Vet ethics: Emotional damages for animals: further considerations

In the previous Vet Ethics column, I raised the issue of whether veterinarians should be held legally liable to pay emotional damages in civil suits to bereaved clients for medical or surgical malpractice. This is a debate being had in Animal Law circles, particularly in the US. One reason for considering this issue is that […]

Continue Reading

Vet Ethics: Curly questions around wagging tails

A new book by an American author poses some troubling questions for veterinarians and our profession. The book is called Run, Spot, Run: The Ethics of Keeping Pets (University of Chicago Press). Its author is Jessica Pierce, a bioethicist and writer on animal topics. For example, in Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals, co-written […]

Continue Reading

Vet Ethics: Harambe’s death: zooming in on zoos

The shooting of a 17-year-old male gorilla at the Cincinnati zoo after a child fell into his enclosure provoked a huge international reaction. The reaction was comparable to previous outpourings of anger and sadness following the killing of Cecil the lion by an American trophy hunter, and the killing of Marius the young giraffe by […]

Continue Reading

Vet Ethics: Man’s dominion and the worth of animals

In his book Animal Welfare: A Cool Eye Towards Eden, the well-known welfare scientist John Webster criticises the contribution of moral philosophy to the question of the treatment of animals and their welfare. Webster writes: “The moral philosophy approach to animal welfare – i.e. based upon our thoughts and values, not theirs – tends to […]

Continue Reading