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JAE Article Shortlisted for Australian Prize

4th December 2011

One of the articles in the inaugural issue of the Journal of Animal Ethics (JAE) has been shortlisted for an Australian Prize.

The article “Cognitive Relatives yet Moral Strangers?” by animal ethicist Judith Benz-Schwarzburg, and Centre Fellow, Dr Andrew Knight, has been shortlisted for a 2011 Voiceless Media Prize. Voiceless is an independent non-profit think tank dedicated to alleviating the suffering of animals in Australia. It has awarded over 1.2 million in Australian dollars to Australian animal protection projects since 2004.

Voiceless media prizes recognise the most accurate and influential print, online or broadcast features relating to animal protection and ethics. The 2011 judging panel included Professor J. M. Coetzee, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature; the Honourable Bob Carr, former Premier of New South Wales, and Emeritus Professor David Weisbrot AM, former President of the Australian Law Reform Commission.

The article first summarises the most recent scientific discoveries about the remarkable behavioural and cognitive characteristics of birds, dolphins and primates, and explores their capacities for culture, language and intelligence. It argues that stronger evidence exists than ever before for widening the circle of moral consideration beyond humans, and for the granting of basic rights, akin to fundamental human rights, to such species.

The Centre extends its warm congratulations to the authors.

Further information about the 2011 Media Prize is available here. Details of the JAE article are available at the JAE’s website here. Dr Knight is also author of The Costs and Benefits of Animal Experiments published in the Palgrave Macmillan book series on animal ethics. More information is here.