Exploring Human Obligations to Disabled Animals

Most domesticated animals are created for the purpose of humans to exploit or use them in some way. But what happens when these animals cannot fulfill the “purpose” they were created for? This article explores what humans owe toward these disabled domestic animals. Using Tom Regan's theory of animal rights, along with existing human medical ethics and individual case studies, the topics of euthanasia, quality of life, and veterinary ethics are all explored. The article concludes that we have a moral obligation to care for the animals that we have created to be reliant on us. This obligation does not disappear because of an animal's “unprofitability,” disability, or illness.