Animals, Ethics and Us: A Veterinary?s View of Human-Animal Interactions

A balanced veterinary perspective on the ethical questions behind human-animal interactions.

Everyone has a view about animal ethics. Many people have opinions about whether humans should eat meat, whether animals should be used for scientific research, or whether the use of animals in sport is acceptable. But fewer people stop to examine the basis of those views, rationalise them, or ask what makes an animal use reasonable.

Animals, Ethics and Us brings a stripped back, balanced, and moderate perspective to some of the most important questions in animal welfare, animal rights, and veterinary ethics. Author Madeleine Campbell draws on her experience as a veterinarian, a European Diplomate in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law, a researcher and teacher, and a member of industry ethical review bodies as well as welfare and ethics committees for membership organisations and government.

• Examines major animal ethics questions including when animal use becomes abuse and whether there are things humans should never do to animals
• Explores why humans treat some animals differently from others and how those differences are justified or challenged
• Applies logical argument, philosophical principles, and sound science to modern human-animal interactions
• Brings veterinary knowledge and experience to debates about animal welfare, animal rights, research, sport, meat, and society
• Offers a useful primer for students of animal ethics, welfare, and veterinary medicine, as well as informed owners and animal enthusiasts

Taking ethical argument beyond academia, this 160-page book applies clear reasoning to the question that currently dominates public debate about animals in modern society: what, if anything, is a reasonable use of an animal?

Thought-provoking, accessible, and grounded in veterinary experience, Animals, Ethics and Us is written for a broad readership seeking a scientific and ethically sound perspective on the position of animals in modern life.