Agricultural Animal Bioethics Curriculum Module 1

Please note that Modules 1-3 are currently being updated. Content may be modified at a later date.

Module Lectures and Supplementary Materials

• Module 1, Lecture 1: "Ethics and Animals: An Introduction"
• Module 1, Lecture 2: "A Framework for Deliberation"
• Module 1, Lecture 3: Facilitating Moral Reasoning - Ethical Accounting 

Module 1, Lecture 1: "Ethics and Animals: An Introduction"

Presentation

• Module 1, Lecture 1 Presentation (PDF)

Reading

• Thompson, Paul. Forthcoming. "Animal Ethics: Probing the Philosophical Issues." Forthcoming in Joy Mench, ed., Advances in Agricultural Animal Welfare. Manuscript copies available from the author.

Cases

• The lecture includes brief descriptions of the Ossabaw Island pigs (slide #26) and laying hen housing (slides ##27-28) as illustrations of "the interaction between ethics and science."
• A number of the cases stored on our web site could also work after this lecture, such as:
  • "Two Views of Horse Slaughter" (PDF)
  • "Perches for Laying Hens" (PDF)
  • "Specific Agricultural Practices" (PDF)

Module 1, Lecture 2: "A Framework for Deliberation"

Presentation

• Module 1, Lecture 2 Presentation (PDF)

Reading

• Croney, Candace C. and Raymond Anthony. 2011. "Invited Review: Ruminating Conscientiously: Scientific and Socio-Ethical Challenges for U.S. Dairy Production." Journal of Dairy Science 94(2): 539-546.

Cases

• The lecture includes "the case of the morally relevant differences between the pig and the dog" (slides ##8-9).
• Also "castration and dehorning without anesthetic or analgesic relief" and "government land used for grazing versus public recreation use" are mentioned (slide #15).
• "Should tail docking be banned" is also mentioned (slide #22).
• A number of the cases stored on our web site would also work after this lecture, such as:
  • "Chronic Lameness Under a Horse Slaughter Ban" (PDF)
  • "Perches for Laying Hens" (PDF)

Module 1, Lecture 3: Facilitating Moral Reasoning - Ethical Accounting [with Campbell’s Ethical Assessment Framework]

Presentation

• Module 1, Lecture 3 Presentation (PDF)

Reading

• Croney, Candace and R. Anthony. 2010. "Engaging Science in a Climate of Values: Tools for Animal Scientists Tasked with Addressing Ethical Problems." (PDF) Journal of Animal Science 88(13): E75-E81. doi:10.2527/jas.2009-2353

Cases

• The lecture uses the case of horse slaughter as a fairly detailed illustration of Campbell’s ethical assessment framework (slides #6-14).
• It also uses a case of cheating in an animal science class to illustrate it (slides ##15-25).
• It concludes (after the "Take home messages slide" #27) with a fairly complex case involving teams of students working through a three step process of deliberation.
• The cases stored on our web site include two on horse slaughter:
  • "Chronic Lameness Under a Horse Slaughter Ban" (PDF)
  • "Two Views of Horse Slaughter" (PDF)
• There are also three cases relating to professional ethics:
  • "Incident in the Dairy Teaching Facility" (PDF)
  • "Heard of HERDA?" (PDF)
  • "Permission First or Forgiveness Later?" (PDF)