Abstract
The debate about the human-animal relationship has been growing since the 1970s, especially including an approach to speciesism and animal rights. However, it is necessary to consider that the human-animal relationship in societies is quite different, according to the type of society and according to the type of animal we are talking about and, for an ethical reflection on this relationship, it is relevant take as a starting point, not only the moral status of animals, but it is necessary to consider the anthropological, psychological and sociological aspects underlying it. It is observed that there is a great lack of approach in relation to certain animals, specifically in relation to those that inhabit, together with humans, urban centers, although they are not domesticated, that is, those that can be called “our neighbors” in the cities. These urban animals are close to us in cities, very neglected in the moral debate and often massacred in policies and practices, including extermination practices imposed on them. The objective of this article is to present the elements that contribute to the moral invisibility of this group of animals, as well as to demonstrate that the change in treatment destined to these animals, not only represents the fair expansion of the moral scope, but also has a strategic value, the from which the due change of perspective announced by animal and environmental ethics may occur. After all, we need to seriously consider the impact of our actions, both in relation to the great social injustice that affects humans and non-humans, as well as in relation to the ongoing environmental destruction and the great suffering generated
Keywords:
Animal ethics; Biophilia; Environmental education; Speciesism; Urban animals