HOW TO LOVE ANIMALS

Financial Times chief features writer Mance explores what humans living in the destructive Anthropocene Era can do to help—and hopefully save—the animals of the Earth.

Early on, the author observes that loving animals is “one of western society’s core values.” Yet the thoughtless, often inhumane ways that people treat them go against this principle—and against “rational thinking.” Drawing on research and interviews, Mance brings to light the many contradictions in the human-animal relationship while offering insight into how individuals can protect an animal kingdom in crisis. The author, a former meat eater who is now vegan, reminds readers that humans “started off being hunted by [animals] before we turned into hunters.” He argues that the notion of animal pain did not become a seriously discussed topic in ethics until philosopher Jeremy Bentham wrote about it in 1789. Taking temporary jobs at a slaughterhouse and observing a Portuguese fishery and fish market, Mance witnessed—and questioned—the taking of animal lives for human consumption. He also investigated meat alternatives such as the Impossible burger and went on hunting trips to help him understand when and how the killing of animals might be justified. The author then goes on to explore the problematic nature of the love humans feel toward animals. He joined idealistic but at times comically confused animal rights activists and attended a San Francisco dog convention where “people dressed as corgis, and corgis dressed as people.” Pets, writes Mance, complicate matters by taking the focus off of the entire animal world and making humans believe that to engage with their fellow creatures, they must possess them. Written with an ever present awareness of climate change and the ecological disaster it portends for all terrestrial life, this clearsighted book offers a clarion call to not only foster greater sensitivity toward the animal world as a whole, but to recognize the Earth as more than just a “human-shaped” space.

An urgent, humane, and exceptionally well-documented book.