10 Recommended Animal Rights Readings

by Stephanie Ernst

Published October 03, 2008 @ 06:07PM PST

The list of important, thought-provoking animal rights texts is long and ever-growing. Following are some suggested readings from that list, ranging from gentle, wide-ranging introductions to animal rights philosophy to in-depth treatments of specific issues.

1. Animals Matter: A Biologist Explains Why We Should Treat Animals with Compassion and Respect (2007)

Marc Bekoff, with a foreword by Jane Goodall

An easy-to-read but comprehensive look at the issues surrounding all kinds of human treatment and use of animals, this book by eminent biologist and animal behaviorist Marc Bekoff has value for every reader, from the eighth grader to the college professor, from the newcomer just beginning to learn about animal concerns to the seasoned activist. With clear respect and deep understanding of the animals about whom he writes, Bekoff does not preach to those who do not yet see animals the way that he does—he guides, educates, and reveals, and he does so gently but honestly.

2. Eternal Treblinka: Our Treatment of Animals and the Holocaust (2002)

Charles Patterson

References to the Holocaust in discussions of the horrors that humans inflict on nonhuman animals can be tricky and have been known to offend. But as a respected Holocaust scholar, Charles Patterson is well positioned to explore the analogy and connections in this powerful, well-researched book whose title was inspired by Isaac Bashevis Singer.

3. Empty Cages: Facing the Challenge of Animal Rights (2004)

Tom Regan

Philosopher Tom Regan, one of the most prominent and longtime animal advocates, presents the case for compassion toward animals in this accessible text, with an approach described as eloquent and gentle by his contemporaries. The onetime butcher gives his readers not only a look at the harsh realities of animal exploitation but also a look at the true nature and motivations of frequently stereotyped animal rights activists.

4. "Letter from a Vegan World" (2008)

Joanna Lucas, Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary

In the spring of 2008, discussion of a certain blog post began circulating among the animal rights community—a powerful, direct, uncompromising post that gave faces to and told the heartbreaking stories of animals known only by numbers, animals thought to be raised "humanely." It is a must read.

5. The Pig Who Sang to the Moon: The Emotional World of Farm Animals (2003)

Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson

Here Masson gives his readers valuable, heartwarming, devastating insights into the unique personalities and deeply felt emotions of the animals whose feelings and individuality are so rarely considered by the humans who eat and wear them. Anyone who still thinks that the hamburger or chicken on his or her plate came from a mechanical, unfeeling, unthinking being will find that perspective changed.

6. Introduction to Animal Rights: Your Child or the Dog? (2000)

Gary L. Francione

A prominent figure in the animal rights movement, attorney, abolitionist, and author Gary Francione presents his philosophies on animal rights and explores the property status of animals in a simplified, accessible manner in this overview. He argues convincingly that sentience alone, even without cognitive abilities, is the only quality required for an animal to be deserving of rights.

7. Sacred Cows and Golden Geese: The Human Cost of Experiments on Animals (2000)

C. Ray Greek and Jean Swingle Greek, with a foreword by Jane Goodall

This treatise against medical experimentation on animals does not focus on the horrific cruelties inflicted on those animals, as do many critiques of the animal model, but instead comes at the issue from an angle bound to get all humans' attention—the ways in which animal experimentation negatively and even fatally affects humans themselves. The stunning evidence from this pair of medical professionals is impossible to ignore: the animal model doesn't just harm and kill nonhumans; it kills the humans it is intended to help as well.

8. Slaughterhouse: The Shocking Story of Greed, Neglect, and Inhumane Treatment Inside the U.S. Meat Industry (1997)

Gail A. Eisnitz

The result of a longtime undercover investigation by the Humane Farming Association, Slaughterhouse reveals the truths about what happens when animals are killed for human food. The compelling, deeply disturbing book tells of horrifying practices and policies that most consumers would never imagine are standard practice. The investigation provided confirmation that inspection, enforcement, and adherence to the Humane Slaughter Act are but fairy tales behind the slaughterhouse doors.

9. Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy (2003)

Matthew Scully

Think all animal-advocating books must be written by left-leaning activists and philosophers? Think again. Matthew Scully approaches the topic from an uncommon angle—a conservative one. This former speechwriter for George W. Bush presents some arguments and perspectives that differ starkly from the animal rights perspective—for example, arguing for mercy toward "lower" beings rather than rights for equal beings. And he earned the fury of animal rights advocates everywhere by writing the 2008 vice-presidential acceptance speech for the starkly anti-animal Sarah Palin, but he writes articulately and intelligently for readers who may be less than receptive to other texts arguing on behalf of animals.

10. "They Die Piece by Piece" (2001)

Joby Warrick, Washington Post

The Cyberactivist (2003-2006)

Virgil Butler

These exposés show that little has changed in America's slaughterhouses since Eisnitz's book was published.

In the Washington Post article, the firsthand accounts of slaughterhouse workers and animal health technicians are sickening. They tell not only of common occurrences of unimaginable torture—such as cattle having limbs hacked off and being skinned while they are still conscious and pigs being lowered, screaming, into scalding vats of water to drown—but also of the difficulty in stopping these atrocities: one government technician was fired for reporting cruelty to an animal protection agency when his reports to his agency, in charge of oversight, were repeatedly ignored. The article is no longer available for free but is viewable and printable from the Washington Post archives for a nominal fee.

Virgil Butler, who died in late 2006, wrote in his blog The Cyberactivist about his haunting experiences working at a Tyson slaughterhouse. His detailed personal accounts are some of the most disturbing and, sadly, the most real. Ultimately, he left his job and then worked as a dedicated animal rights activist until his death. See the "Most Frequently Read Posts" section in the blog's sidebar.