28/01/2014 Link

Interview with Zipporah Weisberg in The Whig

Zipporah Weisberg explains some of the goals of Queen’s Animal Defence and some of the issues with existing regulatory bodies that oversee animal research in Canada.

As Weisberg explains, “The only regulation in the Animals for Research Act is that they not cause unnecessary suffering and that leaves the question as to what is necessarily suffering open to debate and there is no debate around it. Any suffering that’s inflicted in the name of so-called science is considered necessary and acceptable,” said Weisberg.”

Click here for the full interview.

23/01/2014

Two Petitions to Change the Laws Regarding Animals

New Democrat MP Olivia Chow has launched a petition to amend the laws regarding animals.

Petition to the House of Commons:

WHEREAS:

  • Animals are sentient beings, capable of feeling pain, and are not property;
  • Stray and wild animals are not sufficiently protected by animal cruelty laws under the property section of the Criminal Code;
  • It is imperative that those who abuse animals face conviction and significant penalty;
  • Loopholes in existing legislation too often allow those who abuse animals to escape penalty;

THEREFORE, we call upon the government of Canada to:

  • recognize animals as beings that can feel pain and move animal cruelty crimes from the property section of the Criminal Code.
  • strengthen the language of federal animal cruelty law in order to close loopholes that allow abusers to escape penalty.

You can sign and share the petition here. (EDIT: link deleted since the original page has disappeared.)

A similar petition—supported by many celebrities—has been launched in Québec asking for the legal recognition of animals in the Civil Code. Please visit the website animalsarenotobjects.ca. You can sign the petition even if you are not resident of the province of Québec.

What do you think of these initiatives? Are they going in the right direction? Or are there risks in creating an intermediate category between “things” and “persons” that would still tolerate the exploitation of animals?

20/01/2014

“Thinking outside the Cage: Towards a Nonspeciesist Paradigm for Scientific Research”

A Conference to be held at Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, March 27-28, 2014

Scientific research is currently governed on the premise that humans have a right to use sentient animals as subjects of harmful research for our benefit. What would a non-speciesist alternative look like?  We have invited leading scientists, public policy experts, humane educators, legal scholars and political theorists to help us identify the opportunities and challenges involved in pursuing a new ethical, legal and political framework regarding animals in research. Can the same legal and regulatory safeguards regarding the use of human subjects in research also be extended to animal subjects? Can questions regarding the treatment of animals within academic institutions be reframed as matters of public responsibility, and made subject to democratic deliberation by the larger community?

This conference is intended to encourage critical reflection on the limits of existing regulations, and to inspire creative thinking about alternative frameworks and effective avenues to change. The conference is organized by the Animals in Philosophy, Politics, Law and Ethics program at Queen’s University, Kingston. Funding is generously provided by the Abby Benjamin Fellowship program, and the Queen’s Forum for Philosophy and Public Policy. For further information, including a preliminary schedule and list of confirmed speakers, and a registration form, please visit the conference website:  www.outsidethecage.net