Animalscam: The Beastly Abuse of Human Rights

"AnimalScam is an absolutely must-read book for everyone who strives to understand what the 'animal rights' movement is all about. The information presented is thoroughly documented, so that some rational balance may finally be possible in the discussion of human uses of animals. AnimalScam may be long overdue, but now it will be a valuable reference and educational tool for a long time."

- Dr. Dixy Lee Ray, Former Governor of Washington State and Author of Trashing the Planet and Environmental Overkill

An intemperate and ill-considered attack on the animal-rights movement by a founder of Putting People First, ``a national nonprofit organization that promotes human rights, animal welfare, and conservation.'' Marquardt's quarrel with animal-rightists began reasonably enough when, in 1990, her daughter was told by an animal-rights advocate that ``all hunters are murderers'' (`` `Mommy, she said you're a murderer,' cried my daughter Montana'')--a shock that prompted the author to launch PPF. Here, though, Marquardt's argument is fraught with invective, misinformation, and absurdities. ``Every time animal rights leaders open their mouths, they lie,'' she proclaims. ``They...preach the virtues of a paleolithic lifestyle, and try to persuade others to join them in worshiping rats and bugs.'' In a heavily documented but relentlessly one-sided survey, the author examines animal-rights groups (PeTA in particular), as well as animal-rights issues in science, hunting, clothing, food, pets, and entertainment. In nearly every case, she defends the scientific and commercial treatment of animals, from the controversial Draize eye test (now abandoned by several major cosmetics firms) to the debeaking of mass-produced chickens and the oft-condemned methods of raising veal calves. Expectedly, Marquardt vigorously highlights the worst abuses--arson, mail-bombings, etc.--of animal-rightists, but she commits abuses of her own, the most grievous being her attack on vegetarians (that ``no bona fide health expert is recommending that people give up beef'' is nonsense--what about Gary Null?), which hits its nadir when she dwells on Hitler's vegetarianism. Moreover, she seems ignorant about animals; most anyone who's owned a dog will dispute her claim that animals are ``incapable of moral cognition.'' Akin to literary terrorism; those interested in a reasoned critique of the animal-rights movement should look at Vicki Hearne's Animal Happiness (reviewed above). -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

The ecology movement's outer fringe, as both critics and sympathizers of green thinking will agree, lies with groups like Earth First! and PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). Believing humanity to be a scourge on the planet, they occasionally carry out their convictions with outright criminality, applauding, though perhaps not perpetrating, the arson, bombing, and maiming of scientists using animals for research. On the fuzzy side, they plead for animal rights on bus placards, in the media, and in primary schools. It was in a school, in fact, where Montana ranch mom Marquardt's kids learned from a PETA person that she was a murderer because she hunts for food. Marquardt culled all the news reports about PETA, organized her own group (Putting People First), and wrote this manifesto. It gleefully repeats the weirder public statements made by animal rightists, chastises their fund-raising tactics, and praises the medical benefits of animal experimentation. Especially in rural areas and in the West, where people interact frequently with animals, this energetic polemic is apt to receive nodding support and perhaps recruit new members for Marquardt's group. Gilbert Taylor

Marquardt is the founder of Putting People First, a nonprofit organization that promotes human rights and animal welfare and opposes animal rights extremism. Her book is an expose of the animal rights movement, especially the more violent activist groups. According to the author, the animal rightists are dangerous and try to gain support by presenting false evidence. Despite the sometimes childish tone of her book, Marquardt supports her opinions with well-documented evidence, including direct quotes from animal activists and descriptions of specific terrorist events. The arguments are convincing, although a committed animal rightist would probably not be swayed. Appendixes provide a wealth of useful information, including lists of organizations, a chronology of animal rights extremism, an overview of the benefits derived from animal research, and suggestions for appropriate action. Libraries with animal rights collections should balance their inventories by purchasing this book.
- Deborah Emerson, Monroe Community Coll. Lib., Rochester, N.Y.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.