Animal Rights: the Debate

Animals have the status of objects in law, and so a dog is the property of his/her owner. Surely then, breaking into the owner's premises and taking the owner's dog without consent must then constitute theft? Not necessarily so. At Cambridge Crown Court recently, a jury found that defendants had not acted dishonestly in removing [some might say rescuing]  beagles from MBR, a breeding facility where the dogs would be used in medical research.  We consider some of the legal issues arising out of the two trials that have taken place, each with a different outcome. We also discuss the amendment to legislation that will make it a criminal offence to interfere with the use or operation of an animal research facility, and the prospect of a  legal challenge to the legality of such a provision.  We also acknowledge the contribution of the late Brigitte Bardot, the first celebrity to champion the cause of animal rights at a time else when no other public figure seemed to care.     

A radical plan to improve the lives of animals, or empty promises that are bound to fail? We consider the U.K. Government's recently published Animal Welfare Strategy, which acknowledges the moral dimension of our relationship with other animals, and the ways in which it seeks to address current shortcomings. 

A look back over the year, with some positive developments and some not so good. Donate here: https://ko-fi.com/animalrightsdebate Join the WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/LTGteTLZkwI9XUtB1Xxfen Find out more: https://linktr.ee/animalrightsdebate

Animal Zone is an animal welfare series concentrating on animal rescue and sanctuaries. Arthur von Wiesenberger joins us to talk about his award-winning work bringing animals closer to us, with the intention to educate, entertain, and inspire. Donate here: https://ko-fi.com/animalrightsdebate Join the WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/LTGteTLZkwI9XUtB1Xxfen Find out more: https://linktr.ee/animalrightsdebate

Rescuing animals from factory farms and laboratories, openly, and inviting prosecution for such alleged 'crimes', is an effective tactic that has widespread support in the U.S.A. and in the U.K. We talk to Wayne Hsiung, a former law professor, who was instrumental in founding Direct Action Everywhere in the U.S., about the principle of direct action, how social change is achieved, and strategy for the future. He also co-founded The Simple Heart newsletter, which can be found at simpleheart@substack.com Donate here: https://ko-fi.com/animalrightsdebate Join the WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/LTGteTLZkwI9XUtB1Xxfen Find out more: https://linktr.ee/animalrightsdebate

We pay tribute to the late Jane Goodall who revolutionised our understanding of chimpanzees , discuss the legal action action that has just been commenced against one of the largest poultry 'processors' in the U.K due to their alleged pollution of the River Wye, and welcome a development in the armed forces that shows ethical veganism is gaining momentum in unexpected places. Join us for a round-up about what's happening in the news. Donate here: https://ko-fi.com/animalrightsdebate Join the WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/LTGteTLZkwI9XUtB1Xxfen Find out more: https://linktr.ee/animalrightsdebate

What have the two largest world religions got to say about how we should treat animals? David and Martyn speak to Joyce D'Silva, the author of Animal Welfare in World Religion: Teaching and Practice, about the good and bad aspects of Christianity and Islam in relation to our relationship with animals. Donate here: https://ko-fi.com/animalrightsdebate Join the WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/LTGteTLZkwI9XUtB1Xxfen Find out more: https://linktr.ee/animalrightsdebate

The world seen through the eyes of cats and dogs, cultivated meat, and the campaign against factory farming, are the focus of our discussion today. Join David and Martyn for a look at what's happening in the UK and elsewhere. Donate here: https://ko-fi.com/animalrightsdebate Join the WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/LTGteTLZkwI9XUtB1Xxfen Find out more: https://linktr.ee/animalrightsdebate

Although the legal safeguards for animals are inadequate, things are changing. Throughout much of the world, judges are establishing that animals are entitled to moral consideration and that their interests should be taken into account. Ankita Shanker has a PhD in law and a distinguished academic record, with wide-ranging interests in the field of animal and human rights. Join us as she gives us an overview of legal developments on the international scene. Donate here: https://ko-fi.com/animalrightsdebate Join the WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/LTGteTLZkwI9XUtB1Xxfen Find out more: https://linktr.ee/animalrightsdebate

Kimberly Moore, a tax lawyer with an international law firm in Washington DC, Director of Public Relations at the FUR FREE SOCIETY, and a member of the Animal Law Committee of the American Bar Association, talks to us about her recent book The Case for the Legal Protection of Animals: Humanity's Shared Destiny with the Animal Kingdom, and the broad issues it raises.  Donate here: https://ko-fi.com/animalrightsdebate Join the WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/LTGteTLZkwI9XUtB1Xxfen Find out more: https://linktr.ee/animalrightsdebate

Freedom is denied to large numbers of animals who are held in captivity or exploited, and Born Free is at the forefront of the campaign to protect such animals. But is there a conflict between the interests of animals as individuals, and protecting a species? For whose benefit is the principle of conservation? Join us for a wide-ranging discussion with Mark Jones, Head of Policy at Born Free. Donate here: https://ko-fi.com/animalrightsdebate Join the WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/LTGteTLZkwI9XUtB1Xxfen Find out more: https://linktr.ee/animalrightsdebate

In the Bible we are given a vision of a vegan world: 'God said: 'See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food' [Genesis 1:29]. And elsewhere in the Bible there are positive statements about, and positive images of, our relationship with animals that encourage compassion towards them. Jesus is, after all, born in a cowshed surrounded by animals.  So why are the Jewish and Christian traditions regarded by many - including Anglican bishops - as justifying the exploitation and killing of animals for food? We discuss these and other issues with Joyce D'Silva, a scholar, and author of Animal Welfare in World Religion: Teaching and Practice.   Donate here: https://ko-fi.com/animalrightsdebate Join the WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/LTGteTLZkwI9XUtB1Xxfen Find out more: https://linktr.ee/animalrightsdebate

Our treatment of animals raises profound - and controversial - issues. How can we resolve the moral questions? In an age where we seem to have lost the capacity to engage in constructive discussion, perhaps a Greek philosopher who lived two and half thousand years ago can show us the way forward. Socrates provides us with a form of dialogue that can reveal inconsistencies and errors, and lead us to a reasoned and valid conclusion. David and Martyn apply his method to animal experimentation. Donate here: https://ko-fi.com/animalrightsdebate Join the WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/LTGteTLZkwI9XUtB1Xxfen Find out more: https://linktr.ee/animalrightsdebate

In this episode, Emma Slawinski, newly appointed CEO of the League Against Cruel Sports in the UK, discusses the ways in which the landmark ban on the hunting of wild mammals with dogs needs to be tightened, in particular to outlaw so-called trail hunting (which is foxhunting by any other name). She explains how her upbringing led her to value animals as individuals and why the organised shooting of animals causes so much harm, not just to the shot animals. An optimist by nature, she believes in the essential goodness of human beings and why it is therefore important to engage with opponents. Donate here: https://ko-fi.com/animalrightsdebate Join the WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/LTGteTLZkwI9XUtB1Xxfen Find out more: https://linktr.ee/animalrightsdebate

Parliament debates animal experiments (again), a new campaign against factory farming is launched, and the High Court confirms that animal welfare can be a material consideration when a planning authority considers an application for a factory farm. These are just some of the major issues discussed in our latest news round up. Donate here: https://ko-fi.com/animalrightsdebate Join the WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/LTGteTLZkwI9XUtB1Xxfen Find out more: https://linktr.ee/animalrightsdebate

In the second of our two-part discussion about experiments on animals, we talk to Pandora Pound and Rachel Smith about the reliability or otherwise of scientific research using animals, much of which causes profound suffering. They discuss examples of where animal experiments have failed to predict serious adverse effects in people and the huge potential of various non-animal approaches. They also focus on the ethical imperative of using methods which give the best chance of cures for serious illnesses, subject to the overall proviso that unethical methods (such as experimenting non-consensually on people) should not be used. Donate here: https://ko-fi.com/animalrightsdebate Join the WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/LTGteTLZkwI9XUtB1Xxfen Find out more: https://linktr.ee/animalrightsdebate

In this episode, we talk to Pandora Pound of Safer Medicine (UK) and Rachel Smith of Animal Free Research Advocacy (Australia), about the reliability (or otherwise) of research using animals and how researchers got hooked on using animals despite highly questionable results. What are the economic and other pressures? Do animal models, artificially creating human diseases in (non-human) animals, actually work? In contentious areas, how should one guard against confirmation bias – the temptation to cherry-pick data which fits one's ethical position? Donate here: https://ko-fi.com/animalrightsdebate Join the WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/LTGteTLZkwI9XUtB1Xxfen Find out more: https://linktr.ee/animalrightsdebate

Our knowledge of [other] animals has increased hugely over the last few decades, and so it has become more difficult to deny them the same sort of moral consideration we grant our own species. Professor Grace Clement of Salisbury University in the USA specialises in animal ethics. We talk to her about the moral status of animals, the nature of morality, and the feminist ethic of care. Donate here: https://ko-fi.com/animalrightsdebate Join the WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/LTGteTLZkwI9XUtB1Xxfen Find out more: https://linktr.ee/animalrightsdebate

Join us for a round up of recent developments in relation to animal issues, from the way bird flu is spreading to humans, the effect net zero could have on meat consumption, to the controversial subject of animal experiments. Donate here: https://ko-fi.com/animalrightsdebate Join the WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/LTGteTLZkwI9XUtB1Xxfen Find out more: https://linktr.ee/animalrightsdebate

Cultivated meat offers the prospect of a world without the horrors of livestock farming, with the added benefit of protecting the environment, mitigating climate change, and improving human health. Philip Lymbery, the CEO of Compassion in World Farming, who has co-authored the book Cultivated Meat: To Secure Our Future, joins us for a discussion on this ground-breaking development. Donate here: https://ko-fi.com/animalrightsdebate Join the WhatsApp community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/LTGteTLZkwI9XUtB1Xxfen Find out more: https://linktr.ee/animalrightsdebate