Drawing the Line: Science and the Case for Animal Rights - Softcover

Wise, Steven M.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0738208108 ISBN 13: 9780738208107

Publisher: Basic Books, 2003

Synopsis

Are we ready for parrots and dolphins to be treated as persons before the law? In this unprecedented exploration of animal cognition along the evolutionary spectrum-from infants and children to other intelligent primates, from dolphins, parrots, elephants, and dogs to colonies of honeybees-Steve Wise finds answers to the big question in animal rights today: Where do we draw the line? Readers will be enthralled as they follow Wise's firsthand account of the world's most famous animal experts at work: Cynthia Moss and the touchingly affectionate families of Amboseli; Irene Pepperberg and her amazing and witty African Grey parrot, Alex; and Penny Paterson with the formidable gorilla Koko. In many cases, Wise was able to sustain an extended conversation with these extraordinary creatures. No one with even a shred of curiosity about animal intelligence or justice will want to miss this book.

About this title

About the Author

Steven M. Wise, J.D., has practiced animal law for over twenty years and has taught at the Harvard, Vermont, and John Marshall law schools. He is President of the Center for the Expansion of Fundamental Rights, which he founded in 1995. The author of Rattling the Cage, praised by Cass Sunstein as "an impassioned, fascinating, and in many ways startling book" (New York Times Book Review), and Drawing the Line, which Nature called "provocative and disturbing," he has been profiled nationally by such publications as the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Time magazine.

From Publishers Weekly

Whether or not one accepts Wise's premise that certain animal species meet the law's criteria for personhood, his book is a fascinating examination of animal behavior and intelligence. Crammed with data, case studies and reports from the field, it engages the reader in a thoughtful debate about the place of animals in a world dominated by humans. Not only does Wise (Rattling the Cage) know how to build a logical argument for legal rights for some animals, he also knows how to tell a good story. From early morning forays in Ugandan mountain forests, where he observes the complex behavior and social structure of chimpanzees, to the MIT Media Lab, where he chronicles the astounding mental agility of its resident parrot-scholar, Alex, Wise strengthens his case and intrigues the reader with his tales. The narrative includes creatures both exotic (the loving family groups of elephants in Kenya) and common (our beloved companion dogs) and there's even the occasional animal celebrity (Wise visits Koko the gorilla and her teacher, Penny Patterson, and has a somewhat stilted but still very incredible conversation with the primate). Readers who have in the past dismissed the arguments for animal rights as trivial or foolish may not be persuaded to the opposite view, but they will find some of their assumptions strongly challenged. For those who already champion animal rights, this book will further convince them of their just cause.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0738208108
• ISBN 13: 9780738208107
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336