Abstract

Animal ethics are a topic that is increasingly being discussed in Europe's public and political circles due to current practises in intensive animal agriculture. This essay combines three different philosophical schools to develop a broad ethical stance on animal husbandry. The first topic is the one that asks what kind of beings are animals. Second, an evaluation model of agrarian activities is used to have a clearer understanding of the role that animals play in animal husbandry. These two ways of thinking openly make use of Dooyeweerd school deformational philosophy. In the third perspective, the ethical component of animal husbandry is discussed in more detail using current normative ethics theory in general and animal ethics in particular. It is believed that the notions of an animal's "intrinsic value," animal welfare, and the principle of care-the latter of which serves as the cornerstone of the ethical aspect-are the main ethical standards for assessing how animals are cared for and handled in animal husbandry. These three ideas are developed in line with deformational philosophy using the literature as a foundation. This results in a holistic view of an ethically sound method of animal management.