Animal Business: An Exploration of Corporate Responsibility Towards Animals

36 Pages Posted: 16 Dec 2018

See all articles by Monique Janssens

Monique Janssens

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), Rotterdam School of Management (RSM)

Date Written: November 11, 2018

Abstract

Using insights from business ethics and animal ethics, this article argues that companies have a responsibility towards animals. It argues that animals have a moral status, that moral actors have the moral obligation to take the interests of animals into account and thus, that as moral actors, companies should take the interests of animals into account, more specifically their current and future welfare. Based on this corporate responsibility, critical reflection is offered on various categories of corporate impact on animals in terms of welfare and longevity, leading to normative implications for each of them. The article concludes with managerial implications. It contributes to the field of business ethics by taking animal welfare from a blind spot into the spotlight, and thus connecting the fields of business ethics and animal ethics.

Keywords: CSR, CR, animal ethics, animal welfare, business ethics, moral status, sentience, production processes, society

JEL Classification: Q1, Q18

Suggested Citation

Janssens, Monique, Animal Business: An Exploration of Corporate Responsibility Towards Animals (November 11, 2018). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3290205 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3290205

Monique Janssens (Contact Author)

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) ( email )

P.O. Box 1738
Room T08-21
3000 DR Rotterdam, 3000 DR
Netherlands

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