Loving Animals: Toward a New Animal Advocacy
Kathy Rudy
Abstract
The contemporary animal rights movement encompasses a wide range of sometimes-competing agendas from vegetarianism to animal liberation. For people for whom pets are family members—animal lovers outside the fray—extremist positions in which all human–animal interaction is suspect often discourage involvement in the movement to end cruelty to other beings. This book argues that in order to achieve such goals as ending animal testing and factory farming, activists need to be better attuned to the profound emotional, even spiritual, attachment that many people have with the animals in their lives ... More
The contemporary animal rights movement encompasses a wide range of sometimes-competing agendas from vegetarianism to animal liberation. For people for whom pets are family members—animal lovers outside the fray—extremist positions in which all human–animal interaction is suspect often discourage involvement in the movement to end cruelty to other beings. This book argues that in order to achieve such goals as ending animal testing and factory farming, activists need to be better attuned to the profound emotional, even spiritual, attachment that many people have with the animals in their lives. Offering an alternative to both the acceptance of animal exploitation and radical animal liberation, the text shows that a deeper understanding of the nature of our feelings for and about animals can redefine the human–animal relationship in a positive way. The text explores five realms in which humans use animals: as pets, for food, in entertainment, in scientific research, and for clothing. In each case it presents new methods of animal advocacy to reach a more balanced and sustainable relationship association built on reciprocity and connection.
Keywords:
animal rights movement,
vegetarianism,
animal liberation,
pets,
animal lovers,
human–animal interaction,
animal testing,
factory farming,
animals
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2011 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780816674688 |
| Published to Minnesota Scholarship Online: August 2015 |
DOI:10.5749/minnesota/9780816674688.001.0001 |
