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Many people consider themselves to be both environmentalists and supporters of animal welfare and rights. Yet, despite the many issues which bring environmentalists and animal advocates together, for decades there have been flashpoints which seem to pit these two social movements against each other, dividing them in ways unhelpful to both.
In this innovative book, Amy J. Fitzgerald analyses historic, philosophical, and socio-cultural reasons for this divide. Tackling three core contentious issues - sport hunting, zoos, and fur - over which there has been profound disagreement between segments of these movements, she demonstrates that, even here, they are not as far apart as is generally assumed, and that there is space where they could more productively work together.
Charting a path forwards, she points to evolving practices and broad structural forces which are likely to draw the movements closer together in the future. The threats posed by industrial animal agriculture to the environment and to non-human and human animals demand, once and for all, that we bridge the divide between animal advocacy and environmentalism.
List of contents
Abbreviations viii
Introduction 1
1 The Animal Advocacy Movement(s) 22
2 Sport Hunting: Environmental Stewardship, Cultural Ritual, or Blood Sport? 54
3 Zoos and Aquaria: Species Conservation, Education, or Unethical Imprisonment? 85
4 Fur: "Green" or Irredeemably Cruel Product? 111
5 Industrial Animal Agriculture: Injustice Writ Large? 135
6 Reconciliation and the Way Forward 160
Notes 190
References 192
Index 213
About the author
Amy J. Fitzgerald is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology and the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research at the University of Windsor, Canada
Summary
Many people consider themselves to be both environmentalists and supporters of animal welfare and rights. Yet, despite the many issues which bring environmentalists and animal advocates together, for decades there have been flashpoints which seem to pit these two social movements against each other, dividing them in ways unhelpful to both.
In this innovative book, Amy J. Fitzgerald analyses historic, philosophical, and socio-cultural reasons for this divide. Tackling three core contentious issues - sport hunting, zoos, and fur - over which there has been profound disagreement between segments of these movements, she demonstrates that, even here, they are not as far apart as is generally assumed, and that there is space where they could more productively work together.
Charting a path forwards, she points to evolving practices and broad structural forces which are likely to draw the movements closer together in the future. The threats posed by industrial animal agriculture to the environment and to non-human and human animals demand, once and for all, that we bridge the divide between animal advocacy and environmentalism.
Report
"For too long, a rift has existed between animal advocacy and environmentalism. Amy Fitzgerald mends the rift, showing how animal advocates and environmentalists can work together to protect all life on the beautiful planet we call home."
Leslie Irvine, University of Colorado at Boulder
"Fitzgerald offers compelling evidence and argumentation that animal advocacy and environmental movements have much more in common than scholars and activists have assumed. This brilliant study presents researchers and advocates with the tools to critically examine and explore the implications of those unexpected linkages."
David N. Pellow, University of California, Santa Barbara
