Abstract:
There are three major ethical approaches to issues affecting nonhuman animalsand the natural environment: an anthropocentric ethic, an ethic of concern forall sentient beings, and a biocentric approach. The ethic of concern for allsentient beings is the most defensible basis for resolving conflicts betweenthe interests of humans and wild animals. There is no ethical basis fordiscounting the suffering of an animal simply because that being is a memberof a different species. On the other hand, it is certainly true that human andnonhuman animals differ in their capacities, and this does make a differenceto the ethics of what we may do to them, including rendering them infertile.Since ethics is not a matter of adhering to absolute rules, but rather ofdoing what will have best consequences, given the constraints under which weact, the ethics of using a specific method of fertility control for feralanimals will depend on what other methods are being used, or will be used, ifthe given method is not available. It will also depend on the consequences ofnot using any method of controlling the population of the animals.