Animal Bioethics Principles and Teaching Methods edited by: M. Marie S. Edwards G. Gandini M. Reiss E. von Borell Animal Bioethics: Principles and Teaching Methods This book was partly developed within the AFANet Socrates Thematic Network for Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture and the Environment (2000-2004). This project has been carried out with the support of the European Community in the framework of Socrates programme. The content of this book does not necessarily reflect the position of the European Community, nor does it involve any responsibility on the part of European Community. Animal Bioethics Principles and Teaching Methods Edited by: M. Marie S. Edwards G. Gandini M. Reiss E. von Borell WWaaggeenniinnggeenn AAccaaddeemmiicc PPPP uuuu bbbbb llll iiii ssssss hhhh eeeeee rrrr ssssss This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned. Nothing from this publication may be translated, reproduced, stored in a Subject headings: computerised system or published in Moral philosophy any form or in any manner, including Education electronic, mechanical, reprographic Communication or photographic, without prior written permission from the publisher, Wageningen Academic Publishers, Photo cover by Jean-Pierre Avois P.O. Box 220, 6700 AE Wageningen, the Netherlands, www.WageningenAcademic.com ISBN: 978-90-76998-58-9 e-ISBN: 978-90-8686-545-1 The individual contributions in this DOI: 10.3920/978-90-8686-545-1 publication and any liabilities arising from them remain the responsibility of the authors. First published, 2005 The publisher is not responsible for possible damages, which could be a © Wageningen Academic Publishers result of content derived from this The Netherlands, 2005 publication. Preface It is a matter of fact that, nowadays, animal bioethics is assuming a growing importance in our societies. Issues such as, for example, the conditions of farm animals’ breeding and housing, transport and slaughter, the introduction of genetic engineering into animal production, the use of animals in experimentation, or wildlife in captivity for public demonstration, entertainment or even in a domestic environment as ‘new’ companion animals, are subjects of discussion and question our conceptions of the human-animal relationship. This situation can be attributed to multiple causes, including the evolution of practices and uses of animals, the abuses and misuses which have been brought to the attention of the public, the higher sensitivity of the general public to these issues, the growing influence of pressure groups and the consideration of such societal demands at the political level, and the evolution of the moral framework in a post-modern, multicultural, global society. As a consequence, there has been a reappraisal of the legal framework, first at different paces in individual European countries, then in a co-ordinated way in Europe from 1978 onwards. The subject is now under consideration at the international level under the auspices of the OIE (the World Organisation for Animal Health). This situation emphasises the increasing moral responsibility of professionals in their actions involving animals, and the necessity for them to communicate with the wider society in this respect. In order to respond to these concerns, many higher education institutions are engaged in a process of setting up new courses and curricula devoted to societal demands and the moral aspects of human action, and, specifically in veterinary, agronomy and science studies, to animal bioethics. This trend is rather new: as revealed by a survey performed in 2003 in 17 European countries, 43% of such courses were created during the previous five years. It appears also that the pedagogic practice in such courses is quite variable between institutions in terms of content, volume, background of the teachers, and teaching methods. However, these courses represent only a small share of the global curricula, and the topic is still largely excluded from biology textbooks. Accordingly, there is a need to share experience regarding this subject in terms of materials and teaching methods in order to help teachers to develop new courses and to spread good practice. This book, aimed at teachers, students, professionals, and every individual wanting to develop skills for communication and moral reasoning, is designed to fill this gap. Animal Bioethics:Principles and Teaching Methods 7 In the first chapters, this book addresses fundamental aspects of animal bioethics: concepts relating to the human-animal relationship and the corresponding moral positions are examined from different perspectives, according to the historical, philosophical, religious, cultural and economic points of view. The contributions of antic, virtue, deontologic, utilitarianist, contractualist or post-modern ethics are reviewed. Is humankind unique and different from animals (dualism), or do we all belong to the same community (monism), and what consequences should be inferred from the answer about ethical conduct towards animals? What are the implications linked to theo-, anthropo-, zoo- (or patho-), bio- or eco-centred world views? These questions are also tackled. Whilst animal welfare is often considered as the first, if not the only, entry to bioethics, broader approaches such as the respect for animal integrity or intrinsic value (based on cases such as blind or featherless hens obtained by selective breeding, or pigs genetically engineered in order to be used for xeno-transplantation) have also to be taken into account. Through the different contributions, the points of view of different parties and driving forces such as stockpersons, scientists, consumers, animal protectionist associations, lawyers, and economic forces, are explored. It is hoped that this in-depth analysis will contribute to the enhancement of the content of the teaching and give an understanding of the dynamics of the concept of bioethics, in the past as well as in the future. The second part of this book is about objectives, strategies and methods of teaching and communication. Beyond developing knowledge on fundamental aspects of ethics, with special reference to animal bioethics, the objectives are to increase sensitivity and awareness about this subject, to develop skills in moral reasoning and judgement for problem solving, and, also, to shape the moral psychology and moral behaviour of individuals. The proposed methods are mainly student-centred, facilitating an active participation of the learner, with intensive use of the problem-based learning approach. They present a large range of complexity, from simple games, to exercises of variable length, case studies (either constructed or real-life dilemmas), role playing, and structured tools such as the ethical matrix and the reflexive equilibrium method. They are adapted to the different stages of the learning process or to the final evaluation, and help in supporting the different levels of attainment, from specific phases (such as motivational, or analytical steps) to elaborated handling of complex cases. Description of existing courses, with reviews of experience, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches and the link between ethical theory and concrete cases, 8 Animal Bioethics:Principles and Teaching Methods on one hand, and the in-depth analysis of the content of a syllabus such as that devoted to animal welfare, on the other hand, will help in developing curricula, identifying relevant material and shaping ‘ideal libraries’. Three different indexes (i: philosophical concepts, schools, authors; ii: cases, situations; iii: teaching methods and objectives) have been designed to help locate relevant information and references within the book. The concept of this book arose during the course of the AFANet project, the European Socrates Thematic Network for Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture and the Environment (2000-2004), within the Aristoteles activity devoted to animal bioethics teaching. This activity incorporated the above-mentioned survey of contemporary practice in bioethics teaching, two workshops (Nancy 2002: “Teaching animal bioethics in agricultural and veterinary higher education in Europe”; Dublin 2004: “Design and implementation of case studies in animal ethics teaching”), and the development of an on-line course database (http://www.ensaia.inpl- nancy.fr/bioethics/). We hope that it will help the sharing of experience and the spreading of good practice in this still evolving domain. M. Marie S. Edwards G. Gandini M. Reiss E. von Borell Animal Bioethics:Principles and Teaching Methods 9