Abstract
Cruelty to animals is a case of the tragedy of the commons. Economics has been tackling this type of problems for a long time. The experience is mixed: some successful and some disastrous. The successes and the failures hold lessons for animal advocacy. To make the case, I consider the two major animal ethics—“animal rights” and “animal welfare.” And I argue that animals need them both.
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Notes
- 1.
The primary animal-rights group in the US today is Mercy for Animals.
- 2.
The primary animal-welfare group in the US today is The Humane Society of the United States.
- 3.
A real-world example of a calibration system for cruelty is that administered by Global Animal Partnership. The system has five “steps,” where a higher number means a less cruel method: Step 1: no crates, no cages, no crowding; Step 2: enhanced indoor environment; Step 3: outdoor access; Step 4: pasture centered; Step 5: animal centered; no physical alternations; Step 5+: entire life on same farm with on-site or local slaughter.
- 4.
Free trade includes commerce within a country. California has effectively blocked free trade by requiring that eggs sold in that state must come from hens that are raised in larger cages than those in most other states.
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Hardin, Garrett. “The Tragedy of the Commons.” Science, 162, 1968, pp. 1243–1248.
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Lee, L.W. (2018). Two Animal Ethics; Many More Economic Lessons. In: Behavioral Economics and Bioethics. Palgrave Advances in Behavioral Economics. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89779-0_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89779-0_11
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