Outline of the 4 ethical issues to be considered

Question 1

Key moral issues raised by ethical issues relating to the use of animals

Answer 1

• whether or not humans have the right to use animals for food, in scientific procedures, in blood sports or as a source of organs for transplant without their consent, given that they possess sentinence, social organisation and cognitive skills
• whether or not animals have a right to life
• whether or not animals have a right to protection from unnecessary amd avoidable suffering

Question 2

the use of animals for food; intensive farming

Answer 2

• the food industry is geared towards mass production to meet high demand
• animals for use in the food industry are often kept in crowded and filthy conditions or in tiny cages
• they are subject, often with no anaesthetic, to painful procedures such as debeaking and branding
• the meat industry contributes to the global problem of hunger sinec cattle require far more grain than they can produce meat

Question 3

the use of animals in scientific procedures; cloning

Answer 3

• there are mass breeding programmes in government licensed research institutions to produce sufficient animals for testing the safety and efficacy of drugs and vaccines and for research into certain diseases
• cloning of animals is also used for a range of things e.g. preserving endangered species, making them disease resistant, improving meat and milk yields
• with cloning, there are concerns about a slippery slope that will result in human-animal hybrids
• there are also concerns about the risks and the suffering entailed in animal cloning

Question 4

the use of animals in bloodsports

Answer 4

• there are sports that involve bloodhed for animals and often death
• their sole intention is to provide a source of entertainment for humans
• the animals used undergo terrible physical and emotional suffering

Question 5

the use of animals as a source of organs for transplants

Answer 5

• xenotransplantation is used in medical research e.g. transplanting human tumour cells into mice
• transgenic pigs are being produced with the aim of transplanting their hearts into humans which will then address the shortage of human hearts for donation
• there are concerns about the transmission f animal diseases into humans and their possible mutation into something even more deadly