Covering ethical issues involving animals, this text covers their role in food research, food production, sports, and as companions. Although theoretical aspects are presented, the main focus is on the application of these ethics to real life.

The practical focus of this authoritative, comprehensive encyclopedia promotes the understanding and improvement of animals' behaviour without compromising welfare. It will be an essential resource for practising veterinarians, researchers and students in zoology and ethology, and for all those working with and interested in animals and their welfare. --Book Jacket.

This volume is a collection of chapters all contributed by individuals who have presented their ideas at conferences and who take moderate stands with the use of animals in research. Specifically the chapters bear of the issues of: notions of the moral standings of animals, history of the methods of argumentation, knowledge of the animal mind, nature and value of regulatory structures, how respect for animals can be converted from theory to action in the laboratory. The chapters have been tempered by open discussion with individuals with different opinions and not audiences of true believers. It is the hope of all, that careful consideration of the positions in these chapters will leave reader with a deepened understanding--not necessarily a hardened position.

An interdisciplinary in-depth analysis of the ethical issues raised by using animals in research and the related regulatory issues.

There are many introductions to the animal ethics literature. There aren’t many introductions to the practice of doing animal ethics. Bob Fischer’s Animal Ethics: A Contemporary Introduction fills that gap, offering an accessible model of how animal ethics can be done today. The book takes up classic issues, such as the ethics of eating meat and experimenting on animals, but tackles them in an empirically informed and nuanced way. It also covers a range of relatively neglected issues in animal ethics, such as the possibility of insect sentience and the ethics of dealing with pests. Finally, the book doesn’t assess every current practice using standard ethical theories, but tries to evaluate some of them using the moral frameworks endorsed by those involved. So, for instance, there is a chapter on the way that animal care and use committees try to justify some of the educational uses of animals, and the chapter on zoos considers the way that international zoological societies justify compromising animal welfare. The book wraps up with a discussion of the future of animal ethics. Each chapter opens with a helpful initial overview of the chapter and ends with a list of suggested readings to help students go further on their own. Key Features Covers animal ethics from an empirically informed perspective, bringing philosophy into conversation with key issues in animal science, conservation biology, economics, ethology, and legal studies, among other fields Provides ample coverage of the most salient current topics, including, for example: Debates about which animals are sentient The suffering of wild animals Research ethics The boundaries of activism Avoids suggesting that animal ethics is simply the practice of applying the right general theory to a problem, instead allowing readers to first work out the specific costs and benefits of making ethical decisions Impresses upon the reader the need for her to work out for herself the best way forward with difficult ethical issues, suggesting that progress can indeed be made Includes summaries and recommended readings at the end of each chapter

This volume is the first to present a framework of general principles for animal research ethics together with an analysis of the principles' meaning and moral requirements. This new framework of six moral principles constitutes a more suitable set of moral guidelines than any currently available, including the influential framework presented in the Principles of Humane Experimental Technique published in 1959 by zoologist and psychologist William M. S. Russell and microbiologist Rex L. Burch. While other accounts have presented specific directives to guide the use of animals in research, Tom L. Beauchamp and David DeGrazia here offer a set of general moral principles that are adequate to the task of evaluating biomedical and behavioral research involving animals today. Their comprehensive framework addresses ethical requirements pertaining to societal benefit-a critical consideration in justifying the harming of animals in research-and features a thorough program of animal welfare protection. In doing so, their principles bridge the gap between the concerns of the research community and the animal-protection community. The book is distinctive in featuring commentaries on the framework of principles by eminent figures in animal research ethics from an array of relevant disciplines: veterinary medicine, biomedical research, biology, zoology, comparative psychology, primatology, law, and bioethics. The seven commentators-Larry Carbone, Frans de Waal, Rebecca Dresser, Joseph Garner, Brian Hare, Margaret Landi, and Julian Savulescu-scrutinize Beauchamp and DeGrazia's principles in terms of both their theoretical cogency and practical implications, evaluating their relevance to the medical and scientific professions. The range of ethical issues encompassed in Principles of Animal Research Ethics will be useful to professionals in the biomedical and behavioral sciences and will also appeal to individuals and scholars interested in bioethics, animal ethics, and applied ethics generally.