Introduction - Killing Happy Animals: Explorations in Utilitarian Ethics - page 1

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Introduction
1 The aim of this topic
It is broadly accepted that animal husbandry is morally sound, provided
that the animals are treated well. But can this position be morally justi-
fied? A common justification for animal-friendly animal husbandry is
that the animals are granted pleasant lives, usually in connection with the
claim that they would not exist at all if it were not for the purpose of our
consumption. By consuming and farming animals, we are actually enabling
their existence and granting them a pleasant life, which seems better than
not existing at all. The objective of this topic is an examination of this and
other arguments in favour of animal-friendly animal husbandry. I claim
that one cannot coherently accept these arguments without committing
to other positions, which most of us would not be willing to accept.
Animal-friendly animal husbandry is conceived as a moral goal. 1 I am
writing this topic in the Netherlands, which is one of the most densely
populated countries with about 16 million human inhabitants. In this
small country, 12 million pigs are kept in animal husbandry. Even
though these animals are invisible to the general public, due to their
number and the way they are treated, these pigs, and farmed animals
in general, undergo a lot of suffering. It is broadly acknowledged in the
Netherlands and in other Western countries that this suffering matters
morally. Animals are considered due objects of our moral concern. Their
welfare matters to them, and therefore it is broadly accepted that we
may not neglect it. This acknowledgment has resulted in a political and
societal striving for animal-friendly animal husbandry.
Animal-friendly animal husbandry is a moral goal that strikes me
as inherently inconsistent. On one hand, it is assumed that animals
deserve our moral consideration and that causing them suffering should
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