Animal politics: Advocating for full access to health care for companion animals

Abstract

Conceived by the ideas of several personalities and in permanent expansion, the field of animal ethics has been able to blur and redefine the limits of the moral community, incorporating non-human animals. But even though we are witnessing how moral anthropocentrism is entering into the category of mental scheme from a past era, unfortunately it continues to be responsible for drawing the political horizon of animals. Therefore, the challenge is to pay attention from the political and legal world to the growing public sensitivity towards animals. Thus, what is presented here constitutes a simple attempt to provide a better political scenario for them. Based on the animal rights theory of Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka, pursuing a meaningful interspecies political community requires identifying what kind of actions can be expected to bring that desired situation. Consequently, improving access to health care for companion animals should be seen as a step forward in that direction.