General Article Pets: is it ethical to keep them?

Topic Selected: Animal Rights Book Volume: 374
This article is 6 years old. Click here to view the latest articles for this topic.

 

Corey Lee Wrenn, University of Kent

According to the UK veterinary charity The People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), half of Britons own a pet. Many of these owners view the 11.1m cats, 8.9m dogs, and 1m rabbits sharing their homes as family members. But although we love them, care for them, celebrate their birthdays and mourn them when they pass, is it ethical to keep pets in the first place? Some animal rights activists and ethicists, myself included, would argue that it is not.

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