euthanasia_-_curse_or_blessing
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| ===== Introduction ===== | ===== Introduction ===== | ||
| - | One of the common challenges in wildlife rescue and rehabilitation is to be frequently confronted with the suffering of sentient beings. Rescue and rehabilitation of wild animals does also regularly generate the question of what is an acceptable quality of life. When trying to find an answer to this particular question, one will automatically discover more questions and potential problems. What can be done when the desired level of quality of life is not achievable at all, or at least not within an acceptable time frame? Or, just to name a few of those questions, can the achieved treatment and rehabilitation result be maintained for the rest of the potentially natural life of the animal concerned? | + | {{ : |
| Whilst trying to find all these answers, it quickly becomes obvious that there are quite a number of factors to consider. Typical factors to assess in these circumstances are extent and nature of the disease or injury, available treatment options, the prognosis and potential quality of life after treatment, the availability and likelihood of success of treatment, the animal’s age and co-morbidities. Unfortunately, | Whilst trying to find all these answers, it quickly becomes obvious that there are quite a number of factors to consider. Typical factors to assess in these circumstances are extent and nature of the disease or injury, available treatment options, the prognosis and potential quality of life after treatment, the availability and likelihood of success of treatment, the animal’s age and co-morbidities. Unfortunately, | ||
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| The answer to the question of whether euthanasia or being alive is in an animal’s interest is not necessarily black and white. We do challenge the outdated view of most veterinary surgeons that non-human animals ‘live only in the now’, meaning that quality of life is more important for them than quantity of life. This wrongly implies that non-human animals lack the capacity to worry about their future, let alone about their life or existence. It seems difficult for anthropocentric orientated human beings to accept the scientifically proven fact that non-human animals are sentient beings like us humans. There is no plausible reason why sentient non-human animals are any different from us human animals. This is why would expect at the very least that non-human sentient beings are being given the benefit of the doubt. In our view, euthanasia should not be justified when there is at least one better option available. | The answer to the question of whether euthanasia or being alive is in an animal’s interest is not necessarily black and white. We do challenge the outdated view of most veterinary surgeons that non-human animals ‘live only in the now’, meaning that quality of life is more important for them than quantity of life. This wrongly implies that non-human animals lack the capacity to worry about their future, let alone about their life or existence. It seems difficult for anthropocentric orientated human beings to accept the scientifically proven fact that non-human animals are sentient beings like us humans. There is no plausible reason why sentient non-human animals are any different from us human animals. This is why would expect at the very least that non-human sentient beings are being given the benefit of the doubt. In our view, euthanasia should not be justified when there is at least one better option available. | ||
| - | “Anyone who says that life matters less to animals than it does to us has not held in his hands an animal fighting for its life. The whole of the being of the animal is thrown into that fight, without reserve.” | + | //“Anyone who says that life matters less to animals than it does to us has not held in his hands an animal fighting for its life. The whole of the being of the animal is thrown into that fight, without reserve.” |
| - | ELISABETH COSTELLO IN J. M. COETZEE’S THE LIVES OF ANIMALS | + | Elisabeth Costello in J. M. Coetzee' |
| ===== Species Specific and Individual Considerations ===== | ===== Species Specific and Individual Considerations ===== | ||
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