AGENDA
- Pet Ethics: The Big Picture
- Francione's view
Pet Ethics: The Big Picture
- Should we have pets at all? (Monday)
- Are your pets friends or family (or slaves)? (Wednesday)
- Should we sterilize pets? Should we breed them? (story by Tolstoy, the Russian novelist)
Three Pet Categories
- Domesticated animals as companions (dogs and cats)
- Tamed wild animals as companions
- Others, not companions: fish, snakes, reptiles, birds?
Domesticated animals who play a role as companions
- Negative view: Gary Francione
- Positive views: Clare Palmer, Lori Gruen, Donaldson & Kymlicka
Gary Francione, The Abolitionist Approach
Law professor at Rutgers University
- Animals are persons (with rights), not property
- Argues for abolition of animal agriculture, animal research, zoos, etc. The term "abolition" is inspired by abolitionism, the movement to end slavery.
- Doesn't support reforms like Prop 2 and 12 in California (more space)--says they just make people more comfortable eating meat and don't solve the basic problem
- Against Singer's step-by-step approach to veganism
- Commentary on Zangwill--author who says we're doing animals a favor by breeding, killing, and eating them
- Against institution of having pets
Francione's arguments against having pets
- Francione, "Pets"
- podcast (we'll listen to it in parts)
Argument #1: Based on sheer domestication (Francione 12:20-17:40)
- "domestication is slavery"
- dogs should go extinct
- they don't fit in the animal world or the human world
- we control every aspect of their lives
- control and hierarchy
Argument #2: Based on legal status as property (Francione 17:40-21:20)
- can be bought and sold, have market value
- there are minimal requirements in state animal cruelty laws
- but shelters can kill
- you can ask a vet to kill
Argument #3: Based on mistreatment (Francione 21:20-26:30)
- even if you don't mistreat, arguments #1 and #2 make the institution wrong
- but people do mistreat
- giving up adopted animals--is it not often or often?
- conventionally accepted cruelty--declawing cats, tail-docking, ear-clipping
Halloween interlude: what do you think? Is there anything bad about dressing up your pets?
Clare Palmer: Defense of domesticated animals as pets
- What does she say?
Wild animals as pets
- animals taken out of the wild and tamed
- example: falconry