Animal Rights & Human Morality

by Bernard E. Rollin

It's been more than two decades since the first edition of this landmark book garnered public accolades for its sensitive yet honest and forthright approach to the many disquieting questions surrounding the emotional debate over animal rights. Is moral concern something owed by human beings only to human beings? Drawing upon his philosophical expertise, his extensive experience of working with animal issues all over the world, and his knowledge of biological science, Bernard E. Rollin - now widely recognized as the father of veterinary ethics - develops a compelling analysis of animal rights as it is emerging in society. The result is a sound basis for rational discussion and social policy development in this area of rapidly growing concern. He believes that society must elevate the moral status of animals and protect their rights as determined by their natures. His public speaking and published works have contributed to passage of major federal legislation designed to increase the well-being of laboratory animals. This new third edition is greatly expanded and includes a new chapter on animal agriculture, plus additional discussions of animal law, companion animal issues, genetic engineering, animal pain, animal research, and many other topics.

Genres: Philosophy, Animals, Nonfiction

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Professor Bernard E. Rollin is University Distinguished Professor, Professor of Philosophy, Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Professor of Animal Sciences and University Bioethicist at Colorado State University. His scholarly interests include both traditional philosophy and applied philosophy and much of his research is focused on animal welfare. He has been a valued member of the Voiceless Scientific Expert Advisory Council since 2009.

Bernard has a Bachelor’s Degree from the City College of New York and a PhD from Columbia. He is the author of over 400 papers and fourteen books including Science and Ethics and Animal Rights and Human Morality which won an Outstanding Book of the Year Award from the American Association of University Libraries. He has consulted for the US Department of Agriculture and for a number of multinational corporations including United Airlines, PETCO, DuPont and the US Soybean Association on a variety of agricultural and animal welfare issues. He served on the Pew National Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production (PCIFAP) and on the Institute for Laboratory Animal Resources (ILAR) Council of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2008, he mediated a historic agreement between the Humane Society of the U.S. and Colorado agriculture resulting in legislation advancing the welfare of farm animals.

Rollin was named to the Distinguished Faculty Gallery by the College of Veterinary Medicine at CSU in 1992. He has twice been awarded the Brownlee Award for outstanding achievement in Animal Welfare Science by the Animal Welfare Foundation of Canada and is a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association. In 2005, he was awarded the Henry Spira Award in Animal Welfare by Johns Hopkins University Centre for Alternatives to Animal Testing and received the Humane Award from the American Veterinary Medical Association in 2007.

He recently contributed to the documentary film The Superior Human? which challenges the Cartesian duality which hierarchically divides humans from other animals.

Reviews

[l · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn't really interested in this book tbh - it's good but it's a rehash of all the other books on the same subject matter - but it was available at my local library and I wanted to see what his writing style was like before heading off to Gerstein to get his book on veterinary ethics.

His personal anecdotes are strangely macho; he challenges his opponents to fistfights and tells the reader that he's an anarchist because he rides a motorcycle without a helmet (really? why are men so sad all the time?)

He also talks about how the public's image of an animal rights advocate is 'a little old lady in tennis shoes who speaks with heart, not head' and instead of questioning this image and acknowledging all the important, pioneering work that women did in the animal rights movement, he states that the modern animal rights movement is more characterized by 'the articulation of a powerful and rational ethic for animals by philosophers like Peter Singer, Tom Regan, Steve Sapontzis, Dale Jamieson, Stephen Clark, myself, and others.' Mmhmm.

Also, something about the way he talks about race/racism makes me wary.

Maybe this is just my experiences with white male animal rights advocates speaking though!

[Katrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rollin gives the most thorough and compelling arguments for the consideration of animals as individuals with righs. And he's no radical, just a thoughtful man willing to include everyone in this discussion, including ranchers and vivisectionists.

[Carri Ann Copas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had Dr. Rollin as a professor at Colorado State University and have nothing but the utmost respect for him and his work.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I initially read this book while taking Dr. Rollin's class at Colorado State University. I really enjoyed the book in conjunction to the class, and preferred his methods compared to other animal rights activists. Instead of a complete change in animal usage (such as meat-free diets or the abolition of animal testing), Rollin prefers small ones (such as bigger areas for sows to nest or the use of free range space for chickens) to slowly encourage the ethical treatment of animals.
If you have a familiarity with philosophy and you're interested in a primer for animal rights and ethics, you'll enjoy this book!

[Heather Browning · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book on animal rights. The first chapter is the perfect introduction for anyone who wants to understand why animals should be given moral consideration, and the rest give practical ideas of where and how this should be implemented. Rollin has a great perspective to write from, as someone who has done real work in improving animal welfare, and his stories of what he has done and how he has done it were interesting and inspiring.

[Hillary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an informative and persuasive text about the intersection of human morality and our treatment of animals as research subjects, companions, and future food. Rollin writes for a broad audience but is philosophically rigorous. This might be challenging for a reader totally unfamiliar with philosophical discourse, but definitely worthwhile.