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Compassionate conservation is a discipline which aims to combine the fields of
Compassionate Conservation
Centre for Compassionate Conservation
{{Conservation of species Animal welfare Environmental conservation Environmental ethics
Compassionate conservation is a discipline which aims to combine the fields of conservation
Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws.
Conservation may also refer to:
Environment and natural resources
* Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...
and animal welfare. Historically, these two fields have been considered separate and sometimes contradictory to each other. The foundational principles of compassionate conservation are: "Do No Harm; Individuals Matter; Inclusivity; Peaceful Coexistence".
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. They argue instead, that compassion for all sentient beings should be what guides conservation actions and claim that the killing of animals
The killing of animals is animal euthanasia (for pain relief), animal sacrifice (for a deity), animal slaughter (for food), hunting (for food, for sport, for fur and other animal products, etc.), blood sports, roadkill (by accident) or self-de ...
in the name of conservation goals is unnecessary, as these same objectives can be achieved without killing.
Compassionate conservation has been a subject of criticism by some conservationists, who consider the discipline to be harmful to the goals of conservation.
History
The international wildlife charityBorn Free Foundation
The Born Free Foundation is an international wildlife charity that campaigns to "Keep Wildlife in the Wild". It protects wild animals in their natural habitat, campaigns against the keeping of wild animals in captivity and rescues wild animals in ...
, 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. The Centre for Compassionate Conservation was created, in 2013, at the University of Technology, Sydney. ''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.
In preceding years, further conferences have been held on the topic and advocates have published multiple articles in conservation journals.
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 and native biodiversity. 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. 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".See also
*Conservation welfare Conservation welfare is a proposed discipline which would focus on establishing the commonalities between conservation and animal welfare and the formation of a foundation upon which the two disciplines can collaborate to further their respective o ...
* Opposition to hunting
Opposition to hunting is espoused by people or groups who object to the practice of hunting, often seeking anti-hunting legislation and sometimes taking on acts of civil disobedience, such as hunt sabotage. Anti-hunting laws, such as the Englis ...
* Relationship between animal ethics and environmental ethics
The relationship between animal ethics and environmental ethics concerns the differing ethical consideration of individual nonhuman animals—particularly those living in spaces outside of direct human control—and conceptual entities such as spe ...
* Wild animal suffering
* Wildlife management
References
External links
Compassionate Conservation
Centre for Compassionate Conservation
{{Conservation of species Animal welfare Environmental conservation Environmental ethics