Should We Cease Protecting Pets? Why Extra And More Ethicists Say Yes
It was a Tupperware tub of live baby rats that made Dr Jessica Pierce start to query the thought of pet ownership. While pets remain property within the UK, the Animal Welfare Act of 2006 stipulates that pet owners must provide a basic stage of care for their animals. In 2001, Rhode Island changed its legislation to describe pet owners as guardians” , a move that some animal rights’ advocates lauded (and others criticised for being nothing more than a change in identify).
Although Pierce and Francione agree that pet ownership is incorrect, both of them have pets: Pierce has two canines and a cat; Francione has six rescue dogs, whom he considers refugees”. For now, the argument over whether we must always own animals is essentially theoretical: we do have pets and giving them up would possibly cause more harm than good.
Pets are also property within the US, however 32 states, as well as Puerto Rico and Washington DC, now embrace provisions for pets under home violence protection orders. Moreover, as Francione suggests, caring for pets appears to many people to be the one area where we can actually do right by animals; convincing folks of the opposite …
