Are animal abortions moral?

[Badluckclub]

I own a small herd of dairy goats and I strive to practice good stewardship towards my animals: making sure they have clean food and water, plenty of space, vet care, and attention. However I am struggling with the morality of a decision about one of my young goats.

About a month ago one of my young does (female goat) and one of my young bucks (male goat) broke through the fencing that separated them while I was away from home. I believe that my doe is now pregnant. I had not planned to breed her to that buck: I have a considerable amount of time, money, and effort invested in her being bred to a different buck this year. Goats can re absorb embryos if they are given medication to do so, but my pro-life mind balks at the idea of what seems like essentially giving the goat an abortion for only the reason that this breeding does not fit with my plans. I want to move forward with a clean conscience: am I having an emotional reaction to something that is really OK because they are animals and not people, or is this not an acceptable course of action even with animals?

Any counsel on this topic would be welcome! Thank you so much!

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

You are correct that because animals are not humans therefore different rules apply to them (Catechism 2415-2418). We spade and neuter animals, we kill them for food, we put them down when they are irreversibly suffering. All things that would be forbidden to do to someone human persons, made in the image and likeness of God.

While humans do not have the right to indiscriminately destroy God’s creation, we do have the right to make prudential judgments due to God giving us stewardship over creation. The situation you describe appears to me to be a stewardship decision that you are making and therefor is perfectly acceptable.