Coming up
- Friday 10/11: background for debate, midterm guide available
- Monday 10/14: debate
- Wednesday 10/16: review for midterm
- Friday 10/18: midterm
- Monday 10/21: Module 4, using animals for food, research, etc.
- Friday 10/25: first field trip discussion (vegan restaurants, whole foods)
- Monday 11/13: Module 5, wild animals
Field trips
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Putting animals in political categories
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Animal citizens--first class members of our community
Which animals? All the domesticated animals--dogs cats, farm animals (there will be vastly fewer farm animals)
- We brought them here, we made them dependent on us, they can't live separately
- Domesticated animals are capable of cooperation and interaction
- If it was wrong to make dogs and cats dependent, should we just set them free or let them go extinct? (Gary Francione--we will discuss in module 4)
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Rights
- No voting for animals, no passports
- "Equal protection of the law (and hence criminalization of harms to them)"
- Emergency services (rescue from fire, floods)
- They should "benefit from public spending (e.g.health care)"
- Should "have their "interests weighed in the design of public space and institutions" (e.g. dog parks, "relief" facilities at airports)
- Should have access to public spaces
- restaurants? (Paris, below)
- animal cafes? (South Korea)
- cats of istanbul
- cows of India
Possible debate topic: Should pets in the US have more access to public space, as in other countries?
- Next time: background about access to public space in other countries plus other relevant issues
Responsibilities of animal citizens
- They should be socialized to live in a mixed community--no "jumping, biting, barking, defecating" (p. 6)
- They should do non-exploitative work
- contribute manure YES
- goats mowing lawn YES
- sheep for wool if shorn humanely YES
- keeping chickens for eggs MAYBE
- using animals as guide dogs (video clip) NO
Wild animal sovereigns
- Don't exist because of us, competent to take care of themselves
- Overlapping borders--some wild animal sovereigns are inside the US
- Wild sovereigns have the basic rights all animals have – so no hunting, trapping
- Not citizens or denizens
- no right to be rescued after a disaster
- no right to be in our public spaces (polar bear jail in Churchill, Canada)
- We should respect their sovereignty, competence
- should avoid invading habitat, but when you do take away habitat, create wildlife corridors
- shouldn't alter their way of life even if it seems protective
- one-off assistance ok
Module 5: wild animals in wilderness. We will discuss this and other views on how to treat wildlife.
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Liminal animal denizens
- Two principles that apply to human denizens (p. 14)
- Principle #1: legit to have borders and laws about who enters; also legit to discourage entry
- Principle #2: "sooner or later they acquire the right to stay" (p. 14)
- Application to aiminal animal denizens
- Principle #1: we can try to keep them out
- Principle #2: "we need to regularize their status, and to accept and accommodate to their presence" (p. 14)
- Example of mice
- try to keep out: plug holes in walls to keep mice out, avoid open food, use humane traps and remove
- accept and accommodate: what's wrong with a few in the cellar or garage or garden shed?
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Debate topics
Possible debate question: Are all animals equal or do they fall into importantly different political categories, as D&K say?
Possible debate question: Should pets in the US have more access to public space, as in other countries?