On this day in 1941, Virginia Woolf took her life. She took a short walk from her home, Monk’s House at Rodmell in Sussex, to commit suicide. She walked into the River Ouse, after filling her coat pockets with stones. More than perhaps any other literary figure I can think of, Virginia Woolf has a… Read More
I have known Peter Singer since the late 1970s and greatly admire and respect him. His influence on my understanding of animal ethics is significant. This does not mean to say that I agree with everything he says. Because I don’t. In truth, there isn’t anyone who I agree with completely, including myself! Given my… Read More
Whether you agree or not with the premise made in Steven Pinker’s new book, The Better Angels of Our Nature, it cannot but help to provoke a great deal of interest in anyone who thinks and cares deeply about the human condition. The significant amount of media attention given to the book suggests that we… Read More
Attending last evening’s launch of two new Animal Studies books at the University of Brighton, I was reminded, once again, of the generational shift currently underway in which young people who had grown up in a climate of increased public awareness of animal rights and environmental advocacy are now ascending into positions of authority in… Read More
Among the number of animal advocates who I most admire are Karen Davis, president and founder of United Poultry Concerns, and the philosopher Peter Singer. In a movement that isn’t always capable of rational and respectful debate on ideas and strategy, Karen makes the case in this thoughtful and fascinating article that Peter’s ethical stance… Read More
Seventy years ago today Virginia Woolf drowned herself. It would be remiss not to remember a writer who continues to inspire probably more than any other.… Read More
This second review of The Animal Rights Debate by Gary Francione and Robert Garner is by Carlo Salzani and is published on the Humanimalia Web site. Again, a thoughtful review. This time, however, a third book is also considered: Beyond Animal Rights: Food, Pets and Ethics by Tony Milligan (Continuum), which I’m not familiar with. Salzani concludes… Read More
The Animal Rights Debate by Gary Francione and Robert Garner is an important book for those who worry over ethics and politics and the tension of strategy within both. My review is forthcoming; however, Ben Mepham‘s is a good place to start. For example, I thought this was an astute remark. Without attempting a blow-by-blow summary of… Read More
embedded by Embedded VideoYouTube Direkt Captain Beefheart. Genius.… Read More
Any suggestion of any canon of prescribed required reading inevitably invites comments. Invariably, they are hostile and unforgiving. “You dared to include this book but omitted that one,” someone is bound to say. Nonetheless, it is knowing that brickbats and bouquets will no doubt come my way that I propose my Animal Rights Top Ten… Read More
Really excellent telly program produced by BBC 4 called “In Their Own Words,” which is, as the Beeb describes it, ‘the story of the British novel in the 20th century told by those who know it best – the authors themselves.’ It’s a three-part series. The first is up now at iPlayer. So, you’ve got… Read More
Anyone read Power: A Radical View by Steven Lukes? I’m quick reading it. One point stood out, which now seems so obvious, but never occurred to me before: Power is at its most effective when it is invisible. A good case in point is the power of speciesism–the ideology by which humans exert power over… Read More
Changes have been made to my Web site to bring more into focus the two books I’m currently working on. My first book, Animal Dharma, explores what it means to care deeply about animals and discovers how we can live peacefully with ourselves and others by proposing four key values: truth, compassion, non-violence and interbeing,… Read More
This week I became the proud owner of Songs of Freedom. Selected and Edited, with an Introduction, by Henry S. Salt (London: The Walter Scott Publishing Co., Ltd.; 1893). Salt wrote Animals’ Rights. Considered in Relation to Social Progress in 1894. He was also the founder of the Humanitarian League. In the Introduction to Songs… Read More
Will Self is an author whom I increasingly appreciate. There is, for example, this exquisite ramble published recently in the London Review of Books. Animal rights folks would do well to read his novel, Great Apes. Anyway, I reproduce below in its entirety yesterday’s blog, “The Spartan Girl.” There are references to current events that not… Read More
The Animals and Society Institute (ASI) publishes a series of Policy Papers on specific animal issues and their impact in the public policy arena. Six Policy Papers have been published since 2006: Dog Bites: Problems and Solutions by Janis Bradley, which was made possible with the generous support of the Animal Farm Foundation and is… Read More
The Sexual Politics of Meat by Carol J. Adams is one of the most important books on animal rights and related matters. This video celebrating a new edition published for its twentieth anniversary explains why. embedded by Embedded Video… Read More
I’m not someone who has to have their commitment to veganism legitimized because someone is or isn’t (or was or wasn’t) a vegetarian. Frankly, I don’t care about what anyone else does. (Well, I may have a strop if someone isn’t who I think should be.) I care about what I do today as I’m… Read More
I just received in the mail from the US a copy of Teaching the Animal: Human-Animal Studies across the Disciplinesedited by Margo DeMello and published by Lantern Books. Obviously, I’ve only had a chance to thumb through this volume but it looks immediately to be a very important addition to the literature.… Read More
Here’s a link to read my review of Jonathan Balcombe’s Second Nature.… Read More
