Criticisms of animal welfare

At one time, many people denied that animals could feel anything, and thus had no interests. Many were of this opinion, though Cottingham (1978) has argued that himself did not hold such a view. On the other hand, sympathy for animals is not new. dramatist remarked, " would be a very fine sport if only the deer had guns."

An additional critique regards animal welfarism in practice, arguing that welfarists demonstrate disproportional concern for some species of animals over others without providing rational/scientific justification for such preferences - this goes by the term. E.g., some critics say the movement favors companion animals over commercial animals, wild over domestic animals, or over birds/reptiles/fishes.

For example, the welfare movement commonly opposes anesthetized of pet cats by veterinarians, but rarely contests the unanesthetized toe cutting of commercial birds by poultry workers. The critique is that much animal welfarism, in practice, is as prejudicial as an anti-welfarist view.

The movement is also open to criticism for targeting mostly those practices for cosmetic reasons, rather than ones of genuine welfare. For example, the of hens is unsightly, but is used to prevent cannibalism. Welfarists though, often point out that there would be no cannibalism among the hens if they weren't kept in such stressful environments to begin with.