Animal Ethics, International Animal Protection and Confucianism

Animal Ethics, International Animal Protection and Confucianism

A response to ‘Expanding Global Justice: The Case for the International Protection of Animals’ Oscar Horta

In this paper, I would like to discuss an alternative normative approach to international animal protection, other than the one discussed in Horta (2013). Horta argues for the following two positions in his paper: (1) we should protect animals because animals are sentient beings and have their own interests; and (2) it is not enough to protect animals simply at the state or national level – we should also protect animals at the international or global level. From a Confucian perspective, I argue that one may support position (2) without position (1). I also discuss why Confucianism is important for debates in animal ethics.