‘War On the Animals’: 100 national animal welfare laws, 117 years of futility
‘War On the Animals’: 100 national animal welfare laws, 117 years of futility
MARKUS WILD: Humanism has elevated humanity above its natural condition, but our relationship to animals remains in a state of war. Today, the legally sanctioned… “business-like slaughtering machine” operates globally. The only difference is that the market is dominated not by beef or pork, but the chicken-lives industry. (Did you misread that as “chicken liver”?) Over 70 per cent of growth in the global meat industry has been driven by broilers. After the market leaders China, Brazil and the USA, the biggest producers are the European Union, India, Thailand, Mexico, Russia and Turkey. The imperial behaviour of the poultry industry […]
‘They’re Eating the Dogs’: The history of racism and speciesism as a means to maintain social hierarchies
‘They’re Eating the Dogs’: The history of racism and speciesism as a means to maintain social hierarchies
JESSICA SCOTT-REID: It was a moment in history that overshadowed the rest of the night. As we all know by now, during the recent 2024 U.S. presidential debate, Republican nominee Donald Trump claimed that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating pets, namely dogs and cats. The moment went viral, becoming arguably the most talked about soundbite of the evening… But why did this clear misinformation take such a strong hold of news cycle and social media threads? The answer lies in a deep history of racism, and a legacy of using animals and food as a means to create and […]
JUST LIKE US?: The darker side of human rights for great apes
JUST LIKE US?: The darker side of human rights for great apes
PATRICIA MacCORMACK: Great apes are the subset of non-human primates which include orangutans, gorillas, bonobos and chimpanzees. Over 16 years ago Spain first tried to grant great apes personhood. The cross party resolution was discussed but was never brought into law. Currently, “unnecessary” experimentation is banned on great apes in 29 countries including the UK, the EU and New Zealand. This includes vivisection (surgery on a live body) or torture, depending on your attitude to the moral rights of great apes)… This may sound progressive. The problem is that “necessary” is defined in different ways. It usually focuses on crisis […]
