Is killing animals, or making them suffer, for human ends morally defensible?

You will be asked to do one term research paper of a length between 8 to 10 double-spaced, word-processed pages — (lengths exclusive of reference and footnotes) during the course. A title page is NOT required.

With the exception of Abortion, you can choose any Essay Title in the Syllabus as the topic for your paper. The paper must show evidence of individual thought and must both be properly documented and have a complete bibliography

As this is a research paper, it must demonstrate your ability to find and employ an appropriate range of sources critically and effectively. As for the number of sources, a rule of thumb is to include at least five professional, bona fide (i.e., authentic or true), philosophic sources. (E.g., Wikipedia does NOT count as one such source. Videos do no count either.)

You can use sources from the extensive bibliography in my Syllabus, class texts, and readings.

Essay Question:

Is killing animals, or making them suffer, for human ends morally defensible?