Ethical Treatment of Animals

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Ethical Treatment of Animals SOC120: Introduction to Ethics & Social Responsibility Instructor: Raeven Chandler October 3, 2012 When someone mistreats an animal this is considered wrong. This can be considered an illegal act and a morally wrong act. Animals are innocent creatures that have no voice of their own and therefore need to have someone speak on their behalf. The use of deontology can resolve the issue of the ethical treatment of animals. Deontology resolves this issue by focusing on ways that we can treat animal fairly and creating laws that protect animals. Utilitarianism produces the greatest good for the greatest number of individuals, or animals. The theory of deontology focuses on what we are obligated to do as rational moral people (Mosser, 2010). Deontology is the study of moral obligation and necessity. Deontology looks at the reason that an act is done and the rule as to why someone chooses to act. It is regularly contrasted with the consequentialist theory of utilitarianism. In research it usually becomes necessary to use animals to find if something is safe to use. During this research there has to be care as to not mistreat the animal and to cause the least amount of pain or distress. Some say that this is impossible and we should go as far as to not use products that are tested on animals. As a rational moral person I would suggest that we use our own thoughts and ideas once the research has been done to determine if a products has been used on animals. My son was adamant about not using products that has been tested on animals and when asked if he knew if the product he was concerned about had been tested on animals he did not have an idea. He had not done the research to become informed. Deontology evaluates the morality of an act and when someone is practicing this theory they would view

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