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Collecting birds: the importance of moral debate

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2010

Marc Bekoff
Affiliation:
Environmental, Population, and Organismic BiologyUniversity of ColoradoBoulderColorado 80309–0334U.S.A
Andrzej Elzanowski
Affiliation:
Scientific Advisory Council to The Humane Society of the United States700 Professional DriveGaithersburgMaryland 20879U.S.A.
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In a recent article in this journal, Remsen (1995) attacked moral (and other) objections to killing birds for museum collections, objections that are frequently raised by the general public and scientific community alike. The only grounds for moral objections against killing birds that Remsen considers and rejects are reverence for all life or personal (p. 157; all page references refer to Remsen 1995), that is sentimental (p. 165) reasons. What Remsen ignores is avian sentience and the moral imperative of respecting it.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Birdlife International 1997

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