Melbourne’s Spring racing has again raised the question of the use of whips as performance aids in thoroughbreds. Jockey Zac Purton was fined $3000 over his “excessive” whipping of Caulfield Cup winner Admire Rakti. For the same ride, Purton collected $87,500 prize money. Let’s begin an ethical investigation of this issue by imagining the following […]
Continue ReadingThose who have travelled through neighbouring countries like Singapore and Malaysia may have paused more than once to consider the status of animal protection in those nations. Perhaps such a thought has arisen while wandering in a market place, or in view of grazing cattle, or when learning about the perilous state of wildlife in […]
Continue ReadingFish are one of the most highly utilised vertebrate taxa by humans; they are harvested from wild stocks as part of global fishing industries, grown under intensive aquaculture conditions, are the most common pet and are widely used for scientific research. But fish are seldom afforded the same level of compassion or welfare as warm-blooded […]
Continue ReadingOn the recommendation of my vegan brother I read John Safran Foer’s book Eating Animals, which as you may know or have just now guessed, prosecutes an argument against meat eating. Safran Foer is a popular American novelist, and his novels have been turned into movies. He also has a major in philosophy. Early in […]
Continue ReadingMany people may not know that “feminist ethics” joined the modern ethical conversation about animals as far back as the late 1970s. Ethics inspired by feminism is in part a reaction against forms of moral thinking that have a character determined largely by men. A “masculine” ethical modus operandi stresses ideals of impartiality, abstractness, distance, […]
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