Cultural Killing and Human–Animal Capability Conflict

The capabilities approach provides a promising basis for developing a theory of interspecies justice grounded in the inherent dignity of all sentient striving beings. As currently formulated, the approach provides guidance for identifying the entitlements of each being, but not for managing tradeoffs between the capabilities of humans and nonhumans. Through considering cultural practices that put human capabilities in conflict with the capabilities of animals, we propose and defend two criteria for evaluating practices that harm animals for human purposes. The adaptability criterion, derived from Nussbaum’s work on capabilities for humans, distinguishes practices that preserve the ability of people to exert ethical agency in a context of changing values and material circumstances. The regulatory criterion, derived from consideration of the interdependence of human and animal capabilities, distinguishes practices that foster the skills and habits people need to create an ecologically just social order. In applying these criteria to cases of human-animal capability conflict, we demonstrate their potential to resolve such conflicts in a way that redresses the effects of colonization and domination, while appreciating – but not romanticizing – the knowledge and ecological respect of people who once lived in less destructive relationships with other species.