Sir, – Can a cow be protected in the courts from being turned into a burger? Does a fish have the right not to be caught and killed? Should it be illegal to keep animals in zoos?
In Ireland, the idea that animals should be given certain basic rights in law is considered taboo by the legislators. As long as we view animals as commodities (to be bought and sold, to be used as profit-pawns in the entertainment and sport industries, to be raised and killed for food) and not as fully alive, sentient beings deserving of the basic right to life, animal welfare legislation will always favour the animal exploiter, or user. This is certainly the case in Ireland.
Across the water there are signs that the animal rights issue is finding its way onto the political agenda. A recent UK government-commissioned study concluded that lobsters and crabs are sentient, and the government is in the process of amending the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill to include them. In another development, the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law (CCARL), an educational charity, is providing an innovative course on animal rights law to students at the University of Cambridge, with a programme covering the ethics surrounding zoos and the moral quandaries of keeping pets, farming, animal testing and slaughtering for meat.
Animal welfare laws have existed since the 19th century but there are no laws supporting animal rights. The more we understand animals – their sentience, capabilities, emotions – the more that the idea of granting rights to animals is worth taking seriously. The creation of such laws could mean that animals are granted legal protections of their basic interests, such as being alive, not being harmed and being free where possible.
The political party in Ireland most likely to push for an animal rights charter – the Green Party – has shown itself to be a disappointing advocate for animals in government. Regrettably, there is no sign of any other political party, apart from the Greens, adopting an enlightened stance on animal rights in the near or even distant future. – Yours, etc,
GERRY BOLAND,
Keadue,
Co Roscommon.