Who’s The Moral Animal?

Here’s an article from NewScientist on morality in non-human animals:

Wild Justice makes a compelling argument for open-mindedness regarding non-human animals. It also argues that social behaviours such as cooperation provide evidence for a sophisticated animal consciousness. In particular, the authors propose that other animal species possess empathy, compassion and a sense of justice - in other words, a moral code not unlike our own.

Unselfishness in monkeys and rats:

Bekoff and Pierce make their case by calling on a wide range of animal studies, from field biology to the laboratory and from the anecdotal to the statistical. In one lab study of Diana monkeys, for instance, the animals had to put tokens into a slot to receive their food. When an elderly female couldn't manage hers, a neighbouring male inserted the tokens for her. In a different kind of experiment, rats refused to push a lever for food when they realised their action meant another animal got an electric shock.

Finally:

Bekoff and Pierce have a larger goal than simply telling nice animal stories or even describing a kind of biological morality. They also hope to persuade readers that humans aren't so different from our fellow voyagers on planet Earth. These moral behaviours, they argue, are evidence of a kind of evolutionary continuity between humans and other species. This, they acknowledge, may be an even harder sell than the notion of a cooperative hyena. "Many people are uncomfortable with the idea of ascribing morality to animals because it seems to threaten the uniqueness of humans," they write.