Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 448 pages
• Published by: St. Martin's Griffin October 1, 2003
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0312319738
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0312319731
• Book Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Weighs: 14.1 ounces

Reader Reviews
This review is from: Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy (Hardcover) Matthew Scully has written a beautiful book in which he bases his argument for animal protection not on rights, liberation, or ethics, but on mercy. He tells us, "We are called to treat them with kindness, not because they have rights or power or some claim to equality, but in a sense because they don't; because they all stand unequal and powerless before us. Animals are so easily overlooked, their interests so easily brushed aside. Whenever we humans enter the world, from our farms, to the local animal shelter to the African savanna, we enter as lords of the earth bearing strange powers of terror and mercy alike." His argument is compelling. Scully takes us into the world of Safari Club where his disgust is apparent to us and likely to be shared by all decent people reading his description. He includes a chapter on the impotent, sad, joke that is the International Whaling Commission. His chapter on factory farming and slaughterhouses is no less hard-hitting; he describes a state of the art farm where he found sows wounded, sickly, and some dead, housed in tiny gestation crates, unable to move. He writes about slaughterhouses where production speeds make the stunning of all animals impossible to achieve; the result is that many animals, every day, are hacked up or dropped into scalding water kicking and screaming. Though other areas of abuse may not receive whole chapters, most get some attention. We read about a horrifying mass dolphin slaughter and learn that a few animals, rather than being killed, are allowed "to live out their days at a place called Izumito Sea Paradise, delighting crowds with their tricks and play." We are told that baby elephants used in circuses and other exotic animals found in the pet trade are acquired in a similar fashion. We read about the sad lives of circus elephants and learn that Ringling Brothers' is supporting efforts to lift the ban on ivory sales. There is a terrific section on the excesses of and inexcusable cruelties visited upon animals in biomedical research. Other issues are covered briefly: Scully mentions that many zoos sell sick or elderly animals to hunting ranches. He refers to bear bile farming, discusses bow hunting, and he offers some causticon fur as fashion. Now I share my disappointments: Though Scully's arguments for vegetarianism are strong, he writes off veganism with "Using animals for milk and wool and the like is perfectly acceptable provided they and their young are treated humanely, as they are on smaller farms." (P. 28.) Perhaps Scully, like many vegetarians, has failed to notice that the fate of the dairy cow is the same as the fate of the beef cow or steer, regardless of the size of the farm; approximately eighty percent of hamburger meat in the US comes from dairy cows. And the life of a dairy cow includes much suffering regardless of the size of the farm. Scully quotes Temple Grandin: "When cows are weaned, both the cows and calves bellow for about twenty-four hours." (p. 245.) Some might think the maternal longing is mitigated because, after all, she is only a cow. However a cow doesn't amuse herself with writing or reading books and watching television, or concern herself with her career and wonder how long she should stay away from it in order to care for her baby but still "have it all." To a cow, raising her young is "it all." And when we deprive her of that one joy in order to satisfy the odd human craving for the milk of another species, the distress, the bellowing, is on our account. Why should our mercy not include her? Then there is the vivisection of Peter Singer. I would expect a catholic, pro-life, conservative speechwriter to take offense at some of Singer's views but I was disappointed by their misrepresentation. Scully tells us that Singer supports infanticide but fails to mention that Singer's arguments pertain to severely, usually painfully, disabled babies whose parents do not want them kept alive and who nobody else wishes to adopt. Perhaps the twelve page attack on Singer's views unrelated to animal welfare are included in order to burnish Scully's right wing, conservative credentials as he moves into a field more commonly inhabited by the morally questionable Liberals on the Left. The following lines appalled me: "In the same way, animal liberationists who turn to Peter Singer for guidance must ask themselves how we can protect vulnerable animals from the caprice of man if we do not protect vulnerable people, the sick, the aged, the newborn and the unborn -- how it is possible to love cats and dogs and baby seals if we do not love the most innocent and defenseless of human beings." (p. 311) Peter Singer gives twenty percent of his income to largely human-centered charities such as Oxfam, and encourages those who turn to him for guidance to make similar sacrifices. This is hardly a rejection of the sick, aged, newborn or defenseless; in fact, Singer's personal dedication to the issue of poverty makes the accusation bizarre. Scully may be concerned about Singer's disregard for the unborn but he has no right to make sweeping false accusations. My disappointments aside, I am thrilled that Matthew Scully has chosen to turn his formidable and well-respected intellect and passionate attention to the matter of animal protection. Scully's eloquent argument aimed not at animal rights activists but at those most likely to be resistant to the animal rights movement, could widen the circle of those who take the issue of animal protection seriously. Thus I hope wholeheartedly for Dominion's success and influence. Comments (5) | | (Report this)