For much of human history, most of the population lived and worked on farms but today, information about livestock is more likely to come from children's books than hands-on experience. When ...romanticized notions of an agrarian lifestyle meet with the realities of the modern industrial farm, the result is often a plea for a return to antiquated production methods. The result is a brewing controversy between animal activist groups, farmers, and consumers that is currently being played out in ballot boxes, courtrooms, and in the grocery store. Where is one to turn for advice when deciding whether to pay double the price for cage-free eggs, or in determining how to vote on ballot initiates seeking to ban practices such as the use of gestation crates in pork production or battery cage egg production? At present, there is no clear answer. What is missing from the animal welfare debate is an objective approach that can integrate the writings of biologists and philosophers, while providing a sound and logical basis for determining the consequences of farm animal welfare policies. What is missing in the debate? Economics. This book journeys from the earliest days of animal domestication to modern industrial farms. Delving into questions of ethics and animal sentience, the authors use data from ingenious consumers' experiments conducted with real food, real money, and real animals to compare the costs and benefits of improving animal care. They show how the economic approach to animal welfare raises new questions and ethical conundrums, as well as providing unique and counter-intuitive results.
Are animals capable of wonder? Can they be said to possess language
and reason? What can animals teach us about how to live well? How
can they help us to see the limitations of human civilization? Is
...it possible to draw firm distinctions between humans and animals?
And how might asking and answering questions like these lead us to
rethink human-animal relations in an age of catastrophic ecological
destruction? In this accessible and engaging book, Matthew Calarco
explores key issues in the philosophy of animals and their
significance for our contemporary world. He leads readers on a
spirited tour of historical and contemporary philosophy, ranging
from Plato to Donna Haraway and from the Cynics to the Jains.
Calarco unearths surprising insights about animals from a number of
philosophers while also underscoring ways in which the
philosophical tradition has failed to challenge the dogma of
human-centeredness. Along the way, he indicates how mainstream
Western philosophy is both complemented and challenged by
non-Western traditions and noncanonical theories about animals.
Throughout, Calarco uses examples from contemporary culture to
illustrate how philosophical theories about animals are deeply
relevant to our lives today. The Boundaries of Human
Nature shows readers why philosophy can help transform not
just the way we think about animals but also how we interact with
them.
Game changer Martin, Glen
2012., 20120229, 2012, 2012-03-30
eBook
Are conservation and protecting animals the same thing? In Game Changer, award-winning environmental reporter Glen Martin takes a fresh look at this question as it applies to Africa's megafauna. ...Martin assesses the rising influence of the animal rights movement and finds that the policies championed by animal welfare groups could lead paradoxically to the elimination of the very species—including elephants and lions—that are the most cherished. In his anecdotal and highly engaging style, Martin takes readers to the heart of the conflict. He revisits the debate between conservationists, who believe that people whose lives are directly impacted by the creation of national parks and preserves should be compensated, versus those who believe that restrictive protection that forbids hunting is the most effective way to conserve wildlife and habitats. Focusing on the different approaches taken by Kenya, Tanzania, and Namibia, Martin vividly shows how the world's last great populations of wildlife have become the hostages in a fight between those who love animals and those who would save them.
This handbook presents a much-needed and comprehensive exploration of the rapidly growing fields of animal welfare and law. In recent years there has been increasing attention paid to our complex, ...multifaceted relationships with other animals, and in particular, the depth and breadth of various societal uses of animals. This has led to a reconsideration of their moral and social status, which has sometimes challenged the interests of those who use animals. In such a contested domain, sound evidence and reasoning become particularly important. Through firm commitment to such principles, this book explores the biological foundations for the moral consideration of animals and for evolving conceptualisations of animal welfare. It reviews in detail the welfare concerns associated with numerous forms of animal use. The inclusion of key recent developments such as climate change, pandemics, and antimicrobial resistance, ensures this text is among the most current in its field. The ethical implications of the various uses of animals by society are considered, and chapters provide important recommendations for reforms of practice, law, or policy. The status of animal law internationally, and in major world regions, is reviewed. Finally, the book considers human behavioural change and strategies for improving stakeholder communication and education. The handbook is essential reading for students and scholars of animal welfare, animal law and animal ethics everywhere, and for policy-makers and other professionals working in the animal welfare sector.
Fighting Nature is an insightful analysis of the historical legacy of 19th century colonialism, war, animal acquisition and transportation. This legacy of entrenched beliefs about the human right to ...exploit other animal species is yet to be defeated. Throughout the 19th century animals were integrated into staged scenarios of confrontation, ranging from lion acts in small cages to large-scale re-enactments of war. Initially presenting a handful of exotic animals, travelling menageries grew to contain multiple species in their thousands. These 19th-century menageries entrenched beliefs about the human right to exploit nature through war-like practices against other animal species. Animal shows became a stimulus for antisocial behaviour as locals taunted animals, caused fights, and even turned into violent mobs. Human societal problems were difficult to separate from issues of cruelty to animals.
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