Ethics and Care: For Animals, Not Just Mammals

Abstract

In the last few decades, we have made great strides in recognizing ethics and providing care for animals, but the focus has been mainly on mammals. This stems from a bias of attention not only in research but predominantly in non-scientists’ attention (to ‘popular’ animals), resulting partly from discussion about and depiction of animals in publications addressed to the public. This is somewhat due to political pressure, and can result in uneven conservation efforts and biases in targets for welfare concerns. As a result, there has been a huge backlash again, with concerns about pain sensitivity and welfare in fish, and a less focused but more pervasive omission of consideration of all invertebrates. That means welfare efforts are focused on 0.2% of the animal species on the planet, and education about non-mammals, particularly addressed to children, is necessary to broaden this focus and care more fully for the inhabitants of the planet.

Innovative Human Three-Dimensional Tissue-Engineered Models as an Alternative to Animal Testing

“…In several cases, animal models should be replaced by more accurate and innovative in vitro models. First, there are many ethical concerns about animal use in research [ 21 ].…”

Unprepared to Deal with Invasion: Pre-Service Teachers’ Perception, Knowledge and Attitudes toward Invasive Species

“…The limited support for the slaughter of American mink is consistent with the greater rejection generated by the control of invasive mammals among society in relation to other taxa [65,66] associated with the "cuddle factor" and these organisms' aesthetics [49]. Likewise, human beings tend to empathize more with species similar to us, fundamentally mammals, for which greater care and conservation efforts are exercised [67]. In contrast, there is a greater social rejection of other types of organisms, mainly invertebrates [68], which could favor greater support for the sacrifice of invasive taxa of this type, according to the present study in relation to the signal crab.…”

Lipids from Hermetia illucens, an Innovative and Sustainable Source

“…Finally, insects could be used to fight malnutrition in developing countries [31]. For insect farming there are also fewer animal welfare constraints than for other conventionally farmed animal species [27,32]. Insects present few risks regarding the transmission of infections and zoonoses [33], being taxonomically distant from common farmed species.…”