Animal Cruelty
Written by Dustin Crummett
Why focus on this problem?
Annually, humans factory farm tens of billions of land vertebrates, and even more aquatic animals and invertebrates.
This causes immense suffering.
It is unnecessary. It actually harms humans in various ways, for instance, by posing public health risks, damaging the environment, and traumatizing workers.
The Bible recognizes the value of animals and commands that they be treated humanely. Improving the well-being of all animals, including wild animals, is plausibly defensible as an exercise of the dominion command given in Genesis.
Further, commonsense morality suggests that gratuitously inflicting suffering on animals is wrong.
Because animal welfare receives less attention and resources than other issues, you can make a very big difference.
The vast majority of egg-laying hens in the US are kept in battery cages.
Our overall view:
Often Recommended:
We think many of our readers should consider working on and/or donating to this issue.
What is our recommendation based on?
Biblical themes:
Some passages explicitly or implicitly command humane treatment of animals.
Jesus allows breaking ordinary Sabbath rules to aid an animal, says that God cares for individual animals, and gives many illustrations which presuppose that care for animals is appropriate.
God’s original and final plans for the world involve humans and animals being at peace with one another, including through vegetarianism.
Though some interpret the Genesis dominion command as absolving humans from obligations to animals, it is more plausible to interpret it as giving humans stewardship over them.
Christian tradition:
Some saints, like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Isaac of Nineveh, commend love for and humane treatment of animals, as have some respected modern figures like C.S. Lewis.
Secular arguments:
Nearly all ethicists who write on the topic condemn factory farming.
Some ethicists have also given arguments in favor of helping wild animals.
What are common theological arguments against it being pressing?
Some Biblical passages—like those commanding animal sacrifice or allowing meat-eating—may seem to be in tension with animal rights.
Intervening to help wild animals may seem like “playing God,” or otherwise stepping beyond our station.
Top ways to make an impact:
An example of a campaign organized by The Human League, one of ACE’s top recommended charities. Funding for similar campaigns is estimated to be extremely impactful on the margin.
Pursue any meaningful career and take the Giving What We Can pledge with donations going towards effective animal charities, especially one's recommended by Animal Charity Evaluators.
Work for an organization recommended by ACE, or a similar organization.
Start your own effective animal charity.
Become a vegan, vegetarian, or at least an effective reducetarian who avoids the animal products which cause the most suffering (especially factory-farmed chicken and eggs and farmed fish and shrimp). Do scientific work on alternative proteins, welfare biology, or other fields relevant to animal welfare.
Pursue policy change with a career in politics or a government agency.
What does an impactful career in animal cruelty look like?
Daniel Abiliba is currently a licensed veterinarian and Director of Animal Welfare League, an animal advocacy organization working to tackle animal cruelty in Ghana. Check out his full career journey and motivations for tackling this problem here.
