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| Should pets have a £15m hospital? | Should pets have a £15m hospital? |
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| A new hospital has opened in Glasgow with MRI and CT scanners and a hydrotherapy pool - all for pets. Is it right to spend £15m on a treatment centre for animals when humans have to wait for the same treatments? | A new hospital has opened in Glasgow with MRI and CT scanners and a hydrotherapy pool - all for pets. Is it right to spend £15m on a treatment centre for animals when humans have to wait for the same treatments? |
| There will be many who will say that spending large sums on pet health is far more legitimate than, say, spending the money on sports cars, holidays or any other luxury item. | There will be many who will say that spending large sums on pet health is far more legitimate than, say, spending the money on sports cars, holidays or any other luxury item. |
| But there will be some who will question the idea that thousands should be spent on a CT scan for a cat at the University of Glasgow's new Small Animal Hospital. | But there will be some who will question the idea that thousands should be spent on a CT scan for a cat at the University of Glasgow's new Small Animal Hospital. |
| Here, a leading animal ethicist suggests we should take far better care of our sick animals, while another philosopher questions the priorities of our society. | Here, a leading animal ethicist suggests we should take far better care of our sick animals, while another philosopher questions the priorities of our society. |
| Revd Prof Andrew Linzey is director of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, and author of Why Animal Suffering Matters. | Revd Prof Andrew Linzey is director of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, and author of Why Animal Suffering Matters. |
| Humans are a selfish species - we breed and domesticate millions of animals for our own purposes of companionship and control, and then we complain if "too much" money is spent on their medical treatment. It doesn't seem too much to have one state of the art veterinary centre for animals serving the whole of the UK. | Humans are a selfish species - we breed and domesticate millions of animals for our own purposes of companionship and control, and then we complain if "too much" money is spent on their medical treatment. It doesn't seem too much to have one state of the art veterinary centre for animals serving the whole of the UK. |
| HOSPITAL FUNDING Money for the Small Animal Hospital comes from:Fundraising campaignLoan against future feesFunding from university to reflect the training of vets thereFees are paid for appointments A dog's life at animal hospital | |
| All modern medical treatment is expensive. £15m is a lot of money, but it pales in comparison with the annual NHS budget, which will reach £110bn by 2010. | All modern medical treatment is expensive. £15m is a lot of money, but it pales in comparison with the annual NHS budget, which will reach £110bn by 2010. |
| The widespread assumption that all companion animals live in luxury is without foundation. Some animals are over-indulged, but RSPCA records of cruelty to domestic animals are at an all-time high. | The widespread assumption that all companion animals live in luxury is without foundation. Some animals are over-indulged, but RSPCA records of cruelty to domestic animals are at an all-time high. |
| We abandon, neglect, maltreat, and euthanise (for our own convenience) hundreds of thousands every year. Our use of companion animals comes at a high cost to them in terms of their welfare and premature death. | We abandon, neglect, maltreat, and euthanise (for our own convenience) hundreds of thousands every year. Our use of companion animals comes at a high cost to them in terms of their welfare and premature death. |
| It only seems reasonable that we should pay something back for all their love and devotion. We need to bear in mind that these creatures wouldn't exist if it wasn't for us. | It only seems reasonable that we should pay something back for all their love and devotion. We need to bear in mind that these creatures wouldn't exist if it wasn't for us. |
| We make money out of breeding them (often in sub-standard conditions), selling them, and then discard them when they are surplus to our requirements. | We make money out of breeding them (often in sub-standard conditions), selling them, and then discard them when they are surplus to our requirements. |
| All suffering beings, human or animal, deserve our care Prof Andrew Linzey | All suffering beings, human or animal, deserve our care Prof Andrew Linzey |
| We make them emotionally dependent upon us by separating them from their own families and most of their kin. By creating and exploiting their dependence on us, we incur considerable moral obligations. | We make them emotionally dependent upon us by separating them from their own families and most of their kin. By creating and exploiting their dependence on us, we incur considerable moral obligations. |
| And one obligation especially: to look after them properly and to care for them when they are ill. | And one obligation especially: to look after them properly and to care for them when they are ill. |
| Human beings in their arrogance think they are the only species of value in the world, so I am asked to respond to this loaded question: "Is it right to have these facilities for animals while humans face waiting lists?" instead of asking the really important question, which is: "Why are humans so slow to recognize their responsibilities to the very animals they exploit for science, sport, farming and - not least of all - for companionship?" | Human beings in their arrogance think they are the only species of value in the world, so I am asked to respond to this loaded question: "Is it right to have these facilities for animals while humans face waiting lists?" instead of asking the really important question, which is: "Why are humans so slow to recognize their responsibilities to the very animals they exploit for science, sport, farming and - not least of all - for companionship?" |
| We could equally ask this loaded question: "Is it right to spend an annual NHS budget of £110bn on humans when other sentient species, equally capable of suffering pain, fear, distress, anxiety, terror - domestic animals which we have brought into being and to whom we have a duty of care - are only given a tiny fraction of the medical care they require?" | We could equally ask this loaded question: "Is it right to spend an annual NHS budget of £110bn on humans when other sentient species, equally capable of suffering pain, fear, distress, anxiety, terror - domestic animals which we have brought into being and to whom we have a duty of care - are only given a tiny fraction of the medical care they require?" |
| In fact, all suffering beings, human or animal, deserve our care. | In fact, all suffering beings, human or animal, deserve our care. |
| Simon Rippon works at the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics. | Simon Rippon works at the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics. |
| Here's an adaptation of a story thought up by the philosopher Peter Singer: | Here's an adaptation of a story thought up by the philosopher Peter Singer: |
| You are driving past a pond when you see a little boy drowning and no-one else around to rescue him, but you also happen to be in a hurry to get your beloved pet dog to the new animal hospital because she is having a heart attack. | You are driving past a pond when you see a little boy drowning and no-one else around to rescue him, but you also happen to be in a hurry to get your beloved pet dog to the new animal hospital because she is having a heart attack. |
| If you stop to rescue the boy, the dog will surely die. If you continue on your drive to the animal hospital, the dog will get the treatment that will enable her to survive, but the boy will surely drown. What should you do? | If you stop to rescue the boy, the dog will surely die. If you continue on your drive to the animal hospital, the dog will get the treatment that will enable her to survive, but the boy will surely drown. What should you do? |
| What price to make Moggy better? | |
| Most of us would be rightly critical of someone who chose to drive on by in a situation like the one imagined. But the choice of paying to fund lavish treatment at a hi-tech animal hospital in our present circumstances, rather than helping some of the world's neediest people, is morally analogous. | Most of us would be rightly critical of someone who chose to drive on by in a situation like the one imagined. But the choice of paying to fund lavish treatment at a hi-tech animal hospital in our present circumstances, rather than helping some of the world's neediest people, is morally analogous. |
| £15m has bought MRI and CT scanners, a hydrotherapy pool, and various other state-of-the-art medical facilities reserved for the exclusive use of a few very fortunate animals, and much more money will be needed to run them. | £15m has bought MRI and CT scanners, a hydrotherapy pool, and various other state-of-the-art medical facilities reserved for the exclusive use of a few very fortunate animals, and much more money will be needed to run them. |
| Meanwhile, some 880,000 human beings worldwide lack access to even basic health services, and 34,000 children under the age five die worldwide every day from hunger and preventable diseases. | Meanwhile, some 880,000 human beings worldwide lack access to even basic health services, and 34,000 children under the age five die worldwide every day from hunger and preventable diseases. |
| A little more money spent on health in deprived areas of the world would save many, many lives. Some might invoke the old saying that "charity begins at home" to try to morally justify prioritising our concern for the health of our pets over our concern for the health of people in foreign countries. | A little more money spent on health in deprived areas of the world would save many, many lives. Some might invoke the old saying that "charity begins at home" to try to morally justify prioritising our concern for the health of our pets over our concern for the health of people in foreign countries. |
| But even if this were a good argument, spending £15m on an animal hospital in Glasgow still could not be justified, because the money could better be used to meet urgent NHS needs in the UK. | But even if this were a good argument, spending £15m on an animal hospital in Glasgow still could not be justified, because the money could better be used to meet urgent NHS needs in the UK. |
| NHS budgets remain tight, and more money could provide for new treatments, life-saving vaccines, more numerous intensive care beds, recruitment of nurses, and better palliative care, to name a few examples. Should we really be putting our pets first? | NHS budgets remain tight, and more money could provide for new treatments, life-saving vaccines, more numerous intensive care beds, recruitment of nurses, and better palliative care, to name a few examples. Should we really be putting our pets first? |
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