Animal Ethics in the Wild
Wild Animal Suffering and Intervention in Nature

Most people believe we should help others in need; this book argues we should also help starving, wounded and sick wild animals.

Catia Faria (Author)

9781009113458, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 12 September 2024

234 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.2 cm, 0.345 kg

'Catia Faria argues that wild animals are ethically considerable (I agree) and it is our duty to ease their pain and suffering. In this, she joins the ranks of those who believe the world is in need of improvement, regardless of individual thoughts on its condition and functioning. She contends humanity needs to acknowledge the disagreeable: disease, old age, pain, and the fleeting nature of life itself. Although one may argue that we humans devote great effort to lessen our impact, Faria contends we ought to extend such efforts to wild animals. She does not shy away from strong phrasing in her argumentation.' Conservation Biology

Animals, like humans, suffer and die from natural causes. This is particularly true of animals living in the wild, given their high exposure to, and low capacity to cope with, harmful natural processes. Most wild animals likely have short lives, full of suffering, usually ending in terrible deaths. This book argues that on the assumption that we have reasons to assist others in need, we should intervene in nature to prevent or reduce the harms wild animals suffer, provided that it is feasible and that the expected result is positive overall. It is of the utmost importance that academics from different disciplines as well as animal advocates begin to confront this issue. The more people are concerned with wild animal suffering, the more probable it is that safe and effective solutions to the plight of wild animals will be implemented in the future.

1. Moral considerability
2. Speciesism
3. Wild animal suffering
4. Perversity and futility
5. Jeopardy
6. Relationality
7. Priority
8. Tractability.

Subject Areas: Zoology & animal sciences [PSV], Bio-ethics [PSAD], Ethical issues & debates [JFM], Animals & society [JFFZ], Ethics & moral philosophy [HPQ], Animals & nature in art [still life, landscapes & seascapes, etc AGN]