The Thought Of Animal Welfare Protection Ethic

Animal welfare protection is an age-old idea.Three theoretical forms of animal protection emerged in western countries,which are animal liberation,animal rights and animal welfare.Hence three ethical orientations with their own focus and are interconnected,which are benevolentism,utilitarianism and humanitarianism.Animal liberation and animal rights are more radical and thorough which pose great challenges against anthropocentrism,but they encounter with lots of disputes too.The humanitarianism-based animal welfare is undoubtedly a more practical and effective theory in terms of animal protection at current stage of productivity development,which is not against the use of animals,but against unscientific,unreasonable and unethical use of animals.Animals are entitled to their welfare,which is helpful for the sustainable development between human and animals,and helpful for us to reach an equilibrium between animal care and human interests.The animal welfare has seen rapid development in the west,and a series of protective measures have been adopted for farm,experiment,companionship,work,entertainment and wild animals,all of which implement the animal welfare.In contrast,the animal welfare development has been slow in China which is mainly because of the incomplete implementation and supervision of animal welfare in China,and people have poorer understanding of the idea.Therefore,we have to start with the ethics to make the people have better cultural recognition of animal welfare in order to better promote it.Ancient China is rich in the ideas of animal protection such as the eco-friendliness advocated bythe Confucianism that asks for respect and care for life,the Taoist idea of being kind to non-humans and there is no inferior object,and Buddhist idea of being benevolent and that all creatures are created equal.We have to unearth and tease out the animal protection ideas hidden in the excellent traditional Chinese ideology,and refer to the successful experiences of developed countries in the west in combination of the status of China in order to accelerate the animal welfare legislature,enhance citizens' participation in animal welfare,further promote its development so that we can continue our sustainable development and protect the ecological environment of ours.