Relations. Beyond Anthropocentrism. Vol. 3, No. 1 (2015). Wild Animal Suffering and Intervention in Nature: Part I

Wild Animal Suffering and Intervention in Nature

Studies about the moral consideration of nonhuman animals have experienced a tremendous development in the last decade. An important topic which is recently receiving increasing attention is the idea that we may have reasons not only to abstain from harming wild animals but also to help those in need. Life in the wild is far from being idyllic: wild animals undergo systematic harms on a daily basis, due to intra and interspecific aggressions (predation, parasitism) and other natural causes (e.g. starvation, disease, harsh weather conditions). Though it is usually accepted that we have no obligation to prevent or to reduce the occurrence of these harmful states of affairs, if the interests of nonhuman animals are morally relevant at all, it seems that the interests of animals living in the wild should also be taken into account in moral deliberation. This issue will be dedicated to addressing in detail this vastly unexplored issue, challenging life in the wild as a “flat moral landscape.”