Acta Analytica 35 (3):439-461 (2020)
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Abstract |
There is a widespread belief that for their own safety and for the protection of wildlife, cats should be permanently kept indoors. Against this view, I argue that cat guardians have a duty to provide their feline companions with outdoor access. The argument is based on a sophisticated hedonistic account of animal well-being that acknowledges that the performance of species-normal ethological behavior is especially pleasurable. Territorial behavior, which requires outdoor access, is a feline-normal ethological behavior, so when a cat is permanently confined to the indoors, her ability to flourish is impaired. Since cat guardians have a duty not to impair the well-being of their cats, the impairment of cat flourishing via confinement signifies a moral failing. Although some cats assume significant risks and sometimes kill wild animals when roaming outdoors, these important considerations do not imply that all cats should be deprived of the opportunity to access the outdoors. Indeed, they do not, by themselves, imply that any cat should be permanently kept indoors.
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Keywords | animal ethics cats companion animals hedonism well-being animal rights ethics |
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Reprint years | 2019, 2020 |
DOI | 10.1007/s12136-019-00408-x |
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References found in this work BETA
Field Deaths in Plant Agriculture.Bob Fischer & Andy Lamey - 2018 - Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 31 (4):409-428.
The Ethics of Confining Animals: From Farms to Zoos to Human Homes.David DeGrazia - 2011 - In Tom Beauchamp & R. G. Frey (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Animal Ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Least Harm: A Defense of Vegetarianism From Steven Davis's Omnivorous Proposal. [REVIEW]Gaverick Matheny - 2003 - Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 16 (5):505-511.
Animals, Freedom, and the Ethics of Veganism.Aaron Simmons - 2016 - In Bernice Bovenkerk & Jozef Keulartz (eds.), Animal Ethics in the Age of Humans: Blurring Boundaries in Human-Animal Relationships. Springer. pp. 265-277.
View all 10 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Re-defending Feline Liberty: a Response to Fischer.Cheryl Abbate - 2021 - Acta Analytica 36 (3):451-463.
Valuing Animals as They Are—Whether They Feel It or Not.C. E. Abbate - 2020 - European Journal of Philosophy 28 (3):770-788.
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