In 1876 a pair of grey squirrels from America were introduced to England. More than a century later, up to five million greys are estimated to inhabit forests across the UK. This has placed the native red squirrel under pressure, contributing to its demise, with some conservationists estimating it will become extinct within 20 years. In response, some have proposed the introduction of grey-free exclusion zones, within which all greys would be systematically killed using poison baits or other methods. Here, I will judge this plan based on the ethical theory of contractarianism.
The ethical theory of contractarianism, conceived by philosopher Thomas Hobbes, states that people are largely self-interested and a world without laws or authority would result in chaos and violence. Hobbes proposed that morality is not natural but can emerge among a group of free, rational individuals since they will realise that the benefits of cooperating are greater than when they do not cooperate (1). A shared agreement can either be a spoken contract or actual, such as law. Most of us are bound by an implicit contract that we never actually agreed to, but we can see the benefits of being part of this system so it is in our own interests that we abide by the law, even if this means giving up some of our freedoms.
Contractarianism disregards any individuals who are incapable of understanding and accepting a contract such as children, the mentally impaired, and animals. Animals do not have the ability to comprehend any formal contract, therefore, they are not protected. The suffering of animals for human gain is not seen as an ethical concern. However, some animals are given protection by their owners because they provide an income or some form of pleasure to their owner so it is in the interest of the human to protect them (2).
In regards to the control of grey squirrels, a contractarian would have no problem with grey-free exclusion zones and systematically killing grey squirrels as they are seen as pests with no benefit to human interests. They are known to damage lawns when digging up their food stores, strip bark from trees, make holes in lofts and insulation and chew on plastic such as hosepipes (3). According to a DEFRA-commissioned study, the cost of damage caused by grey squirrels to the British economy is £14 million per annum (4). Another reason contractarians may provide for culling grey squirrels is that many people prefer the appearance of the smaller red squirrels and conserving the preferred species is in the interest of people (2). The culling of grey squirrels will also provide a more diverse ecosystem which is also favoured by some people.
As the welfare of individual non-human animals is not taken into consideration I do not agree with the contractarian point of view. Having a contract only between humans that are able to comprehend such an agreement allows for suppression of minority groups and those who cannot defend themselves. This theory does not take into account the desire of all sentient beings to avoid pain and suffering, only that of humans. Therefore, contractarianism does not provide a fair, just system.
I agree with the animal rights theory; all animals deserve respect and should be given equal consideration when looking for a solution to moral issues. As Sandøe and Christiansen said, we are all conscious beings with individual welfare that is important to us whether we are useful to others or not (2). All sentient beings feel pleasure and pain and this has to be taken into account when tackling problems such as grey squirrel control. It would be unfortunate to see the extinction of the red squirrel but poisoning, shooting and bludgeoning grey squirrels to death (5) is inhumane; the end does not justify the means.
A solution would be to find alternatives to deter grey squirrels from certain areas such as using sonic repellants inside buildings, blocking access to roof spaces and coating bird feed in chilli or pepper which repels squirrels but not birds (5).
References
1. Cudd, A. and Eftekhari, S. (2017). Contractarianism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). [online] Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Available at: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/contractarianism/ [Accessed 23 Oct. 2017].
2. Sandøe, P. and Christiansen, S.B., (2008). Ethics of animal use. Oxford: Blackwell.
3. CABI. (2017). Sciurus carolinensis (grey squirrel). [online] Available at: http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/49075 [Accessed 24 Oct. 2017].
2. Sandøe, P. and Christiansen, S.B., (2008). Ethics of animal use. Oxford: Blackwell.
3. CABI. (2017). Sciurus carolinensis (grey squirrel). [online] Available at: http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/49075 [Accessed 24 Oct. 2017].
4. Williams, F., Eschen, R., Harris, A., Djeddour, D., Pratt, C., Shaw, R., Varia, S., Lamontagne-Godwin, J., Thomas, S. and Murphy, S. (2010). The Economic Cost of Invasive Non-Native Species on Great Britain. [ebook] CABI. Available at: http://www.nonnativespecies.org/downloadDocument.cfm?id=487 [Accessed 24 Oct. 2017].
5. Animal Aid. (2017). [online] Available at: https://www.animalaid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/alternativestoculling.pdf [Accessed 24 Oct. 2017].
5. Animal Aid. (2017). [online] Available at: https://www.animalaid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/alternativestoculling.pdf [Accessed 24 Oct. 2017].
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