Figures 1. Harmless beautification or harmful modification? (Goldfish from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Goldfish_Bub-ble_Eye.jpg. Dachshund courtesy of Pat Endersby).

When is a pet not a pet? Rethinking the ethics of animal terminology

According to Taylor (1986), there are three major philosophical traditions in the ‘West’ which have biased human beings over non-human animals: classical Greek thought; Biblical doctrine; and the...