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Adam MB, Clough DL, Grumett D. A Christian Case for Farmed Animal Welfare. Animals (Basel). 2019;9(12)doi: 10.3390/ani9121116.
Adam, M. B., Clough, D. L., & Grumett, D. (2019). A Christian Case for Farmed Animal Welfare. Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 9(12), . https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9121116
Adam, Margaret B, et al. "A Christian Case for Farmed Animal Welfare." Animals : an open access journal from MDPI vol. 9,12 (2019). doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9121116
Adam MB, Clough DL, Grumett D. A Christian Case for Farmed Animal Welfare. Animals (Basel). 2019 Dec 11;9(12). doi: 10.3390/ani9121116. PMID: 31835710; PMCID: PMC6941123.
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Animals (Basel). 2019 Dec 11;9(12). doi: 10.3390/ani9121116.

A Christian Case for Farmed Animal Welfare.

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI

Margaret B Adam, David L Clough, David Grumett

Affiliations

  1. Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Chester, Chester CH1 4BJ, UK.
  2. School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh, New College, Mound Place, Edinburgh EH1 2LX, UK.

PMID: 31835710 PMCID: PMC6941123 DOI: 10.3390/ani9121116

Abstract

It is now common to blame Christianity for broader society's general inattention to the needs and comfort of animals in general, and farmed animals in particular. This critique of Christianity claims that certain biblical themes and particular biblical passages form the foundation for an anti-animal position that Christianity has imposed on Christians and on wider Western society. This article concedes that Christianity has often been used to justify exploitation of animals, but argues that it is a mistake to consider Christianity inevitably opposed to concern for animals. After reviewing the views of critics such as Lynn White Jr., Peter Singer, and Tom Regan, the article demonstrates the complexity of interpreting biblical passages and the possibility of readings that affirm the importance of treating animals well. It shows that Christians have indeed been advocates for animals, notably in relation to the first legislation against animal cruelty in the early nineteenth century and the formation of the RSPCA. Finally, it proposes a constructive framework for a Christian ethics of farmed animal welfare that could provide the basis for Christian action to reduce consumption of animals and shift to higher welfare sources of animal products.

Keywords: Adam; Christian ethics; Genesis; Noah; RSPCA; Regan, Tom; Singer, Peter; White, Lynn Jr.; animal ethics; farmed animals

References

  1. Science. 1967 Mar 10;155(3767):1203-7 - PubMed
  2. Animals (Basel). 2011 Jan 19;1(1):116-25 - PubMed

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