Simply the best? How the ranking argument prevents improvements in animal welfare law in the EU

C. Rodriguez Perez; N.D. Müller; K. Persson; D.M. Shaw

Simply the best? How the ranking argument prevents improvements in animal welfare law in the EU

In: EurSafe2024 Proceedings

Authors:

C. Rodriguez Perez

C. Rodriguez Perez ¹Institute for Biomedical Ethics (IBMB) - University of Basel, Bernoullistrasse 28, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
^*Corresponding author, e-mail: c.rodriguezperez@unibas.ch

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N.D. Müller

N.D. Müller ²Philosophical Seminar - University of Basel, Department of Arts, Media, Philosophy, Steinengraben 5, 4051 Basel, Switzerland

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K. Persson

K. Persson ³Institute for Animal Hygiene, Animal Welfare and Farm Animal Behaviour - University of Veterinary Medicine, Bischofsholer Damm 15, 30173 Hannover, Germany
⁴Care and Public Health Research Institute Maastricht University, Minderbroedersberg 4–6, 6211 LK Maastricht, the Netherlands.

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D.M. Shaw

D.M. Shaw ¹Institute for Biomedical Ethics (IBMB) - University of Basel, Bernoullistrasse 28, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
^*Corresponding author, e-mail: c.rodriguezperez@unibas.ch

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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 179–186

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004715509_030

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Dar Hadith al Hassania

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It is often said that the European Union (EU) and its member states, along with Switzerland, have some of the strictest animal welfare regulations in the world. As we have shown elsewhere, such statements can lead to a type of fallacious argument we call the ‘ranking argument’ which runs as follows: Our animal welfare law ranks among the strictest in the world, therefore no improvements are called for. EU member states also have an additional strategic rhetoric at their disposal when using the ranking argument: Not only do they conclude that no improvements are called for at the top of the ranking, but they also claim that improvements would be counterproductive to the overriding goal of ‘levelling’ the bottom of the ranking to reach homogeneity within the EU. In this paper, we analyse how the ranking argument unfolds in the EU context focusing on examples from France. We explain why the ranking argument is a fallacy and how it makes use of competitive terminology to argue against animal welfare improvements. We then present how homogeneity is invoked to present improvements as counterproductive in the EU context. By doing so, we discuss how these arguments serve as a strategic defence of the status quo on animal welfare regulation. We conclude with some thoughts on how the ranking argument can and should be challenged.

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EurSafe2024 Proceedings

Back to the future - Sustainable innovations for ethical food production and consumption

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004715509

Publisher:: Wageningen Academic

Print Publication Date:: 03 Sep 2024

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Simply the best? How the ranking argument prevents improvements in animal welfare law in the EU

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EurSafe2024 Proceedings

Back to the future - Sustainable innovations for ethical food production and consumption

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