Compassionate Technologies and Vulnerable Animals
Visual Tools for Moral Prioritization
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62161/revvisual.v18.6144Keywords:
wild animal suffering, animal ethics, visual tech, applied ethics, normative ethics, vulnerabilityAbstract
This article defends a moderate negative welfarist and prioritarian framework for assisting wild animals, arguing that the most severe and remediable suffering deserves moral priority. It examines how emerging visual technologies—thermal imaging, drones, computer vision, augmented reality, robotics, and satellite systems—enable prevention, monitoring, and rescue interventions that reduce natural and anthropogenic harms to wild animals. Integrating these tools with ethical principles can guide targeted, evidence-based policies in Europe, improving the welfare of the most vulnerable individuals without causing greater ecological disruption. The article concludes that technological assistance constitutes a feasible and morally justified expansion of our duties toward wild animals.
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