The most appropriate words to describe The Routledge Handbook of Animal Ethics are: clear, concise, and concrete. The handbook is edited by Bob Fischer who teaches philosophy at Texas State University, and he is currently one of the most competent scholars in animal ethics. The volume contains 44 contributions organized in six main sections: ‘Thinking About Animals’, ‘Animal Agriculture and Hunting’, ‘Animal Research and Genetic Engineering’, ‘Companion Animals’, ‘Wild Animals: Conservation, Management, and Ethics’, and ‘Animal Activism’. Such sections cover the research problems typically associated with animal ethics and the human involvement in the life and death of other sentient beings.

The contributors are predominately from North America and have different backgrounds. A fair number of authors work in the field of philosophy, others are committed to working in fields such as psychology, biology, law and economics. Very interestingly, some of the contributors have a significant experience in nonprofit organizations related, directly or indirectly, with animals. As a result, the volume presents a multi-disciplinary and real-world grounded approach that makes it unique in its kind. To better see this, it might be helpful to compare ‘The Moral Animal’ by Mark Rowlands with ‘Cultured Meat: A New Story for the Future Food’ by Max Elder. The former is a typical philosophical writing; the latter, while addressing ethical issues, also takes into account practical aspects concerning the food industry and the production of cultured meat. This variety of approaches gives the reader the opportunity to undertake a journey into animal ethics by becoming familiar with both theoretical and practical issues.

Among the various sections of the volume, one of the most interesting ones is ‘Animal Activism’ which is both informative and inspiring. Indeed, on one hand, there are contributions that provide a detailed picture of what animal activism is. Consider, in particular, ‘The History of Animal Activism: Intersectional Advocacy and the American Human Movement’ by Janet M. Davis, and ‘The Political and Cultural Sociology of Animal Advocacy’ by Erin M. Evans. On the other, this section also provides some criticisms of animal activism which may stimulate a constructive debate among those activists who aim to improve their practice of advocacy. In ‘Beyond compare: Intersectionality and Interspeciesism for Co-liberation With Other Animals’, for example, Nekeisha Alayna Alexis questions some methods deployed by activists. Alexis points out that many activists share the tactic of comparing the violence suffered by animals to the violence suffered, in different circumstances, by humans. However, if, on one hand, this seems to be a very direct and effective way to raise compassion, on the other hand this tactic presents some serious shortcomings. Indeed, in addition to causing controversy, this tactic fails to do justice to both human and non-human animals. Alexis, thus, expresses the need for a deeper solidarity and an activism capable to take into account the needs of both human and non-human animals. 

The section ‘Animal Activism’, nevertheless, falls short on a point which is considering animal rights activists’ emotions. The topic of emotions is dealt with relatively well in the volume. Kristina M. Horback, for example, in ‘The Emotional Lives of Animals’ examines in detail the emotional states of animals. In ‘The Origin of Factory Farming in the United States: an Overview’, James McWilliams points out how the emotional distance between farmers and farm animals contributed to developing cruel farming methods. There is not, however, an actual examination of the emotions experienced by animal rights activists and their consequences. Animal rights activist must face several emotional challenges mainly due to the difficulty in achieving a rapid change and the consequent sense of helplessness (Bryant 2006). Moreover, animal rights activists must often face stressful infighting with activists belonging to different factions (Greenebaum 2009). These challenges may cause activist to burnout and lead them to leave activism (Gorski et al. 2019). 

This minor shortcoming, however, does not compromise the quality of this volume. The Routledge Handbook of Animal Ethics is a valuable tool for having a comprehensive overview about animal ethics, and its simple writing style makes it accessible to everyone. The volume is particularly suitable for those people who are taking the first steps into the world of animal activism. 

Works cited

Bryant, T. L. (2006), Trauma, law, and advocacy for animals, Journal of Animal Law and Ethics, 1, 63-138

Gorski, P., Lopresti-Goodman, S., Rising, D. (2019), “Nobody’s paying me to cry”: the causes of activist burnout in United States animal rights activists, Social Movement Studies, 18:3, 364-380

Greenebaum, J. (2009), “I am not an activist!”: Animal rights vs. animal welfare in the purebred dog rescue movement, Society & Animals, 17, 289-304

About the reviewer

Gloria Sansò is a PhD student in Philosophy at the University at Buffalo. Her field of research is social ontology. She is also interested in animal studies and animal rights activism.  

Categories: Ethics

Keywords: animal ethics, ethics