Abstract
In this chapter, I defend the claim that if nonhuman animals have certain basic moral rights, then this requires that we extend to them what I call “full political standing.” Full political standing includes legal rights, legal standing so others can bring legal suits on behalf of animals, and some form of institutionalized political representation. I argue that only if we incorporate other animals into our legal and political institutions in these ways will humans be able to effectively protect and uphold their basic moral rights. I finish by considering a few objections to extending political inclusion to other animals in these ways.
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- 1.
DeGrazia, David, Taking Animals Seriously: Mental Life and Moral Status (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996).
- 2.
Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka, “Animals in Political Theory” in The Oxford Handbook of Animal Studies, ed. Linda Kalof (New York: Oxford University Press, 2017), pp. 43–64.
- 3.
Chris Stone, “Should Trees Have Standing?—Toward Legal Rights for Natural Objects”, Southern California Law Review 45 (1972), p. 458.
- 4.
Cass Sunstein, “Can Animals Sue?” in Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions, eds. Cass Sunstein and Martha Nussbaum (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), p. 261.
- 5.
Reece v Edmonton (City) (2011) ABCA 238 (CanLII), http://canlii.ca/t/fmjhh, p. 21.
- 6.
See New York City Audubon Society, Bird-Safe Building Guidelines (2015), p. 37. Available at: http://www.nycaudubon.org/images/pdf/Bird-Friendly_Building_Design_2015.pdf.
- 7.
One exception to this are jurisdictions with Ombudsmen dedicated to the issue of child welfare.
- 8.
See Siobhan O’Sullivan, Animals, Equality, and Democracy (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011).
- 9.
John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971), p. 505.
- 10.
Harris Poll #41, July 16, 2015. Retrieved from http://www.theharrispoll.com/health-and-life/Pets-are-Members-of-the-Family.html.
- 11.
See Robert Garner and Siobhan O’Sullivan, eds., The Political Turn in Animal Ethics, (New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2016).
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Hooley, D. (2018). Animals and Political Standing. In: Boonin, D. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Philosophy and Public Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93907-0_23
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93907-0_23
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