Human/Animal Relationships in Transformation: Scientific, Moral and Legal Perspectives (The Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series)

The ethics of human/animal relationships is a growing field of academic research and a topic for public discussion and regulatory interventions from law-makers, governments and private institutions. Human/animal relationships are in transformation and understanding the nature of this process is crucial for all those who believe that the enlargement of moral and legal recognition to nonhuman animals is part of contemporary moral and political progress. Understanding the nature of this process means analysing and critically discussing the philosophical, scientific and legal concepts and arguments embedded in it. This book contributes to the discussion by bringing together the ideas and reflections of leading experts from different disciplinary backgrounds and with a range of scientific perspectives. This book both provides an up-to-date examination of the transformation of human/animal relationships and presents ideas to foster this process. Augusto Vitale is Researcher at the Center for Behavioural Sciences and Mental Health at the Istituto Superiore di Sanità in Rome. His interests focus on behavioural primatology and issues related to animal experimentation. He is the author of the book Le scimmie si raccontano? Passioni e dubbi dell'etologia (2016). Simone Pollo is Associate Professor of Moral Philosophy at the Department of Philosophy at Sapienza University of Rome. He is the author of two monographs (in Italian) on animal ethics: Umani e animali. Questioni di etica (2016) and Manifesto per un animalismo democratico (2021) Preface Series Editors’ Preface Acknowledgements Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures List of Tables 1: Introduction Part I: Philosophy and Ethics of Human Animal/Relationships 2: Darwinian Biology and the New Understanding of Animals 1 Premise 2 Humans and Animals: A Short History of Everything 3 Ethology, Philosophy, and the Darwinian Paradigm 4 Animal Agency 5 Beyond Sentience: Agency and Animals’ Moral Status References 3: Animal Detection and Its Role in Our Attitude towards Other Species 1 Introduction 2 Misconceptions About Brain Evolution 3 Animals and Morphological Similarity as Sources of Mental State Attribution References 4: The Moral Value of Animal Sentience and Agency 1 Introduction 2 Types of Morally Relevant Properties 3 Proportionality and the Basis for Equality 4 Feeble Egalitarianism 5 Backdoor Egalitarianism 6 Global Egalitarianism 7 Limited Hierarchy 8 Proportional Inegalitarianism 9 Sentience and Agency as Bases of (In)Equality: A Guide References 5: Affective Animal Ethics: Reflective Empathy, Attention and Knowledge Sub Specie Aeternitatis 1 Introduction 2 Reflective Empathy 3 Attention 4 Sub Specie Aeternitatis and Holistic Knowledge 5 Conclusion References Part II: Transformations in General Scenarios 6: Perceiving Animals Through Different Demographic and Cultural Lenses 1 Introduction 2 Methods 2.1 Participants and Procedure 2.2 Questionnaire 2.3 Statistical Analysis 3 Results 3.1 EPQ 4 Do Respondents’ Ethical Ideologies and Demographics Relate to Their Attitude Toward Animals? 4.1 Ethical Ideologies 4.2 Human Demographics 4.3 Interaction Between Ethical Ideologies and Demographics 4.4 Main Predictors of AIS and AAS Scores 5 Discussion 5.1 Ethical Ideology 5.2 Human Demographics and Their Interaction with Ethical Ideologies 5.3 Religion and Pet Ownership 6 Conclusions and Implications References 7: Animal Welfare in Context: Historical, Scientific, Ethical, Moral and One Welfare Perspectives 1 Animal Welfare 2 Animal Welfare and Ethics 3 Animal Welfare and Context 4 Animal Welfare and Human Well-being 5 Animal Welfare and Human Health 6 A Case Point: COVID-19 7 Summary and Future Directions References 8: The Two Sides of the Human-Animal Bond: Reflections on Using and Abusing Animals 1 Close Relatives 2 Empathy 3 Dangerous Difference 4 Societal Changes 5 Caring for Animals 6 Veterinary Medicine 7 Liberal and Regulated Profession 8 Evolving Standards 9 Epilogue References 9: A Proposal for a Multi-Dimensional Profile of the Animal Researcher 1 Introduction 2 Animal Experimentation 3 Animal Researcher as Part of the Scientific Community 4 Animal Researcher as a Part of a Legal Community 5 The Researcher as Ethical Agent 6 Researcher as Relational Subject 7 Researcher as Member of Society 8 Conclusions References 10: The Two Sides of the Non-Human-Animal Bond: Reflections on Using and Abusing Companion Animals 1 Introduction 2 The Human-Animal Bond 3 Using Animals Within Companion Animal Relationship and Animal-Assisted Interventions 4 Abusing Animals 4.1 Direct Abuse Caused by Individual Perpetrator(s) 4.2 Indirect Abuse by Individual Perpetrators 4.3 Abuse Originating in Legislation 4.4 Abuse Originating in Decision-Making 4.5 Circumstantial Abuse 5 Discussion and Conclusions References Part III: Transformations in Cases and Contexts 11: Farms, Landscapes, Food and Relationships 1 Introduction 2 Factors Determining Human-Animal Relations on Farms? 2.1 Species and Scale 2.2 Tools, Technologies and Automation 2.3 Welfare Regulations and Marketing Norms 3 How to Think About the Directions of Human-Animal Relations on Farms? 3.1 Technological Futures and Genuine Traditions? 3.2 A Culture That Does Not Know How to Value Animals 3.3 Consumer Awareness, Animal Welfare and Farmer-animal Relations 3.4 Rethinking ‘Food Quality’ as Relational 4 Conclusion: How to Interpret Farmer-Animal Relations 5 Coda References 12: Biotechnologies and Animals: The Impact of Genetic Engineering on Human-Animal Relationships 1 Introduction 2 Ethical Implications of Genetic Technologies in Biological Research on Animals 2.1 Selective Breeding 2.2 Genetic Engineering: Transgenesis, Gene-targeting, and CRISPR/Cas9 2.3 Optogenetics 3 Implications of Genetic Technologies in Animal Biomedical Research: How Can They Change the Human View of Animals? 3.1 Animals as “Bioreactors” or Xenotransplant Donors 3.2 Animals as Models of Human Pathologies 4 Novel Directions for Future Researchers: Back to the Animal 4.1 The Importance of Behavioural Analysis and Ethological Approach 4.2 Not Only Genes: The Importance of the Environment 5 Concluding Remarks References 13: Coexisting with Wild Nonhuman Primates in a Brazilian Semiarid Habitat 1 Introduction 2 Study Area 3 Local Community Interviews 4 Results of the Interviews 5 Conclusion References 14: Companionship and Wellbeing: Benefits and Challenges of Human-Pet Relationships 1 Animals in the Human Family and Society 2 Dog Domestication: The History of a Long-Lasting Bond 3 The Bond with Domestic Animals and Its Potential to Ameliorate Human WellBeing: The “Pet Effect” 4 A Less Studied Species: The Domestic Cat 5 Animal Welfare in the Context of Animal-assisted Interventions 6 Animal Welfare: Consequences and Challenges of the Human-Animal Bond 7 Conclusions References 15: Human-Wildlife Coexistence in the Urban Domain: Promoting Welfare Through Effective Management, Responsibility and the Recognition of Mutual Interest 1 Introduction 2 The Human-Animal Relationship in the Urban Domain 3 Effective Management of the Human-Animal Relationship 4 Concluding Remarks References Part IV: Recognising Transformations 16: Political Representation of Animals’ Voices 1 Introduction 2 Democracy and the Political Turn 3 Anthropocentric Political Representation 4 Reforming the Anthropocentric Model of Representation 5 A Non-Anthropocentric Theory of Representation 6 Justifying a Non-Anthropocentric Theory of Democracy 7 Types of Incorporation 8 Political or Legal Enfranchisement: An Assessment 9 Conclusion References 17: Animal Law: What Is Left to be Said by the Law About Animals 1 Introduction 2 Animals in Historical Sources 3 Welfare, Sentience and the Law 4 Article 13 TFEU 5 De-Objectification 5.1 Austria 5.2 Germany 5.3 Switzerland 5.4 France 5.5 Portugal 5.6 Spain 6 Constitutionalisation 7 Globalisation 8 Conclusion References The ethics of human/animal relationships is a growing field of academic research and a topic for public discussion and regulatory interventions from law-makers, governments and private institutions. Human/animal relationships are in transformation and understanding the nature of this process is crucial for all those who believe that the enlargement of moral and legal recognition to nonhuman animals is part of contemporary moral and political progress. Understanding the nature of this process means analysing and critically discussing the philosophical, scientific and legal concepts and arguments embedded in it. This book contributes to the discussion by bringing together the ideas and reflections of leading experts from different disciplinary backgrounds and with a range of scientific perspectives. This book both provides an up-to-date examination of the transformation of human/animal relationships and presents ideas to foster this process. Augusto Vitale is Researcher at the Center for Behavioural Sciences and Mental Health at the Istituto Superiore di Sanità in Rome. His interests focus on behavioural primatology and issues related to animal experimentation. He is the author of the book Le scimmie si raccontano? Passioni e dubbi dell'etologia (2016). Simone Pollo is Associate Professor of Moral Philosophy at the Department of Philosophy at Sapienza University of Rome. He is the author of two monographs (in Italian) on animal ethics: Umani e animali. Questioni di etica (2016) and Manifesto per un animalismo democratico (2021)