Historic New Declaration for the Animals!
Montreal Declaration on Animal Exploitation: End Animal Exploitation
Over 500 Researchers in 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 stated in the newly released Montreal Declaration on Animal Exploitation, where the researchers condemn practices that treat "animals as objects or commodities." animals as objects or commodities. They argue that efforts should focus on closing slaughterhouses, ending fishing, and developing plant-based food systems. This declaration marks a major milestone for recognizing animals' right to freedom from human oppression.
“Like saying yes at a wedding”
One of the signatories is Raffaele Rodogno, associate professor at Aarhus University. Regarding the declaration’s release, he states:
“As a philosopher and ethics expert, it’s important for me to sign this declaration because of the message it sends: Many of us who spend significant time reflecting on this topic agree on the conclusion: Exploiting animals cannot be justified. Personally, signing this declaration has a similar effect to saying ‘I do’ at a wedding—it publicly affirms the commitment and strengthens it.”
Rodogno hopes the declaration will be used in schools and higher education institutions, as well as in formal and informal political forums across nations to highlight animals’ interests—and hopefully shift human attitudes in the right direction. We believe it can help answer questions like: “Is eating meat wrong?”, “Why be a vegan?” and “Why is fur, wrong?” The declaration states clearly:
“Because it causes unnecessary harm to animals, animal exploitation is fundamentally unjust. It’s essential to work toward ending exploitation, especially by closing slaughterhouses, banning fishing, and developing plant-based food systems.”
Intelligence Level Does Not Matter
The signatories reject arguments that justify exploiting animals based on their “lower” mental abilities, like their capacity to compose symphonies or perform advanced math. Rodogno supports this:
“We must not inflict pain or violate the interests of these animals. That humans may be more intelligent than other animals in some ways does not grant the right to break this principle—just as we must not violate this principle when interacting with less intelligent humans.”
Though grounded in varied philosophical traditions, these researchers unite around the urgent need to change our relationships with other animals by ending their exploitation. They collectively oppose speciesism, speciesism—assigning some animals more rights than others based solely on species. Once the stance of a few empathetic individuals, it now has the support of hundreds of career ethicists.
More Researchers Can Add Their Support
The declaration was initiated by researchers at the Centre de Recherche en Éthique de Montréal. Ethically, it builds on the 2012 Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness, which recognizes non-human animals as conscious, sentient beings. If you hold a PhD in moral or philosophical philosophy and agree with the Montreal declaration, you can still add your support. Interested researchers can sign on the Centre’s website.
References
One of the signatories is Raffaele Rodogno from Aarhus University. He is available for interviews to explain why he signed.
Contact Rodogno at: filrr@cas.au.dk or phone +4587162259
Publication
The declaration was published on October 4, 2022. It is officially called the Montreal Declaration on Animal Exploitation, but in this post, we refer to it as the Montreal Declaration or simply the Montreal declaration on animal exploitation. Learn more here:
Link to the Montreal Declaration translated into Danish
Link to the website where PhD-holding moral or philosophical philosophers can sign the Montreal Declaration
