'Why Animal Suffering Matters' Book

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Why Animal Suffering Matters is a new book by the Rev. Andrew Linzey

Lots of people are disturbed by animal suffering, but hard pressed to say why it really matters. It is still sometimes supposed that caring for animals is just an 'emotional' issue with no rational basis. Our exploitation of animals rests on a range of 'differences' that are supposed to justify their inferior treatment. But when analysed, these very differences, so often regarded as a basis for discriminating against them, are the very grounds for discriminating in favour of them.

In this new book, Andrew Linzey offers a radical new paradigm for our treatment of animals, maintaining that animals, like young children, should be accorded a special moral status. The argument is buttressed by a detailed analysis of three practical issues: hunting with dogs, fur-farming, and commercial sealing. After reading this book, it will be difficult for anyone to argue that any of these practices is morally defensible.

About the Author:

Andrew Linzey is Director of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, and a Member of the Faculty of Theology in the University of Oxford . He has published more than 20 books including: Animal Theology, Creatures of the Same God, and The Link Between Animal Abuse and Human Violence.

Oxford University Press USA
206 pp

ISBN13: 9780195379778
ISBN10: 0195379772