Montreal Declaration on Animal Exploitation: End the exploitation of animals
Over 500 researchers issue new declaration: Exploiting animals is morally indefensible
More than 500 researchers from 39 countries, specializing in moral and political philosophy, declare that exploiting animals is fundamentally unjust and morally indefensible. This is the core of the newly released Montreal Declaration on Animal Exploitation. The researchers condemn the practice that treats animals as objects or commodities. They therefore argue we must work toward closing slaughterhouses, ending fishing, and developing plant-based food systems. The declaration marks a crucial milestone in recognizing animals’ right to freedom from human oppression.
“Like saying ‘yes’ when you get married”
One of the signatories is Raffaele Rodogno, associate professor at Aarhus University. Upon the declaration’s release, he states:
“As a philosopher and ethics expert, signing this declaration is important to me because of the message it sends: Many of us who deeply consider this issue agree on the conclusion: exploiting animals is indefensible. Personally, signing this declaration is like saying ‘yes’ in marriage — making a public commitment and strengthening it.”
Rodogno hopes the declaration will be used in schools and higher education, and in formal and informal political forums across nations to highlight animal interests—and hopefully shift people’s attitudes in the right direction. We believe it can help answer questions like: “Is eating meat wrong?” and “Why is bad?”. The declaration states clearly: feathers, and animals harmed by the climate crisis Because it unnecessarily harms animals, exploiting them is fundamentally unjust. It is essential to work toward eliminating exploitation, especially by striving to close slaughterhouses, ban fishing, and develop plant-based food systems.”
“Fordi det unødigt skader dyr, er udnyttelse af dyr grundlæggende uretfærdigt. Det er derfor essentielt, at arbejde for at få udnyttelsen til at forsvinde, især ved at stræbe mod lukning af slagterier, forbud mod fiskeri og udvikling af plantebaserede fødevaresystemer.”
Intelligence level isn’t decisive
Signatories argue that common justifications for exploiting animals are irrelevant — especially those regarding animals’ “inferior” mental capacities, like their ability to compose symphonies or perform advanced math. Rodogno supports this message:
“We should not cause these animals pain or violate their interests. Just because humans may be more intelligent than other animals in some ways does not give us the right to break this principle — just as it should not be broken when humans interact with less intelligent members of their own species.”
Although the signatories come from diverse philosophical traditions, they agree on the need to change our relationship with other animals by ending their exploitation. They unite to reject speciesism,which grants some animals more rights than others based solely on species. Once a fringe view held by a few exceptionally empathetic individuals, this stance is now supported for the first time by hundreds of researchers dedicated to ethical inquiry.
More researchers can add their support
The declaration was initiated by researchers at the Centre de Recherche en Éthique de Montréal. Ethically, it extends the Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness (2012), which affirms that non-human animals are conscious, sentient beings. Researchers with a PhD in moral or philosophical philosophy who agree with the Montreal Declaration may still add their signatures on the Centre de Recherche en Éthique de Montréal’s website.
References
One of the signatories is Raffaele Rodogno from Aarhus University. Rodogno is available for interviews to elaborate on his decision to sign the declaration.
Rodogno can be contacted at: filrr@cas.au.dk or phone +4587162259
Publication
The declaration was published on October 4, 2022. In English, it’s called the Montreal Declaration on Animal Exploitation, but in this post, we refer to it as the Montreal Declaration on Animal Exploitation, or simply the Montreal Declaration. You can read more here:
Link to the Montreal Declaration translated into Danish
Link to the website where those with a PhD in moral or philosophical philosophy can sign the Montreal Declaration
