How to love animals: in a human-shaped world

"Why is it okay to kill 1.5 billion pigs this year, but an outrage to slaughter a dog?" asks Financial Times journalist Mance in his thought-provoking debut. A love of animals and rational thinking are "western society's core values," he writes, and yet the way humans treat animals is full of contradictions. To help readers understand animals' place in the world, he follows the development of the RSPCA in England, created by a lawyer in response to the typical practice of horses being "flogged to death, so that travelers could take unnecessary journeys." He covers other animal welfare and environmental conservation movements, too, pointing out their historically clashing ideals: proponents of animal rights would state that an individual deer is equally important as its herd, while environmentalists would argue the opposite. Considerable attention is given to the morality of eating animals, as well as how they are "degraded" before slaughter, and Mance discusses his own turn to veganism as the logical outcome of his concern for animal welfare. Throughout, the author is sensible and evenhanded, offering straightforward encouragement over contentious judgment: "We can work out what animals can offer us and what responsibilities we owe to them." Mance's plea for better treatment of animals will open eyes. (July)

Financial Times chief features writer Mance explores what humans living in the destructive Anthropocene Era can do to help--and hopefully save--the animals of the Earth. Early on, the author observes that loving animals is "one of western society's core values." Yet the thoughtless, often inhumane ways that people treat them go against this principle--and against "rational thinking." Drawing on research and interviews, Mance brings to light the many contradictions in the human-animal relationship while offering insight into how individuals can protect an animal kingdom in crisis. The author, a former meat eater who is now vegan, reminds readers that humans "started off being hunted by [animals] before we turned into hunters." He argues that the notion of animal pain did not become a seriously discussed topic in ethics until philosopher Jeremy Bentham wrote about it in 1789. Taking temporary jobs at a slaughterhouse and observing a Portuguese fishery and fish market, Mance witnessed--and questioned--the taking of animal lives for human consumption. He also investigated meat alternatives such as the Impossible burger and went on hunting trips to help him understand when and how the killing of animals might be justified. The author then goes on to explore the problematic nature of the love humans feel toward animals. He joined idealistic but at times comically confused animal rights activists and attended a San Francisco dog convention where "people dressed as corgis, and corgis dressed as people." Pets, writes Mance, complicate matters by taking the focus off of the entire animal world and making humans believe that to engage with their fellow creatures, they must possess them. Written with an ever present awareness of climate change and the ecological disaster it portends for all terrestrial life, this clearsighted book offers a clarion call to not only foster greater sensitivity toward the animal world as a whole, but to recognize the Earth as more than just a "human-shaped" space. An urgent, humane, and exceptionally well-documented book. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

"Why is it okay to kill 1.5 billion pigs this year, but an outrage to slaughter a dog?" asks Financial Times journalist Mance in his thought-provoking debut. A love of animals and rational thinking are "western society's core values," he writes, and yet the way humans treat animals is full of contradictions. To help readers understand animals' place in the world, he follows the development of the RSPCA in England, created by a lawyer in response to the typical practice of horses being "flogged to death, so that travelers could take unnecessary journeys." He covers other animal welfare and environmental conservation movements, too, pointing out their historically clashing ideals: proponents of animal rights would state that an individual deer is equally important as its herd, while environmentalists would argue the opposite. Considerable attention is given to the morality of eating animals, as well as how they are "degraded" before slaughter, and Mance discusses his own turn to veganism as the logical outcome of his concern for animal welfare. Throughout, the author is sensible and evenhanded, offering straightforward encouragement over contentious judgment: "We can work out what animals can offer us and what responsibilities we owe to them." Mance's plea for better treatment of animals will open eyes. (July)