- Broadening the scope of animal advocacy to include wild and intelligent animals, as well as invertebrates, is more than an ethical imperative, it is a practical necessity.
- “The interconnectedness of all life forms means that these animals’ well-being directly impacts the health of all beings, including humans, as well as ecosystems,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Over recent decades, animal advocacy efforts have been mainly geared towards domesticated animals – including farmed, laboratory and companion animals – and with good reason. Every year across the globe, approximately 70 billion animals are reared for food and 115 million animals used in laboratory experiments. But, what about all the other animals? Wild animals, liminal (intelligent) animals or even invertebrates?
If we adopt a narrower view of animal welfare and advocacy, we are forgetting about beings that do not live in our homes, such as urban rats or pigeons, but with whom we share cities. We are also ignoring invertebrates, such as wild pollinators, who contribute greatly to our shared ecosystems. For instance, in the UK, wild pollinators pollinate 85-95% of the country’s insect-pollinated crops, whilst honeybees are only responsible for 5-15%. Yet, there are way more efforts deployed to protect domesticated honeybees, than efforts directed towards the well-being of wild pollinators.
If we disregard these animals, then their suffering – primarily inflicted by human activities – is callously ignored. Pesticides impair the navigational capacities of honeybees, as well as of other wild pollinators. These substances also harm these insects’ hormonal health. Anticoagulant rodenticides leave urban rats bleeding to death, over the course of several days. The ancient Greek saying “out of sight, out of mind” holds all its meaning in this context. If these animals are not more widely represented in campaigns or in animal advocacy efforts, they will not be considered worthy of an adequate level of protection, consideration, or care. Consequently, in practice, they will have no access to such protection.
The lack of a lobby against specific species, such as wild pollinators, makes the resistance to change much lower than it is in other industries, such as the dairy or meat industries. Moreover, the implementation of small and tractable changes can, over time, have a great impact on the reduction of the suffering to which these animals are exposed. For example, if traditional rodent management methods were replaced by contraceptives, rats’ suffering would be considerably reduced. Not only could rats benefit from such a shift, but humans – especially children – as well as other species which are at risk of poisoning by rodenticides, such as birds and foxes, would also gain from a more ethical rodent management approach.
Sentience – “the moral minimum”
Sentience is the moral benchmark for granting non-human animals some form of protection. Let’s address the case of fish: despite there being much evidence of sentience in various fish species, their legal protection is still weak – for both wild and domesticated fish.
Given the substantial evidence supporting the sentience of various species, it is illogical to leave these beings out of advocacy efforts. Of course, in a practical sense, it may appear more relevant for organizations and individuals to advocate for farmed animals, for laboratory animals or for companion animals, because their fate may seem more intertwined with that of humans. Yet, our fate as humans is also largely intertwined with that of other non-domesticated animals. For instance, as mentioned earlier, wild pollinators are responsible for most insect-pollinated crops which, in turn, are responsible for a large share of humans’ food security.
Beyond the moral argument, the protection of all species is essential for ecological stability. Over the past two decades, there has been an increased focus on wild animal protection and welfare in policy-making cycles; particularly because of the numerous zoonotic diseases that have taken the world by storm – the most recent Covid-19 pandemic, Ebola, and avian flu, amongst others. We have seen the emergence of the concept of “One Health,” which is collaborative and interdisciplinary. It brings together knowledge from medical, veterinary and environmental sciences to prevent and manage diseases, whilst permitting consideration of the complex interactions between humans, animals and our shared ecosystems.
Moreover, it is no flash news that the world is currently facing its sixth mass extinction. Many wild and liminal animals are bearing the consequences of human activities and environmental changes: habitat destruction, climate change, pollution, urban expansion. The decline of many species can lead to the collapse of local, as well as global, ecosystems. More than ever, it is time to act.
More and more, the moral and environmental arguments in favor of “animal welfare beyond domesticated animals” have emerged in the advocacy strategies of animal welfare organizations. A few such organizations have decided to take on the challenge and advocate for the more neglected species.
Paris Animaux Zoopolis (PAZ), in France, focuses on liminal animals. The organization follows a framework established by Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka in their famous book “Zoopolis: a political theory of animal rights,” published in 2011.
The Swiss organization Sentience – most famously known for its initiative to abolish factory farming in the country – recently launched a campaign on “invisible animals.” It adopts an Effective Altruist (EA) approach to addressing problems faced by pigeons, rats, bees, as well as fish in aquaculture. For each species, Sentience has developed specific asks that they wish to introduce into the political arena. Sentience demands a range of measures, including the installation and maintenance of pigeon lofts in cities, a phase-out plan for rodenticides and pesticides, and enhanced legal protection for fish in aquaculture.
Broadening the scope of animal advocacy to include wild and liminal animals, as well as invertebrates, is more than an ethical imperative, it is a practical necessity. The interconnectedness of all life forms means that these animals’ well-being directly impacts the health of all beings, including humans, as well as ecosystems.
A more compassionate and ethical world emerges, in which consideration is given to the inherent moral value of all sentient beings, and the moral circle is expanded to other life forms. Furthermore, if we extend our moral consideration to all beings and recognize animals’ rights and welfare – regardless of their perceived utility to humans – we align with a broader vision of justice and equity.
Zoe Newton is the creator of the documentary, New York City’s Denizens – redefining the urban rat/ human relationship, and the author of the children’s book, “Rose’s nose kept her off her toes.“
Related audio from Mongabay’s podcast: An exploration of animal culture and social learning with author Carl Safina and whale researcher Hal Whitehead, listen here:
See related:
https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/audio-environmental-justice-and-urban-rat-infestations/
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