The infringement of animals' interests as a result of quarantine

Abstract

Globalisation and technological advances have yielded to modern society the facility to migrate inter-continentally both rapidly and economically. Animal quarantine, by contrast, can be seen as an anachronistic remnant of a bygone age. While the technology to obviate the need for quarantine exists, some countries cling to tried and tested means of avoiding the spread of diseases. While this would not be a problem if there were no victims of these policies, the consideration that animals may be subject to unnecessary suffering through the process (and are possibly having their interests infringed) means that moral agents must re-examine the rules that place mute animals in this situation. Do we have moral obligations to our animal relatives in quarantine? The aims of this essay are to examine the issues surrounding this topic and to provide recommendations toward a more holistic, modern and compassionate solution.