(Certified) Humane Violence? Animal Production, the Ambivalence of Humanizing the Inhumane, and What International Humanitarian Law Has to Do with It

The chapter draws a comparison with the self-certifying of production methods as ‘humane’ or animal-friendly in the labelling of animal products—that is, according to companies’ own self-imposed codes of conduct. It likens the idea of humanizing animal slaughter, factory farms, and other forms of production to the notion of humanizing warfare. Like international humanitarian law (IHL), animal welfare law is marked by the tension inherent in its attempt to humanize innately inhumane practices. Given these parallels, the analysis of animal welfare law might benefit from existing insights into the potential and limits of IHL. Both areas of law endorse a principle of ‘humanity’ while arguably facilitating and legitimizing the use of violence, and might thereby ultimately perpetuate the suffering of living beings. The implicit justification of violence percolating from the IHL-like animal ‘protection’ laws could only be outweighed by complementing this body of law with a ius contra bellum for animals

Alimentary Tract Duplications

Enteric duplications are rare development malformations that can occur anywhere along the alimentary tract from the tongue to the anus. To date, there is no unique classification that can explain their extremely variable onset, size, and location. Calder was the first to publish a report of alimentary tract duplications, back in 1773, describing a duodenal duplication. The term “intestinal duplication” was used for the first time by Fitz in 1884 but was not widely used until it became commonly used in 1937, thanks to Ladd and a further classification by Gross in 1953. Several terms had been used before then to describe such anomalies such as giant diverticula, enterogenous cyst, or unusual Meckel’s diverticula. The current nomenclature, as suggested by Ladd and Gross, depends on the anatomic location of the duplication in relation to the normal gastrointestinal tract