Presenter: Khaled Alanazi
Authors: Khaled Alanazi
Faculty Advisor: Ruhul Kuddus
Institution: Utah Valley University
Introduction: About 85% of humanity practice religion and all religions have rules on animal welfare and dietary restrictions on the food of animal origin. The population of many species of animals including food animals has been declining across the globe. Many countries have secular legislation on animal welfare and for conservation and management of wild animals. We investigated if public policies on animal welfare and conservation can benefit from religious doctrines on animal welfare and restriction on human food of animal origin. Method: We reviewed the literature on animal welfare and religious restrictions on the food of animal origin in Hinduism (also Jainism, and Buddhism, and Sikhism), Taoism, Shintoism, Confucianism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and inferred if the doctrines and restrictions can be of utilized in making public policies more effective in certain nations. Result: Although all regions promote nonviolence to living things, Taoism, Shintoism, Confucianism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Hinduism (also Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), lack strict rules on the food of animal origin. These religions permit the adherents to self-select food of animal origin, although many adherents of Hinduism and Jainism voluntarily avoid food of animal origin, especially cows. Judaism and Islam have extensive codes on animal welfare and food of animal origin and a large fraction of the adherents obliges the codes. Conclusions: All of the world religions teach benevolence to all living things and have some rules on human foods of animal origin. Judaism and Islam have the most extensive rules and regulations on the food of animal origin. Thus, all nations, particularly nations with a Jewish or Muslim majority can make the secular laws on animal welfare and conservation and management of wildlife more effective by associating the laws with the canons of the predominant religious practices of the nations