GEN006: Applied Ethics

Module #14 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _____________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: _______________________________________ Date: ______________

Learning Unit: Animal Rights and Welfare (Part 1) Learning Materials:

Learning Objectives: Student Activity Sheets (PEN Modules)
At the end of the module, the student should be able to:
1. Examine the moral status of animals. Learning Resources:
2. Evaluate various animal rights that are Republic Act No. 10631: An Act Amending the Animal Welfare
implemented and violated in the Philippines. Act of 1998. Republic of the Philippines.
Joy, M. (2011). Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An
Introduction to Carnism. Red Wheel Weiser Conari.
Massachusetts, USA.

A. LESSON PREVIEW/REVIEW

INTRODUCTION (5 MINS)
The previous lessons taught us that everyone regardless of one’s gender or sexual orientation should promote
and advocate for equality and fairness towards oneself and, especially for those around us. It also informed the
role of women throughout Philippine history, as well as the importance of women in our current society.

Now, we will be focusing on other actions that one must be able to fulfill in order to achieve or realize the
ultimate good; ‘Making Other Friends’. In this lesson, we will identify the rights of animals, their moral status, as
well as the different issues that these animals face such as animal testing. We will also try to re-evaluate the
relationship of human beings with animals.

Instructions: Answer the following question/s and write your answers in 2-3 sentences only.
1. Should animals have rights? Should these rights be the same with human rights? Explain your answer.
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B. MAIN LESSON

LESSON PRESENTATION/CONTENT NOTES (15 MINS)

Instructions: Take your time to read and understand all the important information you need to know about the
lesson. Also, please do not forget to highlight important information to help you remember.

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 ANIMAL RIGHTS
− Moral principles grounded in the belief that non-human animals deserve the ability to live as they wish,
without being subjected to the desires of human beings.
− Five Freedoms: (1) Freedom from hunger and thirst, (2) Freedom from discomfort, (3) Freedom from pain,
injury, and diseases, (4) Freedom to express normal and natural behavior (i.e., allowing a chicken’s instinct to
roost), and (5) Freedom from fear and distress.
● ANIMAL RIGHTS ISSUES
1. Loss of Habitat. Some people would say that human overpopulation is the problem, but humans could
have expanded their population while sharing space with animals. The problem is urban sprawl and
development practices. People have chopped down twenty trees and pave half an acre for a driveway
and parking pad.
2. Disastrous Fishing Practices. Dragnet fishing, especially bottom trawling, is a disaster, plain and simple.
It wipes out every animal in its path, including endangered turtles, whales, dolphins, and any number of
other species that are not edible. Longline fishing and dynamite fishing also come with a catastrophic
by-catch of seabirds and turtles.
3. Carnism. The invisible belief system, or ideology, that conditions people to eat certain animals. In
meat-eating cultures around the world, people typically don’t think about why they eat certain animals
but not others, or why they eat any animals at all. But when eating animals is not a necessity, it is a
choice.
4. Factory Farming. There’s no getting around the fact that corporately farmed chickens are handled with
extreme cruelty. They are confined to extremely small spaces, injected with hormones, and fed only on
cheap grain. Many farmers cut off their beaks, so they don’t peck each other to death.
5. Pet Euthanasia. Each year, approximately 1.5 million shelter animals are euthanized.
6. Animal Testing. Many animal experiments entail needless suffering, and the aim of the research may
well be unrelated to human welfare. For example, there was an experiment that involved sewing shut
the eyes of kittens. The purpose of this experiment was to study the effect of sensory deprivation on the
kitten brain. Obviously, this has nothing to do with making sure heart surgery on children is done safely
and successfully.

ANIMAL WELFARE ACT OF 1998

− Aimed to protect and promote the welfare (physical and psychological well-being) of all terrestrial, aquatic
and marine animals in the Philippines.
− Promoting animal welfare involves the avoidance of abuse, maltreatment, cruelty and exploitation of
animals by humans by maintaining appropriate standards of accommodation, feeding and general care, the
prevention and treatment of disease and the assurance of freedom from fear, distress, harassment, and
unnecessary discomfort and pain, and allowing animals to express normal behavior.
− Section 4. It shall be the duty of the owner or operator of any transporting animals to provide adequate,
clean and sanitary facilities for the safe conveyance and delivery at the place of consignment. They shall
provide sufficient food and water for such animals while in transit for more than twelve (12) hours or
whenever necessary. Cruelty in transporting includes overcrowding, placing of animals in the trunks or under
the food trunks of the vehicles.
− Section 6. It shall be unlawful to torture any animal, to neglect to provide adequate care, subject any dog or
horse to dogfights or horse fights, deprived of adequate care, sustenance or shelter, or maltreat or use the

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 same in research or experiments not expressly authorized by the Committee on Animal Welfare. The killing
of any animal other than cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabaos and horses (NOTE: “deer” and
“crocodiles” were delisted) is likewise hereby declared unlawful.
− Section 7. It shall be unlawful for any person who has custody of an animal to abandon the animal.
− Section 8. It shall be the duty of every person to protect the natural habitat of the wildlife. The destruction of
said habitat shall be considered as a form of cruelty to animals and its preservation is a way of protecting the
animals.

MORAL STATUS OF ANIMALS

− Animals can act on the basis of moral emotions (moral reasons) and these emotions provide reasons for
their actions which means that they can, in this sense, be moral subjects (e.g., Elephants chooses to stay
around trees with a shade to rest because of the calming nature of a shaded tree). Animals also feel fear, joy,
happiness, shame, embarrassment, resentment, jealousy, rage, anger, love, among others.
− Animals are also considered as moral subjects for they are conscious: (1) They are aware of their body as a
physical object (e.g., Animals feel pain and suffering); (2) They are aware of how they are perceived by others
or as a member of a social group such as a family or team (e.g., Wolves are able to determine the alpha in
their pack); and (3) They feel empathy (e.g., Chimpanzees comfort their children when they are crying).
− Animals act morally for they are able to control their motivations (e.g., They stop engaging in fights if they
can’t win the fight).

SKILL-BUILDING ACTIVITY: RESEARCH EXPLORATION/ANNOTATION ACTIVITY (30 MINS)

Instructions: Read the following online articles and/or watch the videos below. You can also do your own
research regarding animal testing, poaching, moral carnism, among others. Then, you are to make annotations
on the articles you’ve read or videos you’ve watched. This will serve as a preparatory activity for the skill-building
activity of the next lesson.
Here are a few guide questions for the annotation activity:
1. Who is the speaker/author? What is their background?
2. What are the important points mentioned by the speaker/author?
3. What were the ideas introduced? How did the speaker/author develop the ideas mentioned?
4. What was the progression of the speech or article? Was the intent or objective clear?
5. Do you agree with the ideas and points mentioned by the speaker/author? Do you have any questions?
6. Were you able to relate the discussions in the video/article with your personal experiences?

Suggested References:
AWFW (n.d.). Why People Eat Certain Animals and Not Others. Blog. Retrieved from [Link]

Beyond Carnism (n.d.) What is Carnism? Blog. Retrieved from [Link]

Ghose, T. (2012). Animals are Moral Creatures. Online Blog. Live Science. Retrieved from
[Link]

Gruen, L. (2017). The Moral Status of Animals. Online Article. Sandford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from
[Link]

Humane Society of the United States (2021). Save Ralph – A Short Film with Taika Waititi. YouTube. Retrieved from
[Link]

TEDx Talks. (2013). Why Animal Rights is Not a Luxury: Rubiaya Ahmad. YouTube. Retrieved from
[Link]

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 TEDx Talks. (2014). It’s Time to Re-evaluate our Relationship with Animals: Lesli Bisgould. YouTube. Retrieved from
[Link]
TEDx Talks. (2016). What Animals are Thinking and Feeling, and Why it should Matter | Carl Safina. YouTube. Retrieved
from [Link]

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING: SHORT-ANSWER ESSAY (5 MINS)

Instructions: Answer the following question/s and write your answers in 2-3 sentences only.
1. Should animals be considered as moral participants? Explain your answer.
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C. LESSON WRAP-UP

THINKING ABOUT LEARNING (5 MINS)

Think About Your learning. Take a few minutes to reflect on the quality of your work and effort.
1. What did you like about this lesson? Why did it make you feel this way? How did this feeling affect your
work?
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2. What parts were challenging for you to do? Why do you think was it challenging for you?
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

1. Should non-human animals be respected?
− Yes, because like humans, animals can also feel physical and emotional pain. They should be treated
humanely with compassion and benevolence.
2. What obligations do humans have to animals?
− As the most intelligent species on earth, humans have a responsibility to protect endangered animals
and plants. Besides, the moral obligation, it's important we protect the planet because when plants and
animals become endangered so do we.

RUBRICS
ESSAYS
Content is comprehensive, Content is somewhat Content is incomplete and
accurate, and credible. It comprehensive but appears inappropriate. It
demonstrates an in-depth disorganized. It demonstrates demonstrates a lack of
Content
reflection and analysis of the a general analysis and reflection and analysis of the
lesson. (3) minimal reflection of the lesson. (1)
lesson. (2)
There are no/few spelling There are some spelling or There are significant spelling
Mechanics
and/or punctuation errors. (2) punctuation errors. (1) and punctuation errors. (0)

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