Species justice and harm to animals - Environmental Harm: An Eco-justice Perspective - page 129

How humans deal with recalcitrant wolves or 'unnecessary' foxes
mirrors decisions made in regard to domesticated animals as well. This
is especially evident when considering 'dangerous dogs'. Companion
animals refer to those animals primarily kept for companionship. It
differs from the broader term of 'pet' which includes animals used
for ornamental purposes and those kept for competitive or sporting
activities (Serpell, 2010: 133). The prevalence of companion animal
ownership in the western world is high, particularly in relation to cats
and dogs. Birds are also kept as companion animals, as are fish and horses.
The economic value of companion animals is reflected in the huge
industries that have developed in relation to the feeding, grooming,
health, training, provision of daycare and longer-term temporary
lodging, availability of specialist beaches and play areas, designer
products including clothes and hats, and the list goes on. The enormous
expansion of the pet and companion animal industries has left many
animals vulnerable to abuse and exploitation in their human homes.
It has also contributed to the endangerment of many species, such as
parrots, which are abducted, trafficked and traded through both legal
and illegal means (Sollund, 2011). As the population of some species
reduce in size, their scarcity itself will generate lucrative markets for
what is left in the wild.
Not all companion animals generate good press however. For
example, dog attacks and dog bites, particularly in relation to children in
the 1-4 years age group, is considered a major potential risk in relation
to companion animals (Gullone and Clarke, 2010) and high profile cases
in Australia and the UK in recent years have seen legislative efforts to
ban certain dog breeds altogether (see Halsworth, 2011). In the media,
the 'blame' has been put squarely on the backs of the 'beasts', although
poor human handling has also been cited. Nonetheless, the implication
is that there are innately 'bad' kinds of dogs that require extra special
care and control. Inevitably this is accompanied by regular calls to
destroy 'dangerous' breeds and to limit traffic of such animals worldwide.
Ethical and moral dilemmas involving animals - in life and death
situations - also extend to instances where individual animals of one
species are sacrificed for the sake of the preservation of an entire other
species, which can be either plant or animal. What is at stake here is
an either/or choice, not one based upon simple human expediency as
with the case of the Norwegian polar fox.
In a 1996 case, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service moved
to poison 6,000 gulls at Monomoy National Wildlife
Refuge off Cape Cod, in order to save 35 piping plovers, an