Abstract
<jats:p>Animal ethics, one of the most important and current fields of contemporary philosophical thought, examines human-animal relations and the moral status of animals. Historically, in Western philosophy, anthropocentric theories have long been more widely accepted, and humans’ moral obligations toward animals have been largely overlooked. In the 20th century, however, the development of technology, the transition to industrial animal husbandry, and the involvement of animals in large-scale scientific research worsened their living conditions. These problems made the emergence of animal ethics as a distinct field necessary. By the end of the 20th century, the utilitarian approach of Peter Singer and the deontological approach of Tom Regan laid the theoretical foundations for the renewed discussion of humans’ moral obligations toward animals. The aim of our paper is to clarify ethical issues in this field by presenting the main philosophical arguments of animal ethics.</jats:p>