Humane Society Institute for Science and Policy
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Tourism in the Arctic: A Catalyst for Good or Bad?
No full textThe Arctic, a region extending from the North Pole into Canada, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States, has experienced global warming at twice the rate of the rest of the planet. The likely cause of such higher temperatures? Loss of sea ice. “When bright and reflective ice melts, it gives way to a darker ocean; this amplifies the warming trend because the ocean surface absorbs more heat from the Sun than the surface of snow and ice.” (NASA)
The question is not “can humans talk?” or “can they suffer?” but “can they reason?”
No full textIn their target article, Rowan et al (2022) make a welcome attempt to chart the development of Western progress over the past two hundred years toward formally recognizing that animals feel. They outline the heroic efforts of Compassion in World Farming to gain for animals the status of sentient beings rather than merely human property. A broader view exists, from human prehistory to the present day, in which animals have been (and still are) understood to be sentient by indigenous peoples as well as by some Eastern religions. Growing recognition in the West that animals feel represents a new age of enlightenment
Wildlife Fertility Control: An Alternative to Lethal Management of Wildlife
No full textThe first international conference on wildlife fertility control was held in Philadelphia in 1987. Subsequently, approximately one such event has been organized every four years (the 9th conference being held 35 years after the first). In 2017 and 2022, the Botstiber Institute for Wildlife Fertility Control (Institute) organized the most recent two meetings. The Institute is a new initiative of the Botstiber Foundation in Philadelphia, whose trustees decided to establish a specific program on wildlife fertility control. They founded the Institute in 2016 in partnership with the Humane Society of the United States. While the conference featured the customary talks on wild horse contraception and urban deer, it also included more diverse discussions. For example, topics included pigeon control, contraception attempts of hippopotami in Colombia (escapees from a zoo set up by drug kingpin Pablo Escobar), grey squirrels in the UK, kangaroos in Australia, and baboons in South Africa
Truly minimal criteria for animal sentience
No full textThe criteria for determining animal sentience proposed in the target article are sensible but they lack an explicit functional justification for the focus on pain. This commentary provides an abbreviated account of the most basic functional principles that underpin animal sentience and articulates some minimal criteria for determining its presence
The Donkey: An Unsung Hero of Human Civilization
No full textDonkeys receive little respect but provide critical support and livelihood for millions of people worldwide
The Long Journey Home for the Holidays
No full textThe Ukraine war threatens animals in zoos. Read about the journey for eleven lions from Ukraine to new homes in the United States and South Africa
International Finance Corporation - Improving Animal Welfare in livestock Operations
No full texthttps://www.wellbeingintlstudiesrepository.org/boocov/1034/thumbnail.jp
IPCC - Climate Change 2022 - Full Report
No full texthttps://www.wellbeingintlstudiesrepository.org/boocov/1029/thumbnail.jp
UN Harmony with Nature
No full texthttps://www.wellbeingintlstudiesrepository.org/boocov/1027/thumbnail.jp
Modernizing Medical Research to Benefit People and Animals
No full textIn the context of widespread public and political concern around the use of animals in research, we sought to examine the scientific, ethical, and economic arguments around the replacement of animals with New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) and to situate this within a regulatory context. We also analyzed the extent to which animal replacement aligns with British public and policymakers’ priorities and explored global progress towards this outcome. The global context is especially relevant given the international nature of regulatory guidance on the safety testing of new medicines. We used a range of evidence to analyze this area, including scientific papers; expert economic analysis; public opinion polls and the Hansard of the UK Parliament. We found evidence indicating that replacing animals with NAMs would benefit animal welfare, public health and the economy. The majority of the British public is in favor of efforts to replace animals and focusing on this area would help to support the British Government’s current policy priorities. We believe that this evidence underlines the need for strong action from policymakers to accelerate the transition from animal experiments to NAMs. The specific measure we suggest is to introduce a new ministerial to coordinate and accelerate the replacement of animals with NAMs