ABSTRACT
This chapter is assembled into two main sections. The first section discusses the criteria (e.g., consciousness, reason) we use to assign value to animals. If animals are found to have these qualities, we might extend greater moral consideration to them. Scholars contend that the most crucial criterion for extending moral consideration in including animals, or specific species of animals, is consciousness—experiencing the world as something. As such, consciousness is given greater consideration in the discussion below. The second part of the chapter examines the justification of the moral value of animals based on many different ethical theories, including rights theory, utilitarianism, and virtue ethics, among others. These theories are important to the book’s latter chapters and will be used to reflect more deeply on the tourism industry’s use of animals in various contexts.
