in animal labs
• requires adequate food and housing
  

1970 - Amendments address animal pain.  

• Anesthetics have to be used during surgery and analgesics had to be offered for pain relief.
• More venues covered (circuses and zoos, but not pet stores, pet shows, and rodeos)
  

1985 - Amendments spurred by exposes of animal labs 

• Provisions for institutional animal care commitees
• dogs must have exercise, primates must have psychological enrichment
  

Silver Spring Maryland - Dr Edward Taub severs nerves to arms to study nervous system healing - PETA co-founder Alex Pacheco takes undercover position and films - testifies in 1981 hearings

University of Pennsylania - Head injury lab - baboons had their heads crushed in crash simulator - 64 hours of film obtained during raid by Animal Liberation Front - PETA produces film

2002 - more amendments

• "animal" explicitly defined so that rats, mice, birds, and reptiles are not covered 
• prohibition on animal fighting 

******

Today's Animal Welfare Act - Highlights

IACUCs (institutional animal care and use committees)

• Are they really ethics committees? (see John Young in research facility video)
• How do they compare to human subject review committees? How are animals protected, compared to children?
• Do they ensure that experiments are in the animal's best interests?
  
• Do they judge the balance between costs and benefits? (testimony, examples)

Technology/Animal Research

CREATING ANIMALS
   (so we can use them as food more ethically)

• cow-roos and enviropigs (see last week)
• pain-free livestock (see last week, Shriver's NYT editorial, letters)

CREATING ANIMALS
   (for other reasons)

• Talk by ethicist Paul Wolpe - "It's Time to Question Bioengineering" - the ethics of genetic engineering and bioengineering 

OTHER TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS
   (so we can use animals as food more ethically)

• female-only dairies
• lab meat

***

ANIMAL RESEARCH

(1)  As seen by advocates--

Research Facility Tour
Medical Progress
Do the animals suffer?
Advocacy


(2)  As seen by opponents

Animal Lab (PETA undercover video)

(more next time)