Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 24, 2006

According to this Associated Press story, if you are wearing a Sean John jacket with fur trim purchased from Macy's, that trim might have come from a dog indigenous to Asia known as a "raccoon dog." These dogs (pictured here ) phenotypically resemble raccoons in that they have relatively short legs and bushy fur (and sometimes even have facial markings resembling raccoons), but despite their appearance, they are dogs. They belong to the canine species Nyctereutes procyonoides.

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2006 Raccoons HSUS Fur Industry 62

Animal Ethics

NOVEMBER 29, 2006

Here is the latest issue (winter 2006) of The Prairie Progress, which is the newsletter of Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary

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2006 Sanctuary 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 23, 2006

Jonathan Hubbell, a philosophy major at the University of Texas at Arlington, is the newest member of the Animal Ethics blog, and once again, I would like to welcome him aboard. Like Keith, I think it will be interesting and instructive to observe as Jonathan works through his views on the myriad of ethical issues that surround our current treatment of animals.

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2006 Morals Killing Factory Farm 46

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 10, 2006

7, 2006To the Editor: I wish that I could better understand the recent trend of anthropomorphizing dogs. Is this a reflection of our society? Our dogs have a better standard of living than millions of people in other parts of the world. I had two dogs growing up, and I remember their being thrilled with a dirty old tennis ball or a dip in the somewhat murky town pond. While I do understand the need for companionship, especially in New York, this dog obsession has gone too far.

2006 40

2006 New York Times New York Dogs 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 1, 2006

The previous best month (March 2006) had 1,730 visitors (55.8 This blog had 2,325 visitors during November, which is an average of 77.5 visitors per day—which projects to 28,287.5 visitors per year. That is by far the most visitors during any month of the blog's three-year existence. per day). I attribute the increased interest to Mylan Engel's presence. His posts—the first of which appeared on 15 October—are well-argued, well-written, interesting, and topical.

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2006 Morals Animal 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 18, 2006

13, 2006To the Editor: Re “ Plan for Tracking Animals Meets Farmers’ Resistance ” (news article, Dec. 13): I live in rural Pennsylvania. I have one older riding horse and occasionally some laying hens. All these would have to be tagged if the National Animal Identification System becomes mandatory, and for no purpose, because none of my animals will be sold overseas for food.

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2006 New York Times New York Pennsylvania 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 12, 2006

8, 2006 The writer is director of the Field Veterinary Program, Wildlife Conservation Society To the Editor: Re “ Ebola Imperils Gorilla Species in Congo Republic ” (news article, Dec. 8): Increasingly, we are observing that our efforts to reach sustainable balances for wildlife populations are being confounded by the spread of infectious disease. Historically, these diseases have been studied only when they affect human populations or domestic animals.

2006 40

2006 New York Times New York Gorillas 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 31, 2006

It's been 25 years to the day since I ate turkey. I gave it up on 31 December 1981. Consequently, no turkey has suffered or died on my account for the past quarter century. Addendum: Sometimes, in talking to omnivores, I get the sense that they feel impotent. They can't solve the problem of animal suffering all by themselves, so they throw up their hands in defeat and go on eating meat. But that's not the only way to look at it, and I would argue that it's not the right way.

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Turkey 2006 Suffering Morals 43

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 25, 2006

On this Christmas holiday, Christians would do well to reflect on what their faith teaches about the moral status of animals. Here is a New York Times story about St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. Here is a website that contains information about St Francis. If you're a Christian, please reflect on the following. Your religion does not require that you eat animals. It may not forbid it, but it doesn't require it.

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2006 New York Times New York Morals 43

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 16, 2006

He received the highest score in both my fall 2005 Social and Political Philosophy course and my spring 2006 Ethics course. This blog has a new member: my former (and perhaps future) student Jonathan Hubbell. Jonathan is a philosophy major at the University of Texas at Arlington , where I have been a professor since the fall of 1989. Like many people (including me), he fell in love with the discipline almost as soon as he discovered it.

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2006 Arlington Texas 2005 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 31, 2006

Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary has put up a billboard in downtown Denver. See here

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2006 Denver Sanctuary 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 31, 2006

As another year comes to a close, most of us find ourselves reflecting on our lives and resolving to improve ourselves and our lives in various ways. These resolutions typically fall into one of two categories: (1) resolutions to acquire some desirable trait or better-making habit, e.g., resolving to exercise regularly; and (2) resolutions to eliminate some undesirable trait or worse-making habit, e.g., resolving to quit smoking.

2006 40

2006 2007 Fur Cruelty 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 27, 2006

Abstention from beef is overdetermined. If you care only about cows, you will not eat beef. If you care only about the environment, you will not eat beef. If you care only about human beings (present and future), you will not eat beef. If you care only about your health, you will not eat beef. See here

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2006 Cows Humane 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 27, 2006

See here

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2006 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 24, 2006

Keith: What I call "editorializing by adverb" is the practice of inserting an adverb into a statement to make an assertion without seeming to make an assertion. Example: A reference to "still undemocratic Iraq" makes the assertion that eventually Iraq will be democratic. But typically the writer will not stop to argue in favor of this assertion, hoping by the subtle use of an adverb to escape the need of justifying his assertion.

2006 40

2006 Iraq Raised Animal Ethics 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 24, 2006

Fur is in. See here

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2006 Fur 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 24, 2006

Mark Spahn, a longtime reader of my AnalPhilosopher blog, thinks it’s question-begging to use “who” (instead of “that”) to refer to animals. I agree. To beg a question, in the philosophical sense, is to assume what needs to be proved. The question (presumably) is whether animals have moral status, i.e., whether the interests of animals must be taken into account in our deliberations. Using “who” assumes that the being in question has moral status (even if not full-blown personhood).

2006 40

2006 Morals Dogs Cats 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 20, 2006

Like the site—you might like to see my post on Cairo zoo. mary beard

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2006 Zoos 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 20, 2006

Welcome aboard, Jonathan! I'm looking forward to reading your posts. Best, Mylan

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2006 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 19, 2006

Hello!! We are an animal welfare group working for animals in India— www.hopeandanimal.org we have tie up with a US based company for fund raising—If you buy pet products from www.petmedusa.net 10% of sale proceeds are donated to our organisation—Pls Bid and buy the product. with regards, Praveen Ohal

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2006 Animal Welfare Welfare Groups 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 18, 2006

Hi there, I'm Jonathan. First of all, I would like to thank Keith for inviting me to be a part of this blog. I think it is an honor to be offered the opportunity to post on here with him and Mylan. Keith has not only been my favorite Philosophy professor that I have studied under during the course of my college experience, but my favorite professor in general. I admire him both for his patient and clear way of conveying material, and for the humble manner in which he equates himself to God.

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2006 Factory Farm Factory Farming Morals 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 15, 2006

Hi there, I've enjoyed reading your blog and appreciate the articles you've posted and the thoughts you've provoked in your readers. I just wanted to introduce myself, as I thought you might be interested in knowing about my organization, Compassionate Cooks , and perhaps add us to your Links list. The mission of Compassionate Cooks is to empower people to make informed food choices and to debunk myths about veganism.

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2006 Compassionate Cooking Cooking Vegetarian Cooking 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 15, 2006

According to this study published today in the British Journal of Medicine , "Higher IQ at age 10 years was associated with an increased likelihood of being vegetarian at age 30." The study gathered data from 8,170 men and women 30 years of age who are ongoing participants in the 1970 British cohort study.

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2006 Vegetarian Factory Farm Factory Farming 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 13, 2006

Here is a New York Times story about the tracking and containment of livestock disease

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2006 New York Times Livestock New York 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 12, 2006

The New York Times does one thing well. It keeps its readers abreast of goings-on in the animal kingdom. Here is a story about the plight of the turtle

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Turtles 2006 New York Times New York 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 11, 2006

Here is a New York Times op-ed column about the safety of the food supply

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2006 New York Times New York 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 10, 2006

Kansans are fighting over prairie dogs—or what Lewis and Clark quaintly called "barking squirrels." See here

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Squirrels 2006 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 9, 2006

Here is a New York Times story about poaching, which is a matter of illegality rather than immorality, but I thought it would be of interest to this blog's readers

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2006 New York Times illegal New York 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 6, 2006

Hi Keith and Mylan, A new think tank has been set up in Britain dealing entirely with animal ethics issues. The website is here. And a newspaper article about it is here. Neither of you seem to be affiliated with this group. Perhaps you should get into contact with them as you both seem to fit the bill. Yours Sincerely Peter Wilkinson

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2006 Animal Ethics Groups Ethics 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 4, 2006

Here is a New York Times editorial opinion about organic fish. The Times argues that the concept of organic food does not apply to wild animals. It is designed to distinguish between two types of farming. Note that this debate is independent of the debate about the moral permissibility of eating fish. If organically raised fish suffer less than nonorganically raised fish, it is an accident, morally speaking.

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2006 Fish Morals New York Times 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 1, 2006

Here is a column about man's (and woman's) best friend

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2006 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 1, 2006

Are hunters a vanishing breed? If so, is that a good thing? See here. Addendum: "Nimrod" is both a name and (without capitalization) a noun. Why do you suppose the latter is pejorative

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2006 Hunters Breeding 40

Animal Ethics

NOVEMBER 29, 2006

My friend and co-blogger, Mylan Engel, is too humble to draw attention to himself, so allow me to draw attention to him. See here. Good work, Mylan! I know you're an atheist, as I am, but I like to think that if we're wrong, and there really is a god, he or she will save all and only those who cared for animals. Come to think of it, maybe god is an animal, in which case those who eat animals are in Big Trouble

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2006 For Animals Animal 40

Animal Ethics

NOVEMBER 29, 2006

In my earlier post "Children and Heart Disease" available here , I noted that, in the seventh and final edition of Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care: A Handbook for Parents of the Developing Child from Birth to Adolescence , Dr. Benjamin Spock no longer recommends feeding animal products to children after two years of age. According to Dr. Spock: Most families have become more conscious about the fat content of meats, and many are choosing the lower-fat cuts.

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2006 West Virginia North Dakota Wisconsin 40

Animal Ethics

NOVEMBER 28, 2006

I started this blog three years ago today. Here is the first post. Mylan Engel must have told me that he would join the blog, but it took him almost three years to do so! I'm glad he came aboard. The current month is the best yet, in terms of number of visitors. My own interest in the blog has increased as a result of Mylan's presence. There have been 42,820 visitors to the blog in three years. That's an average of 39 visitors per day. During much of that time, I posted only rarely.

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2006 Animal 40

Animal Ethics

NOVEMBER 28, 2006

See here

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2006 Fish 40

Animal Ethics

NOVEMBER 27, 2006

Here is a New York Times op-ed column about companion animals

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2006 New York Times New York Companion Animal 40

Animal Ethics

NOVEMBER 26, 2006

While examining this blog's statistics, I noticed that several people came here from a German site. Thank you. I will add a link to the blogroll

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2006 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 1, 2016

Here are the posts from December 2006

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2006 2016 40

Animal Ethics

NOVEMBER 1, 2016

Here are the posts from November 2006

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2006 2016 40

Animal Ethics

OCTOBER 1, 2016

Here are the posts from October 2006

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2006 2016 40

Animal Ethics

SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Here are the posts from September 2006

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2006 2016 40

Animal Ethics

AUGUST 1, 2016

Here are the posts from August 2006

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2006 2016 40