Art, Animals, and Ethics | 77 experiments on animals New York: Continuum International Groves, J M 1997 Hearts and minds: The controversy over laboratory animals Philadelphia: Temple University Press Guerrini, A 2003 Experimenting with humans and animals: From Galen to animal rights Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press Haughen, D M., ed 2006 Animal experimentation: Opposing viewpoints Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press LaFollette, H., & N Shanks 1997 Brute science: Dilemmas of animal experimentation New York: Routledge Michael Allen Fox ARGUMENT FROM MARGINAL CASES See Marginal Cases ART, ANIMALS, AND ETHICS In recent years, animals have increasingly become serious subject matter for artists, as evidenced by the number of exhibitions taking animals and/or human-animal relationships as the key curatorial theme (see sidebar) However, despite this growing popularity of the animal theme, currently relatively few artists present the animals themselves as specific individuals, and even fewer overtly address the ethics surrounding human-animal relationships and/or the use of animals in art, either in the artwork itself or in statements made about the artwork Instead the majority of artists tend to use animals as metaphors or symbols for the human condition, or as generic signifiers for the natural world As discussed by Steve Baker (2001) the way in which animals are represented is important because it affects the way we think about, and hence treat animals Consequently, the use of animals in art to stand in for something or someone else is problematic because it can result in the animals becoming marginalized, which allows the artist to avoid addressing the broader ethical issues surrounding the way humans interact with animals Artist and social activist Sue Coe is known to “ object strongly to the idea of using animals as symbols, because by using an animal or its (image) as a symbol of or for something else, that animal is effectively robbed of its identity, and its interests will thus almost inevitably be overlooked.” (Baker, 2006, p 78) This disregard for the animal’s interest is of particular concern where animals have been caused to suffer or even be killed in the name of art In a 1976 performance work titled Rat Piece, American artist Kim Jones burned three rats alive, pouring lighter fluid on them as they ran around a cage screaming in pain and terror Jones’ performance was a response to his experiences during the Vietnam War when he and his fellow Marines were plagued by rats which they would capture, place in cages, and burn to death It might seem reasonable to assume that Jones’ Rat Piece was of its time and that causing animals to suffer this way in the name of art would not be seen as acceptable in the 21st century However, in recent years a number of artists have produced art that has involved the death of an animal or animals, even if not always in such a prolonged and torturous manner as was the case with Jones’ Rat Piece The death of animals for the sake of art can take several forms British artist Damien Hirst is renowned for his works that preserve animals such as cows, pigs, sheep and sharks in tanks of formalde-