Ethical dilemmas of fertility control in wildlife: the case of white-tailed deer

TY - GEN

T1 - Ethical dilemmas of fertility control in wildlife

T2 - Congress of the European Society for Agricultural and Food Ethics

AU - Gamborg, Christian

AU - Sandøe, Peter

AU - Palmer, Clare

N1 - Conference code: 14

PY - 2018

Y1 - 2018

N2 - This paper explores ethical issues raised by the use of non-surgical, pharmaceutical fertility control to manage reproduction of white-tailed deer (WTD). A high density of WTD, especially in suburban areas, has led to human-deer conflicts, conflicts traditionally solved by hunting, Recently, however, there has been a push towards non-lethal control, especially fertility control. While the scientific and technical aspects are beginning to be well understood, the ethical issues raised require further exploration. The paper begins by discussing the challenges of high-density WTD populations, and the possibility of using fertility control as a response to these. Then the paper identifies major ethical issues raised, as viewed from the perspectives of animal rights, utilitarianism and concern for wildness. Our conclusion is that changes in human behaviour, rather than pharmaceutical fertility control to reduce deer populations, seem to ethically preferable from all three perspectives. However, it is less clear how pharmaceutical population control compares with hunting in ethical terms.

AB - This paper explores ethical issues raised by the use of non-surgical, pharmaceutical fertility control to manage reproduction of white-tailed deer (WTD). A high density of WTD, especially in suburban areas, has led to human-deer conflicts, conflicts traditionally solved by hunting, Recently, however, there has been a push towards non-lethal control, especially fertility control. While the scientific and technical aspects are beginning to be well understood, the ethical issues raised require further exploration. The paper begins by discussing the challenges of high-density WTD populations, and the possibility of using fertility control as a response to these. Then the paper identifies major ethical issues raised, as viewed from the perspectives of animal rights, utilitarianism and concern for wildness. Our conclusion is that changes in human behaviour, rather than pharmaceutical fertility control to reduce deer populations, seem to ethically preferable from all three perspectives. However, it is less clear how pharmaceutical population control compares with hunting in ethical terms.

U2 - 10.3920/978-90-8686-869-8_61

DO - 10.3920/978-90-8686-869-8_61

M3 - Article in proceedings

SN - 978-90-8686-321-1

SP - 388

EP - 391

BT - Professionals in food chains

A2 - Springer, Svenja

A2 - Grimm, Herwig

PB - Wageningen Academic Publishers

Y2 - 13 June 2018 through 16 June 2018

ER -