Animal Rights and Wrongs

Do animals have rights? If not, do we have duties towards them? If so, what duties? These and a myriad of other issues are discussed in this brilliantly argued book, published in association with the leading think-tank Demos. Why are animal-rights groups so keen to protect the rights of badgers and foxes but not of rats mice or even humans? How can we bridge the growing gap between rural producers and urban consumers? Why is raising animals for fur more heinous than raising them for their meat? Are we as human beings driving other species either to extinction or to a state of dependency? This paperback edition is fully updated with new chapters on the livestoick crisis, fishing and BSE and a layman's guide introduction to philosophical concepts, the book presents a radical respponse to the defenders of animal rights and a challenge to those who think that because they are kind to their pets, they are therefore good news for animals.