Wild animal suffering

Common card · No. 319221

Wild animal suffering refers to the suffering experienced by wild animals from causes such as disease, injury, parasitism, starvation, dehydration, extreme weather, natural disasters, predation, and psychological stress. The subject encompasses the extent and severity of these harms, their moral significance, and whether humans have obligations to prevent or alleviate them. The extent of suffering among wild animals is difficult to determine. Some writers argue that natural selection, high reproductive rates, and high juvenile mortality expose large numbers of animals to suffering and early death. Others caution that mortality and population dynamics alone cannot establish whether wild animals generally experience more suffering than well-being. Suffering among wild animals has been discussed in theology, philosophy, and literature, particularly in relation to the problem of evil, predation, and the struggle for existence. Nineteenth-century writers including Lewis Gompertz and Charles...

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