Compassionate conservation

Compassionate conservation is a discipline combining the fields of conservation and animal welfare. Historically, these two fields have been considered separate^[1] and sometimes contradictory to each other.^[2] The foundational principles of compassionate conservation are: "Do No Harm; Individuals Matter; Inclusivity; Peaceful Coexistence".^[3]

Compassionate conservationists argue that the conservation movement uses the preservation of species, populations and ecosystems as a measure of success, without explicit concern given to the welfare and intrinsic value of individual animals.^[4] They argue instead, that compassion for all sentient beings should be what guides conservation actions^[5] and claim that the killing of animals in the name of conservation goals is unnecessary, as these same objectives can be achieved without killing.^[6]

Compassionate conservation has been a subject of criticism by some conservationists, who consider the discipline to be harmful to the goals of conservation.^[7][8]

History

The international wildlife charity Born Free Foundation, which advocates for the well-being of individual wild animals, used the phrase "compassionate conservation" as the name for a Oxford-based symposium it hosted in 2010.^[9] The Centre for Compassionate Conservation was created, in 2013, at the University of Technology, Sydney.^[10] Ignoring Nature No More: The Case for Compassionate Conservation, a collection of essays edited by compassionate conservation advocate Marc Bekoff, was published in the same year.^[11]

In the years since, further conferences have been held on the topic and advocates have published multiple articles in conservation journals.^[9]

Criticism

Compassionate conservation has been called "seriously flawed" by certain conservationists, who argue that its implementation is impractical and could lead to negative outcomes for wildlife, ecosystems, humans^[7] and native biodiversity.^[8] Others argue that the "do no harm" approach goes "too far" and that put into practice, it would not necessarily lead to positive outcomes for the welfare of individual animals.^[12] Andrea S. Griffin et al. argue that compassionate conservation's focus on empathy "is subject to significant biases and that inflexible adherence to moral rules can result in a 'do nothing' approach".^[8]

See also

• Conservation welfare
• Opposition to hunting
• Relationship between animal ethics and environmental ethics
• Wild animal suffering
• Wildlife management

References

External links

• Compassionate Conservation (archived 21 January 2020)
• Centre for Compassionate Conservation

This page was last edited on 14 January 2024, at 07:31