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Cruelty to animals
Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction of suffering or harm by humans upon animals, either by omission (neglect) or by commission. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm or suffering for specific achievements, such as killing animals for food or entertainment; cruelty to animals is sometimes due to a mental disorder, referred to as zoosadism. Divergent approaches to laws concerning animal cruelty occur in different jurisdictions throughout the world. For example, some laws govern methods of killing animals for food, clothing, or other products, and other laws concern the keeping of animals for entertainment, education, research, or pets. There are several conceptual approaches to the issue of cruelty to animals.
Even though some practices, like animal fighting, are widely acknowledged as cruel, not all people or cultures have the same definition of what constitutes animal cruelty. Many would claim that docking a piglet's tail without an anesthetic constitutes cruelty. Others would respond that it is a routine technique for meat production to prevent harm later in the pig's life. Additionally, laws governing animal cruelty vary from country to country. For instance docking a piglet's tail is routine in the US but prohibited in the European Union (EU).
Utilitarian advocates argue from the position of costs and benefits and vary in their conclusions as to the allowable treatment of animals. Some utilitarians argue for a weaker approach that is closer to the animal welfare position, whereas others argue for a position that is similar to animal rights. Animal rights theorists criticize these positions, arguing that the words "unnecessary" and "humane" are subject to widely differing interpretations and that animals have basic rights. They say that most animal use itself is unnecessary and a cause of suffering, so the only way to ensure protection for animals is to end their status as property and to ensure that they are never viewed as a substance or as non-living things.
Throughout history, some individuals, like Leonardo da Vinci for example, who once purchased caged birds in order to set them free, were concerned about cruelty to animals. His notebooks also record his anger with the fact that humans used their dominance to raise animals for slaughter. According to contemporary philosopher Nigel Warburton, for most of human history the dominant view has been that animals are there for humans to do with as they see fit. Sociologist David Nibert emphasizes that the process of domestication dramatically increased the exploitation of animals by humans, particularly in Eurasia, and asserts that this paved the way for the creation of a modern day, capitalist–driven animal–industrial complex. Much of this exploitation involved not only direct physical violence, but also structural violence as their systemic oppression and enslavement "resulted in their inability to meet their basic needs, the loss of self-determination, and the loss of opportunity to live in a natural way." He says that the remains of domesticated animals from thousands of years ago found during archeological excavations revealed numerous bone pathologies, which provide evidence of extreme suffering:
Excavations from 8500 BCE revealed bone deformities in enslaved goats and cows and provided "some indication of stress, presumably due to the conditions in which these early domestic animals were kept." Remains of sheep and goats from the early Bronze Age show a marked decrease in bone thickness, reflecting calcium deficiencies "resulting from the combined effects of poor nutrition and intensive milking."
Several religious traditions have promoted animal welfare as an important or fundamental concept, and encouraged vegetarianism or veganism. Examples include Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism (with certain animals being considered sacred), and some forms of Judaism (many Orthodox Jews do not wear leather).
René Descartes believed that non-humans are automata — complex machines with no soul, mind, or reason. In Cartesian dualism, consciousness was unique to human among all other animals and linked to physical matter by divine grace. However, close analysis shows that many human features such as complex sign usage, tool use, and self-consciousness can be found in some animals. In 2012, a prominent group of neuroscientists signed the Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness. It stated that humans are not the only conscious beings, and that many other animals, including all mammals and birds, also possess consciousness, challenging the Cartesian view of animals as mechanical beings.
Charles Darwin, by presenting the theory of evolution, revolutionized the way that humans viewed their relationship with other species. Darwin believed that not only did human beings have a direct kinship with other animals, but the latter had social, mental, and moral lives too. Later, in The Descent of Man (1871), he wrote: "There is no fundamental difference between man and the higher mammals in their mental faculties."
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Cruelty to animals
Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction of suffering or harm by humans upon animals, either by omission (neglect) or by commission. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm or suffering for specific achievements, such as killing animals for food or entertainment; cruelty to animals is sometimes due to a mental disorder, referred to as zoosadism. Divergent approaches to laws concerning animal cruelty occur in different jurisdictions throughout the world. For example, some laws govern methods of killing animals for food, clothing, or other products, and other laws concern the keeping of animals for entertainment, education, research, or pets. There are several conceptual approaches to the issue of cruelty to animals.
Even though some practices, like animal fighting, are widely acknowledged as cruel, not all people or cultures have the same definition of what constitutes animal cruelty. Many would claim that docking a piglet's tail without an anesthetic constitutes cruelty. Others would respond that it is a routine technique for meat production to prevent harm later in the pig's life. Additionally, laws governing animal cruelty vary from country to country. For instance docking a piglet's tail is routine in the US but prohibited in the European Union (EU).
Utilitarian advocates argue from the position of costs and benefits and vary in their conclusions as to the allowable treatment of animals. Some utilitarians argue for a weaker approach that is closer to the animal welfare position, whereas others argue for a position that is similar to animal rights. Animal rights theorists criticize these positions, arguing that the words "unnecessary" and "humane" are subject to widely differing interpretations and that animals have basic rights. They say that most animal use itself is unnecessary and a cause of suffering, so the only way to ensure protection for animals is to end their status as property and to ensure that they are never viewed as a substance or as non-living things.
Throughout history, some individuals, like Leonardo da Vinci for example, who once purchased caged birds in order to set them free, were concerned about cruelty to animals. His notebooks also record his anger with the fact that humans used their dominance to raise animals for slaughter. According to contemporary philosopher Nigel Warburton, for most of human history the dominant view has been that animals are there for humans to do with as they see fit. Sociologist David Nibert emphasizes that the process of domestication dramatically increased the exploitation of animals by humans, particularly in Eurasia, and asserts that this paved the way for the creation of a modern day, capitalist–driven animal–industrial complex. Much of this exploitation involved not only direct physical violence, but also structural violence as their systemic oppression and enslavement "resulted in their inability to meet their basic needs, the loss of self-determination, and the loss of opportunity to live in a natural way." He says that the remains of domesticated animals from thousands of years ago found during archeological excavations revealed numerous bone pathologies, which provide evidence of extreme suffering:
Excavations from 8500 BCE revealed bone deformities in enslaved goats and cows and provided "some indication of stress, presumably due to the conditions in which these early domestic animals were kept." Remains of sheep and goats from the early Bronze Age show a marked decrease in bone thickness, reflecting calcium deficiencies "resulting from the combined effects of poor nutrition and intensive milking."
Several religious traditions have promoted animal welfare as an important or fundamental concept, and encouraged vegetarianism or veganism. Examples include Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism (with certain animals being considered sacred), and some forms of Judaism (many Orthodox Jews do not wear leather).
René Descartes believed that non-humans are automata — complex machines with no soul, mind, or reason. In Cartesian dualism, consciousness was unique to human among all other animals and linked to physical matter by divine grace. However, close analysis shows that many human features such as complex sign usage, tool use, and self-consciousness can be found in some animals. In 2012, a prominent group of neuroscientists signed the Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness. It stated that humans are not the only conscious beings, and that many other animals, including all mammals and birds, also possess consciousness, challenging the Cartesian view of animals as mechanical beings.
Charles Darwin, by presenting the theory of evolution, revolutionized the way that humans viewed their relationship with other species. Darwin believed that not only did human beings have a direct kinship with other animals, but the latter had social, mental, and moral lives too. Later, in The Descent of Man (1871), he wrote: "There is no fundamental difference between man and the higher mammals in their mental faculties."