Las Vegas City Wire

A University of Nevada, Las Vegas animal ethics course lets students explore moral issues related to animals.

According to a press release shared by the university’s news center, the course is designed for students to examine moral obligations regarding the relationships between animals and people.

Undergraduate students of any level can take the class. According to assistant professor Cheryl Abbate: “College students in particular seem to be especially concerned with the way we treat and impact the lives of other animals, perhaps because they are becoming aware of how interconnected everything is – humans, animals and nature."

Abbate has been an animal advocate for over 10 years and is an expert in animal ethics and has published more than 30 academic pieces on the subject.

The question of whether legal systems can also nurture a fruitful relationship between animal and human populations is also pondered in class. Students are tasked with visiting neighborhood animal shelters to engage with animals outside of the classroom. In the past, students taking the course have been asked to develop a website for a local animal sanctuary.

"Yet, there is something very troubling about only doing 'armchair philosophy' in a course about animals, given how much animals need our physical help," Abbate said. "A service-learning course like this enables students to understand not only how animals suffer in this world, but it moreover provides students with some practical tools to take action and make moral repair. And it encourages students to see that, although so many animals around us suffer devastating harms, we aren’t completely powerless. We can make a difference both individually and by acting within groups – and we can have fun while doing so."