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Contact Details

Phone
+64 3 471 6130
Email
mike.king@otago.ac.nz

University Links

Position
Senior Lecturer and Head of Department
Department
Bioethics Centre
Qualifications
BApplSc(Hons) PhD(Massey) PGDipArts(Otago)
Research summary
Animal ethics, animal use in research ethics and policy, ethics of biosciences
Teaching

Coordinator and lecturer:

Lecturer:

  • BITC 407 Advanced Health Research Ethics
Memberships

National:

  • National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee
  • Australian and New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching
  • Animal Welfare Network Aotearoa

International:

  • Zoo and Aquarium Association Ethics Committee
  • International Council for Laboratory Animal Science, Oceania Region

Research

My research draws on my early academic experience in the life sciences as well as moral and political philosophy. A main theme of this research is the ethical treatment of animals in research, farming, veterinary care and as companions.

I have also written on the ethics and regulation of reproductive and enhancement technologies and treatment of novel beings, the treatment of human cadavers, and the ethics of facilitated aid in dying.

Additional details

I am PhD Coordinator for the Bioethics Centre, and am happy to receive any inquiries regarding PhD study at the Centre.

I supervise at all levels on a range of topics, including animal ethics, scientific research ethics, ethics of assisted reproductive technology and ethics of enhancement. I am happy to talk to prospective students about the papers I lecture in and to potential postgraduate students about their research ideas.

I also give lectures and workshops on ethics of animal use in research and teaching, and research ethics, to students in various papers.

Publications

Glassey, S., Liebergreen, N., Rodriguez Ferrere, M., & King, M. (2023). It was one of the worst days of my life: Companion animal owners’ experiences of the Edgecumbe 2017 flood in Aotearoa New Zealand. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 96, 103923. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103923

Allen, K., Anderson, L., King, M., & Mullan, S. (2023). Competing interests at the heart of equine sports medicine ethics: A scoping review and thematic analysis. Equine Veterinary Journal. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/evj.13942

Zohny, H., McMillan, J., & King, M. (2023). Ethics of generative AI. Journal of Medical Ethics, 49(2), 79-80. doi: 10.1136/jme-2023-108909

King, M., & Zohny, H. (2022). Animal researchers shoulder a psychological burden that animal ethics committees ought to address. Journal of Medical Ethics, 48, 299-303. doi: 10.1136/medethics-2020-106945

Woodhouse, J., Carr, A., Liebergreen, N., Anderson, L., Beausoleil, N. J., Zobel, G., & King, M. (2021). Conceptualizing indigenous human-animal relationships in Aotearoa New Zealand: An ethical perspective. Animal, 11, 2899. doi: 10.3390/ani11102899

King, M. (2013). Box 6.1: The warrior gene. In J. E. Sieber & M. B. Tolich (Eds.), Planning ethically responsible research. (2nd ed.) (pp. 95-96). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. [Case Study].

Chapter in Book - Research

King, M., Whitaker, M., & Jones, G. (2011). Speculative ethics: Valid enterprise or tragic cul-de-sac? In A. Rudnick (Ed.), Bioethics in the 21st Century. (pp. 139-158). InTech. doi: 10.5772/19684

Chapter in Book - Research

King, M. (2009). Scientific responsibility. In M. Henaghan (Ed.), Genes, society and the future (Vol. III). (pp. 296-320). Wellington, New Zealand: Brookers.

Chapter in Book - Research

King, M. (2007). The Advisory Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technologies: The role of public consultation in decision-making. In N. Page (Ed.), Genes, society and the future (Vol. 1). (pp. 147-195). Dunedin, New Zealand: Human Genome Research Project, University of Otago.

Chapter in Book - Research

King, M. (2006). Part D: Public opinion and perceptions of reproductive genetic technologies [in Chapter 4: A discussion of ethical issues]. In M. Henaghan (Ed.), Choosing genes for future children: Regulating preimplantation genetic diagnosis. (pp. 199-218). Dunedin, New Zealand: Human Genome Research Project, University of Otago.

Chapter in Book - Research

King, M. R., Kelly, D., Morel, P. C. H., & Pluske, J. R. (2003). Aspects of intestinal immunity in the pig around weaning. In J. R. Pluske, J. Le Dividich & M. W. A. Verstegen (Eds.), Weaning the pig: Concepts and consequences. (pp. 219-257). The Netherlands: Wageningen.

Chapter in Book - Research

Glassey, S., Liebergreen, N., Rodriguez Ferrere, M., & King, M. (2023). It was one of the worst days of my life: Companion animal owners’ experiences of the Edgecumbe 2017 flood in Aotearoa New Zealand. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 96, 103923. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103923

Journal - Research Article

King, M., & Zohny, H. (2022). Animal researchers shoulder a psychological burden that animal ethics committees ought to address. Journal of Medical Ethics, 48, 299-303. doi: 10.1136/medethics-2020-106945

Journal - Research Article

Soryl, A. A., Moore, A. J., Seddon, P. J., & King, M. R. (2021). The case for welfare biology. Journal of Agricultural & Environmental Ethics, 34(2), 7. doi: 10.1007/s10806-021-09855-2

Journal - Research Article

Woodhouse, J., Carr, A., Liebergreen, N., Anderson, L., Beausoleil, N. J., Zobel, G., & King, M. (2021). Conceptualizing indigenous human-animal relationships in Aotearoa New Zealand: An ethical perspective. Animal, 11, 2899. doi: 10.3390/ani11102899

Journal - Research Article

Glassey, S., Rodriguez Ferrere, M., & King, M. (2020). Lessons lost: A comparative analysis of animal disaster response in New Zealand. International Journal of Emergency Management, 16(3), 231-248. doi: 10.1504/IJEM.2020.113943

Journal - Research Article

King, M., Webster, J., Cameron, C., & Zobel, G. (2020). Interactive data-gathering posters as a research tool: A case study assessing public opinion on incorporation of natural behavior into management systems. Animals, 10, 971. doi: 10.3390/ani10060971

Journal - Research Article

Rodriguez Ferrere, M. B., & King, M. (2020). A commissioner for animals. New Zealand Law Journal, (10), 379-382.

Journal - Research Article

King, M., & Ballantyne, A. (2019). Donor-funded research: Permissible, not perfect. Journal of Medical Ethics, 45, 36-40. doi: 10.1136/medethics-2018-104966

Journal - Research Article

Jones, D. G., & King, M. R. (2017). Maintaining the anonymity of cadavers in medical education: Historic relic or educational and ethical necessity? Anatomical Sciences Education, 10(1), 87-97. doi: 10.1002/ase.1618

Journal - Research Article

McMillan, J., & King, M. (2017). Why be moral in a virtual world? Journal of Practical Ethics, 5(2), 30-48. Retrieved from http://www.jpe.ox.ac.uk/

Journal - Research Article

Gavaghan, C., & King, M. (2016). Can facilitated aid in dying be permitted by 'double effect'? Some reflections from a recent New Zealand case. Journal of Medical Ethics, 42(6), 361-366. doi: 10.1136/medethics-2016-103411

Journal - Research Article

King, M. R. (2016). Killing and feeling bad: Animal experimentation and moral stress. Animal Studies Journal, 5(2), 119-133.

Journal - Research Article

King, M. R., Whitaker, M. I., & Jones, D. G. (2014). I see dead people: Insights from the humanities into the nature of plastinated cadavers. Journal of Medical Humanities, 35(4), 361-376. doi: 10.1007/s10912-013-9230-z

Journal - Research Article

Gavaghan, C., & King, M. (2013). Reporting suicide: Safety isn't everything. Journal of Primary Health Care, 5(1), 82-85. doi: 10.1071/HC13082

Journal - Research Article

King, M. R. (2012). A league of their own? Evaluating justifications for the division of sport into 'enhanced' and 'unenhanced' leagues. Sport, Ethics & Philosophy, 6(1), 31-45. doi: 10.1080/17511321.2011.587198

Journal - Research Article

Jones, D. G., King, M. R., & Whitaker, M. I. (2009). Who gets born? How did New Zealand's Bioethics Council arrive at its recommendations? [Viewpoint]. New Zealand Medical Journal, 122(1294). Retrieved from http://journal.nzma.org.nz/journal/122-1294/3585/content.pdf

Journal - Research Article

King, M. R., Morel, P. C. H., Pluske, J. R., & Hendriks, W. H. (2008). A comparison of the effects of dietary spray-dried bovine colostrum and animal plasma on growth and intestinal histology in weaner pigs. Livestock Science, 119, 167-173. doi: 10.1016/j.livsci.2008.04.001

Journal - Research Article

King, M. R., Morel, P. C. H., Revell, D. K., Pluske, J. R., & Birtles, M. J. (2008). Dietary bovine colostrum increases villus height and decreases small intestine weight in early-weaned pigs. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences, 21(4), 567-573.

Journal - Research Article

Wensley, D., & King, M. (2008). Scientific responsibility for the dissemination and interpretation of genetic research: Lessons from the ″warrior gene″ controversy. Journal of Medical Ethics, 34, 507-509. doi: 10.1136/jme.2006.019596

Journal - Research Article

King, M. R., Wester, T. J., & Morel, P. C. H. (2007). The effect of dietary spray-dried bovine colostrum and plasma on the response of pigs to enterotoxigenic E. coli challenge after weaning. Livestock Science, 108, 292-294.

Journal - Research Article

King, M. R., Ravindran, V., Morel, P. C. H., Thomas, D. V., Birtles, M. J., & Pluske, J. R. (2005). Effects of spray-dried colostrum and plasmas on the performance and gut morphology of broiler chickens. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research, 56, 811-817.

Journal - Research Article

Allen, K., Anderson, L., King, M., & Mullan, S. (2023). Competing interests at the heart of equine sports medicine ethics: A scoping review and thematic analysis. Equine Veterinary Journal. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/evj.13942

Journal - Research Other

Zohny, H., McMillan, J., & King, M. (2023). Ethics of generative AI. Journal of Medical Ethics, 49(2), 79-80. doi: 10.1136/jme-2023-108909

Journal - Research Other

King, M. (2019). Implications of moral uncertainty: Implausible or just unpalatable? Journal of Medical Ethics, 45(7), 451-452. doi: 10.1136/medethics-2019-105588

Journal - Research Other

Seddon, P. J., & King, M. (2019). Creating proxies of extinct species: The bioethics of de-extinction. Emerging Topics in Life Sciences, 3(6), 731-735. doi: 10.1042/ETLS20190109

Journal - Research Other

Ensoli, B., Cafaro, A., Amicosante, M., Andrieu, J.-M., Boyer, J. D., Garcia, F., … King, M. R., … van Regenmortel, M. H. V. (2016). Old and new concepts and strategies in HIV vaccinology: A report from a workshop held in Rome on 17 June 2016. Journal of AIDS & Clinical Research, 7(11), 634. doi: 10.4172/2155-6113.1000634

Journal - Research Other

King, M. R. (2016). Basic research in HIV immunology is hampered by reductionist thinking. Frontiers in Immunology, 7, 42. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2016.00042

Journal - Research Other

King, M., Gavaghan, C., & McMillan, J. (2014). Medical regulation of cognitive enhancement devices: Some concerns. Journal of Law & the Biosciences, 1(3), 334-339. doi: 10.1093/jlb/lsu020

Journal - Research Other

Jones, D. G., King, M. R., & Whitaker, M. I. (2012). Brains and persons: An educational perspective. Clinical Anatomy, 25(4), 513-514. doi: 10.1002/ca.22029

Journal - Research Other

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