An Interest-Based Account of Police Service Dog Labour Rights

Abstract

Police Service Dogs play a valuable role in promoting important public interests. However, rarely do we consider our moral obligations to them, and whether or not they are owed certain goods and protections in virtue of the risks that they incur in service to their communities. This project seeks to address these important issues. I argue that Police Service Dogs, along with many other sentient beings, possess rights to life, liberty, and freedom from suffering. Importantly, I also argue that Police Service Dogs have a strong claim for citizenship status, and the scheme of rights and liberties that such a status entails. Lastly, I argue that Police Service Dogs ought to be accorded a set of labour rights, which render their use as Police Service Dogs as compatible with their status as co-citizens and as beings with rights to life, liberty, and freedom from suffering.