Big Picture Science – Animals Like Us
Laughing rats, sorrowful elephants, joyful chimpanzees. The more carefully we observe, and the more we learn about animals, the closer their emotional lives appear to resemble our own. Most would agree that we should minimize the physical suffering of animals, but should we give equal consideration to their emotional stress? Bioethicist Peter Singer weighs in. Meanwhile, captivity that may be ethical: How human-elephant teamwork in Asia may help protect an endangered species.
Listen to individual segments here:
Part 1: Frans de Waal / Animal Emotions
Part 2: Peter Singer / Animal Rights
Part 3: Jacob Shell / Worker Elephants
Part 4: Kevin Schneider / Happy the Elephant