One Health Ethics and the Ethics of Zoonoses: A Silent Call for Global Action

Simple Summary This paper reviews key issues regarding the spread of diseases that affect both humans and animals, known as zoonotic diseases. These diseases, which make up about 70% of all new and existing diseases, are increasingly interconnected with factors like the environment, society, and economics. The term "zoonoses" is discussed beyond just veterinary medicine, emphasizing its complex nature influenced by human activities and climate change. Bioethical principles and strategies for preventing these diseases are proposed. A case study on animal slaughter during disasters highlights ethical challenges in how we manage health across species, leading to discussions on "zoonoethics". The paper also explores how these diseases emerge and the ethical and political issues around antimicrobial resistance (AMR), with recommendations for tackling AMR. The management of these diseases will require the adoption and acceleration of the "One Health" approach, which recognizes the interconnectedness and interdependence between human, animal, and environmental health.Abstract This paper presents a critical review of key issues related to the emergence of new networks for the spread of zoonotic diseases amid the mass extinction of species. Zoonotic and infectious diseases account for approximately 70% of new and existing diseases affecting humans and animals. The initial section argues that the term "zoonoses" should not be confined to single-cause events within veterinary medicine. Instead, zoonoses should be viewed as complex, systemic phenomena shaped by interrelated factors, including environmental, sociocultural, and economic elements, influenced by anthropogenic climate change. The second section presents bioethical principles and potential strategies for those engaged in zoonotic disease prevention. The third section uses the slaughter of animals in disaster settings as a case study to illustrate the need for further clarification of normative and interspecies justice conflicts in One Health ethics. This section concludes with an outlook on "zoonoethics". Section four develops the analysis of the interlinked elements that trigger zoonoses and examines antimicrobial resistance (AMR) from an ethical and political standpoint, concluding with policy recommendations for addressing AMR. Section five offers a critical reflection, integrating contributions from zoonoethics, human ecology, and the ecotheological turn. Finally, section six concludes with a call to action and policy recommendations for an inclusive, intercultural, and gender-sensitive One Health approach.