To Farm or Not to Farm? Pilot Testing a Sentiocentric Ethical Framework for Farming Non-Typical Species

Area of Science:

• Ethical decision-making in wildlife management
• Sustainable food production systems
• Conservation biology and animal welfare

Background:

• Global rise in farming non-typical (wild) species for consumption.
• Potential benefits include poverty alleviation, sustainable protein, and conservation.
• Concerns involve animal welfare, public health, and normalization of wild animal consumption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To pilot a sentiocentric ethical decision-making framework for farming wild species.
• To gather expert feedback on the framework's strengths and weaknesses.
• To amend the framework for clarity and broader application.

Main Methods:

• Online survey administered to academic key informants.
• Respondents applied the ethical framework to a species of their choice.
• Thirteen respondents evaluated ten different species across various taxa and continents.

Main Results:

• Framework outcomes suggested 11 appraised species may be suitable for farming.
• Identified potential for erroneous responses and uncertainty in terminology definitions.
• Resultant amendments to the ethical framework were published for clarification.

Conclusions:

• The ethical framework can be applied proactively or reactively by diverse stakeholders.
• Acknowledged the need for broader stakeholder input, including farmers.
• Highlighted the importance of cultural significance and rural communities in wildlife farming decisions.