Public Health Expanded: Why Animals Qualify for Basic Rights

The case for including animal rights and welfare on the public health agenda is both a practical and ethical one. The practical side relates to the human health implications of our denial of animal rights, such as the link between meat production and infectious and chronic diseases, links between human and animal violence, the application of animal experimentation to human disease, and environmental health. The ethical imperative arises from the fact that none of the criteria that qualify the full range of human subjects for rights fail to apply to sentient animals. We present examples from mostly recent studies of animals that show them to possess levels of awareness, intelligence, and perceptiveness—ergo sentience—that is akin to those of many humans. Examples include: chimpanzees outscore humans on memory tests; a range of birds and mammals use referential signaling; flocks of geese and herds of deer make democratic decisions, “voting” whether or not to move to another location; mice show empathy for other mice in pain; and female monkeys show special affection toward mothers whose children have recently died. Starlings can feel optimistic or pessimistic according to their living conditions, and macaques recognize the mindedness of others, even individuals of other species. We discuss how the recognition of the autonomy and interests of sentient non-humans facilitates our ability to tackle major public health issues. These include diseases associated with the consumption of animal products, environmental hazards and justice in healthcare research.