Animal Ethics

piglets in field
Photo credit: Shutterstock

The Animal Ethics study group at the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics meets several times a semester over a vegan lunch (or via Zoom) for a presentation and lively discussion about a current issue in animal ethics. Our presenters come from diverse fields including law, conservation biology, anthropology, history, veterinary medicine, agricultural research, psychology, philosophy, and genomic/genetic research science. Often, the presenters bring works in progress or new publications to share with us. Participants are equally as diverse and come from both the Yale community and beyond, with many coming from other professional fields.

We share a common interest in learning about the factual underpinnings of contemporary animal issues directly from scholars in the fields. The group’s diversity adds to the richness of the discussions and captures divergent points of view in civil, but enthusiastic debates. The study group sponsors two events: a lunch time seminar and a public lecture series around related animal ethics issues.    If you are interested in more in-depth studies of animal ethics, the Summer Institute in Bioethics often offers a 3-week intensive seminar on Animal Ethics & One Health as part of our summer program.  

Co-Chairs

Lisa Moses, VMD, DACVIM, Faculty, Center for Bioethics, Harvard Medical School

Indu Mani DVM, DScAssociate Veterinarian, VCA Brookline Animal Hospital, Brookline, MA; Chief Scientific Officer, Brief Media
 

Contact Us

For more information or to be placed on the email list for upcoming study group meetings, email us at animalethics@yale.edu.

2022-2023 Lecture Series

Please join us for these Zoom-based lectures, open to the public. Email us at animalethics@yale.edu to register.

November 16, 2022, 11:00 am EDT, virtual: James Reynolds, DVM, MPVM, DACAW. Ethical considerations of Ventilation Shutdown + heat (VSD+) as a method of depopulating swine and poultry farms in the US.

December 16, 2022, 12:00 pm EDT, virtual: Kat Poje, PhD Candidate in the History of Science, Harvard University. Ethics, Technology, and the Invention of Animal Euthanasia.

January 11, 2023, 12:00 pm EDT, virtual: E.B. Bartels, Author of “Good Grief: On Loving Pets, Here and Hereafter. Caring for beloved pets in life and mourning them in death.

February 1, 2023, 4:00 pm EDT, virtual: Professor Culum Brown PhD, Macquarie University. Fish Cognition, Behavior, and Sentience

March 1, 2023, 12:00 pm EDT, virtual: James Serpell, PhD, University of Pennsylvania. The Hunter-Gatherer’s Dilemma. 

April 17, 2023, 12:00 pm EDT, virtual: Temple Grandin, PhD, Colorado State University. Animal Welfare Today.

Previous Lectures