ABSTRACT

As we approach a new millennium, the thought of a world with no consideration for animals and no laws to protect them seems irrational, uncivilised, cruel and somehow inhuman. But how did we arrive at this view? What has incited humankind to regard animals as significant and deserving of protection? Who were the prime movers in our change of attitudes from the hunter-gatherer of prehistory to the intellectual and philosophical legislatorprotector of today? This chapter gives an overview of the main philosophical contributions which, since the Ancient Greeks, have provided the foundations upon which the legal treatment of animals has been built. It also examines the contribution made by science since the work of Charles Darwin, which has, increasingly, added more considerations for the legislators. It is not a chapter about law; rather it is a chapter about the essential philosophical and moral basis of how we should regard animals, which has developed across the centuries and which has sometimes, but not always, had an influence on the creation of specific laws. The contemporary philosophical and scientific status of animals is discussed in Chapter 3, but here we look at the main historical influences. Having examined the historical, philosophical and scientific contributions to the status of animals, the second part of this chapter will examine whether morality matters, and how it can exert its influence on the development of law. It is worth bearing in mind the effect philosophy or scientific discovery should have on the law relating to animals.