I’m a Researcher at Wild Animal Initiative, I did my PhD in Ethology at Stockholm University, and I’m active in EA Sweden.
Simon_Eckerström_Liedholm
Hi Alexandre,
Great to hear that you are interested in rat welfare!
we do not know precisely how many rats there are
Have a look here where I give my rough estimate for the average urban rat population density.
For example, hormone-based contraceptives, such as Contrapest, are banned in Europe.
I think this is a big issue. The fact that ContraPest isn’t available in Europe despite SenesTech’s apparent intentions likely has something to do with the slow, complicated, and expensive process of getting approval for new chemicals/drugs in the EU. (I’m mainly basing this on conversations I’ve had with people at Innolytics, the producers of OvoControl).
You may also find the discussion of welfare implications of rodenticides in this report by Kim Cuddington at Rethink Priorities useful. The section “Rodents” under “Welfare implications” is the most relevant.
I think I roughly agree with your ranking Brian!
Speaking for myself here, I’d be very interested in reading a more in-depth critique of Moral Circle Expansion, and I’m open to changing my mind on that topic. Although I’m perhaps most interested in predictions of specific questions, like whether our descendants will care about the welfare of invertebrates and other wild animals, and (relatedly) whether sentience is likely to be the main determinant of moral concern in the future.
(Thanks Linch for a great post!)