Species justice and harm to animals - Environmental Harm: An Eco-justice Perspective - page 102

of Animals (PETA) are among the prominent supporters of animal
welfare and rights.
It has been observed that nonhuman animals are frequently considered
in primarily instrumental terms (as 'pets', as food, as resources) in
mainstream and conservation criminology, and are categorised in
mainly anthropomorphic terms (such as 'wildlife', 'fisheries') that
belie the ways in which humans create and classify animals as Other
(Beirne, 2007, 2009; Sollund, 2012a). From an animal rights theoretical
framework, one key issue revolves around how rights are constructed:
via utilitarian theory that emphasises the consequential goal of
minimising suffering and pain; via rights theory that emphasises the
right to respectful treatment; and via feminist theory that emphasises
the ethic of responsible care (Beirne 2007; Adams, 1996; Singer, 1975).
Traditional theorising about animals, within an animal concern
paradigm, can largely be characterised as lying on a scale ranging
from a welfarist approach to a rights-based approach. The focus of
the welfarist approach is the humane treatment of animals (Ibrahim,
2006). This model advocates for the protection of animals through
increased welfare-based interventions but not the prohibition of animal
exploitation. The model is focused on improvements to the treatment
of animals but does not challenge the embedded exploitation of animals
that is a consequence of their social and legal status (Ibrahim, 2006).
Implicit in this is that animals may still be exploited for their flesh, fur
and skin provided their suffering is not 'unnecessary', or as often put,
the animals are treated humanely.
At the other end of the spectrum is the rights-based approach. At
the extreme end this approach contends that animals have rights to live
free from human interference. This approach argues for the abolition of
animal exploitation through both legal and non-legal change and for
the legal recognition of rights for animals. Central to this approach is
changing the legal character of animals from property to legal, rights-
bearing entities (see Wise, 2001, 2004; Francione, 2010).
How harm to animals is conceptualised thus very much depends
upon the perspective one has on the ontological status of animals
(their essential 'nature' or 'being'), and how one views the relationship
between humans and nonhuman animals.
Contentious concepts: species justice
This section provides an overview of concepts that frame debates
over the status of animals and the harms to which they are subjected
within the context of this framing. It includes discussion of speciesism,