Tag: ethicists

It was a Tupperware tub of live child rats that made Dr Jessica Pierce begin to question the thought of pet ownership. Whereas pets stay property within the UK, the Animal Welfare Act of 2006 stipulates that pet house owners should present a basic level of care for their animals. In 2001, Rhode Island modified its legislation to describe pet owners as guardians” , a transfer that some animal rights’ advocates lauded (and others criticised for being nothing more than a change in identify).

Pets are additionally property in the US, however 32 states, in addition to Puerto Rico and Washington DC, now embrace provisions for pets beneath domestic violence safety orders. Moreover, as Francione suggests, caring for pets appears to many people to be the one space where we can really do proper by animals; convincing people of the opposite is a hard sell.

Although Pierce and Francione agree that pet possession 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 or not we must always own animals is essentially theoretical: we do have pets and giving them up …