Animal biotechnology and animal welfare
By M. Gjerris, A. Olsson & P. Sandøe (2006)
Animal Welfare. Council of Europe Publishing
Introduction
During the past 30 years biotechnology has been used to develop a range of useful types of animal. These animals have made huge contributions to basic research and biomedicine and are beginning to enter the agricultural production system. This development raises a number of ethical questions. The central issue, as is so often the case, is about the boundaries of ethical acceptability.
Most people would readily agree that there is a difference between what humans can do and what they ought to do. Equally, most people would happily acknowledge that it is good to do the morally right thing. However, the harmony usually ends there, because although it is easy to agree that a good thing should be promoted, it is often hard to reach consensus on what that good thing is, how it can be promoted, and where to draw the line between what is acceptable and what is not. As soon as we begin discussing these questions, whether in private or in public, we are engaging in ethical discussion – discussion in which we seek to establish a substantial understanding of the concepts of good and right that can guide our choices when we are faced with opportunities whose acceptability appears uncertain.
The issue of ethical acceptability has closely shadowed developments within biotechnology over the past 30 years, not least when it comes to animal biotechnology. A range of possibilities including reproductive technologies, genetic modification and cloning has prompted concern about the ethical limits of our use of animals. It is probably an understatement to say that discussion has so far led to no consensus in the public sphere, but it would also be an overstatement to say that the debate has been futile. What has emerged, among other things, is a clearer understanding of the basic ethical assumptions behind the different viewpoints, together with greater attention to our ethical duties to animals.
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