Assessing animal welfare

AAVMC Use of Animals in Veterinary Education Handbook

“…The first of the major ethical frameworks is consequentialism, which is also called teleology. This emphasizes the outcome, not the motive, of an action to determine its moral goodness (Beaver & Golab, 2023;Consequentialism, 2022;Sinnott-Armstrong, 2019). The general philosophy came from the hedonic value theory that all human action should be motivated by the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain (Consequentialism, 2022;Sinnott-Armstrong, 2019).…”

“…Subgroups of this ethical framework relate primarily to who is the recipient of the pleasure. It can be self-interest (egoism), "my" group (e.g., family, religion), or all sentient beings (utilitarianism) (Beaver & Golab, 2023;Duignan, 2008;Hinman, 2013). Because only sentient beings matter, utilitarians who regard animals as sentient-and not all do-must balance human and animal benefits and harms (Sebo, 2023;Utilitarianism, n.d.).…”

“…Virtue is the second major ethical framework. The concept of virtue is that people will act morally because the act itself is the right one and is necessary for the person to feel good about what they do (Beaver & Golab, 2023;Hursthouse & Pettigrove, 2018;National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2019). This framework is generally associated with a more global view, such as religion, and is responsible for the various religious doctrines about how animals should be treated.…”

“…Deontology, the third major ethical framework, relies on rules to distinguish right from wrong and to determine duty and obligation, regardless of the outcome (Beaver & Golab, 2023;Duignan, 2008;Hinman, 2013). This creates a moral obligation to obey and fulfill the rules, such as always telling the truth.…”