The need to treat animals ethically

Stray dogs face heightened abuse risks under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying’s revised draft concerning animal testing and experimentation. The revised draft has caused chaos among animal activists, academics, and laypeople. The proposed rules could minimise restrictions on animal experiments in academic, drug, and cosmetic laboratories, potentially threatening animal lives and leading to environmental instability. Animal activists and academics argued that permission for animal testing is blindly based on cognitive and physical differences between humans and animals, while failing to recognise plausible similarities in disposition. Peter Singer stated that “animals’ value can be assessed based on their sentience—the capacity to feel pain.” The situation warrants ethical scrutiny of animal use and abuse, as the neglect of various animal interests entails a failure of human duty towards nature and fellow beings. Caring about animals must involve an obligation to consider their suffering so that they can lead safe lives while humans maintain a balanced ecosystem.