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Wildlife conservation and animal welfare: two sides of the same coin?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

PC Paquet*
Affiliation:
Box 150, Meacham, SK S0K 2V0, Canada Faculty of Environmental Design, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada Raincoast Conservation Foundation, PO Box 77, Denny Island, British Columbia V0T 1B0, Canada
CT Darimont
Affiliation:
Raincoast Conservation Foundation, PO Box 77, Denny Island, British Columbia V0T 1B0, Canada Environmental Studies Department, 405 ISB, 1156 High Street, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: ppaquet@baudoux.ca

Abstract

Human activities deprive wild animals of their life requisites by destroying or impoverishing their surroundings, causing suffering of individuals. Yet, the notion that animal welfare applies to wildlife has escaped many animal welfarists and conservationists. A well-accepted and applied ethical foundation for animal conservation that considers animal welfare is lacking. We address this by examining how worldviews of conservationists and animal welfarists are related. The clear conceptual link is that individuals within anthropogenically disturbed populations often endure suffering caused by humans. Accordingly, our objectives are to provide an overview of wildlife conservation, integrate ethical aspects of wildlife conservation and animal welfare, and encourage a ‘wildlife welfare’ ethic among conservationists. We describe the relationship between contemporary socioeconomic and environmental conditions and the impoverished status of North American wildlife. We then describe the ecological plight of large mammalian carnivores in North America. Finally, as a case study, we focus on the tenuous lives of grey wolves (Canis lupus) living in the midst of human-dominated landscapes. We conclude that the suffering wildlife endures because of humans is a collective responsibility that presents a moral imperative for animal welfarists and conservationists alike. Habitat destruction and impoverishment deprives species of life requisites, causing trauma, prolonged suffering, and eventually death. We suggest that a shared doctrine of animal welfare principles is needed, such as a modified version of the internationally recognised Five Freedoms. In essence, this would be an ethical affirmation for conservationists and animal welfarists.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2010 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

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