Animals are intelligent, sentient individuals. We should refer to them as “he/she” or “them/they”, or by species. The words “it” or “thing” should not be used to refer to an animal, and “who” is used rather than “that”. If you do not know the gender, choose one: “he” or “she”. Even if your gender choice is wrong, it is more respectful than “it.” This is an important way of demonstrating the respect we ask others to afford to all animals.

Wild animals should not be kept in captivity for the purpose of subjecting them to the stress of a public display for educational or other purposes, even when the display is happening in a classroom. Public releases are in our opinion not acceptable either, because they do not any good to the animal concerned and only serve the ego of the person releasing the animal.

Should A Sentient Animal Being Used For Educational Purposes?

There are a multitude of more efficient educational media available in our days, which can be specifically tailored to suit the audience targeted. The abuse of animals in this manner sends a message to the public that animals can or should be tamed, or kept as “pets” or that they are objects for human diversion, entertainment, recreation or educational tools.

It is often believed that species should be considered and preserved because they have some sort of value in themselves, a value unrelated to what’s in the best interests of the individuals who are members of the species. We don’t share this view. Sentient individuals have morally relevant interests in being alive and in not being harmed.

The interests in being alive and in not being harmed do not vary according to the fact whether a species is rare or common. It is very important to thoroughly establish whether an animal, who might not be releasable straight away, or at all is coping well with being kept in captivity. This is a difficult complex assessment depending on many factors requiring experience and intuition, a process which eventually is also very dependent on the individual animal and her or his adaptability.

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