Global S&T Development Trend Analysis Platform of Resources and Environment
| DOI | 10.1126/science.abe5111 |
| Animal welfare science aids conservation—Response | |
| Nitin Sekar; Derek Shiller | |
| 2020-10-09 | |
| 发表期刊 | Science
 |
| 出版年 | 2020 |
| 英文摘要 | We agree with Lynch and Blumstein that decision-makers must consider the opportunity costs—financial and ethical—of conservation programming. Making decisions in the face of such trade-offs will inevitably require value judgments. Decision-makers will likely continue to conclude that interventions that harm individual animals, such as culling, are sometimes merited by the benefits and necessitated by financial constraints.
Even so, explicit consideration of animal welfare could lead to affordable improvements when ideal alternatives are unworkable. For instance, evidence suggests that aerial culling operations might entail acceptable levels of duress for feral horses if done properly ([ 1 ][1]). For a marginal increase in cost, conservation organizations could promote oversight by independent animal welfare experts to ensure adherence to best practices during unavoidable culling operations.
Focusing too much on the current financial costs of humane alternatives could cause the conservation community to discount the value of prioritizing animal welfare. We hope that recognition of the moral relevance of individual animals' life experiences could lead to innovations that circumvent difficult trade-offs . For instance, conservationists have already demonstrated the promise of contraceptives to address population control for horses ([ 2 ][2]). Giving animal welfare the appropriate weight could motivate efforts to reduce the costs of contraceptive programs. Prioritization drives innovation.
Arlinghaus et al. are likely correct that an instrumental approach, which sets aside the issue of suffering, eases the introduction of some safeguards for animal welfare in recreational fishing. However, experts remain divided on the capacity for consciousness in fish ([ 3 ][3], [ 4 ][4]). If fish can suffer, protections based solely on instrumental considerations would be inadequate. Conservation organizations should, wherever practical, establish policies that reflect the diversity of evidence on suffering in fish. The uncertainty about what fish can experience—in contrast to the expert consensus about the capacity for mammals and birds to suffer—highlights how animal welfare institutions in conservation must navigate diverse challenges across taxa. Formal concern for animal welfare could not only shape conservation practice but also influence the direction of fundamental research on the quality of animal life.
Hampton et al. describe the work done by animal welfare scientists in conservation. Our Policy Forum did not claim that animal welfare science in conservation would be novel but rather that it deserves more attention and institutional support. The public looks to conservation organizations for leadership in how to ethically engage with other species. As such, institutional safeguards for animal welfare should be at least as much a priority in conservation as in academic research. The small minority of conservation organizations that do explicitly recognize animal welfare concerns [e.g., ([ 5 ][5], [ 6 ][6])] have demonstrated that policies promoting animal welfare in conservation are practicable.
We agree with Hampton et al. that animal welfare science should not be biased by unsubstantiated pre-existing beliefs. However, once enough evidence has accumulated, evidence-driven advocacy can be crucial for translating science into societal improvement. The harms from factory farming to billions of domestic animals [e.g., ([ 7 ][7], [ 8 ][8])], the climate, and biodiversity ([ 9 ][9], [ 10 ][10]) merit decisive action from conservation organizations. Whereas some substitutes for factory farming might have negative biodiversity consequences, other alternatives—such as diets that largely exclude animal products—can offer a clear net win for both animal welfare and biodiversity ([ 9 ][9], [ 10 ][10]).
Conservation organizations frequently engage in advocacy to build a better planet for animals, including efforts to shape the cultural and consumptive practices of people around the world ([ 11 ][11], [ 12 ][12]). When presented with evidence-based opportunities to improve the quality of animal life, conservation organizations must be receptive to altering their own practices as well.
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6. [↵][22]Sierra Club Board of Directors, “Policy on trapping of wildlife” (2012); [www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/uploads-wysiwig/Trapping-Wildlife.pdf][23].
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11. [↵][37]Global Wildlife Conservation, #endthetrade (2020); |
| 领域 | 气候变化 ; 资源环境 |
| URL | 查看原文 |
| 引用统计 | |
| 文献类型 | 期刊论文 |
| 条目标识符 | http://119.78.100.173/C666/handle/2XK7JSWQ/298078 |
| 专题 | 气候变化 资源环境科学 |
| 推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714 | Nitin Sekar,Derek Shiller. Animal welfare science aids conservation—Response[J]. Science,2020. |
| APA | Nitin Sekar,&Derek Shiller.(2020).Animal welfare science aids conservation—Response.Science. |
| MLA | Nitin Sekar,et al."Animal welfare science aids conservation—Response".Science (2020). |
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