Ethical Controversies Past and Present:
- Animal research
- GMOs and other drug enhancements used on factory farms
- Living conditions of animals on factory farms
- Abusive pet owners
Although the problem of animal mistreatment and cruelty has not been resolved, there are some laws and regulations regarding animal safety now in place.
Future of Animal Rights
Animal rights seems to be a battle between the people that will rage on for many years to come. For this reason, there are a few ethical issues that may be on the horizon:
Question: Despite research done on genetics in relation to animal welfare, is feeding genetically modified food to animals unethical if these modifications are also harming humans?
- Genetics and Animal Welfare
- Through genetic selection and genetically modified food, animals on factory farms are growing larger and meatier than they would normally be
- For example, in 1923 it took sixteen weeks to produce a broiler chicken but after having genetically selected chicken in the population, it only took six and a half weeks to produce a broiler chicken in 1993 (Grandin and Deesing, 1998).
- Although researching conducted on animals is not a new ethical issue, animal test subjects are becoming more prevalent
- In the UK alone, the number of procedures conducted in 2012 increased by 8%, or 4.11 million, from the previous year (UAR News Team, 2013).
Question: Despite research done on genetics in relation to animal welfare, is feeding genetically modified food to animals unethical if these modifications are also harming humans?