Reflecting on Ethical and Legal Issues in Wildlife Disease

Abstract

Disease in wildlife raises a number of issues that have not been widely considered in the bioethical literature. However, wildlife disease has major implications for human welfare. The majority of emerging human infectious diseases are zoonotic: that is, they occur in humans by cross‐species transmission from animal hosts. Managing these diseases often involves balancing concerns with human health against animal welfare and conservation concerns. Many infectious diseases of domestic animals are shared with wild animals, although it is often unclear whether the infection spills over from wild animals to domestic animals or vice versa. Culling is the standard means of managing such diseases, bringing economic considerations, animal welfare and conservation into conflict. Infectious diseases are also major threatening processes in conservation biology and their appropriate management by culling, vaccination or treatment raises substantial animal ethics issues. One particular issue of great significance in Australia is an ongoing research program to develop genetically modified pathogens to control vertebrate pests including rabbits, foxes and house mice. Release of any self‐replicating GMO vertebrate pathogen gives rise to a whole series of ethical questions. We briefly review current Australian legal responses to these problems. Finally, we present two unresolved problems of general importance that are exemplified by wildlife disease. First, to what extent can or should ‘bioethics’ be broadened beyond direct concerns with human welfare to animal welfare and environmental welfare? Second, how should the irreducible uncertainty of ecological systems be accounted for in ethical decision making?

Fishing diseased abalone to promote yield and conservation

“…Managing disease-impacted fisheries therefore sustains a modest harvest and protects the population at large from disease by (i) reducing parasite prevalence and (ii) maintaining stock density near, at or above the densities achieved by fishery closure. Culling is a standard but often contentious way to control terrestrial wildlife diseases [11,13], bringing animal welfare, economic and conservation considerations into conflict [12]. Wild capture fisheries resolve this conflict in part because fish are treated more as a commodity than as wildlife [17,47].…”

“…[10]). Culling infected hosts is a standard yet often contentious way to manage terrestrial wildlife diseases [11][12][13]. In marine systems, this strategy faces added challenges, such as difficulties and costs associated with diagnosing cryptic infections.…”

Ética, ecosistema y organización social: el caso del virus zika

“…En ese intercambio se pueden transmitir enfermedades que serían prevenibles si se reconceptualizara la relación animalhumano en tanto ecosistemas integrales. Hay aspectos éticos y jurídicos importantes en las zoonosis como enfermedades de los animales vertebrados que se transmiten naturalmente al hombre (McCallum & Hocking, 2005) e igualmente del hombre a los animales. Es importante considerar el surgimiento de enfermedades infecciosas como parte de un proceso continuo de cambio dentro de las relaciones de los agentes en el ecosistema (Cutler et al, 2010) Hay ejemplos de hechos cuyos efectos son y han sido importantes en salud pública: cría de cerdos y patos en China (H5N1), cría de cerdos y aves en México (H1N1) y alimentación con cadáveres de ovejas enfermas a vacas cuyo alimento debiera ser el pasto (enfermedad de Creutzfeldt-Jakob).…”

Untitled

“…O objetivo das vacinas é reduzir perdas econômicas, produzir anticorpos e células de memória, bem como não transmitir a doença propriamente dita (Hagiwara & Megid, 2004). A vacinação de animais é relativamente fácil, o que ajuda a manter o bem estar animal, a prevenir surtos de doenças em humanos e animais (Morton, 2007), e controlar diversas zoonoses como a Raiva (McCallum & Hocking, 2005). Atualmente 75% das doenças infecciosas reemergentes são consideradas zoonoses, o que caracteriza a importância da vacinação para o controle destas enfermidades em animais (Lu tticken et al 2007).…”