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The divine right to abuse other species

    conservatism become allied with an    hog-rearing facility where anxious,
 agriculture industry that treats food tightly-penned, unhealthy-looking sows
 animals as so many production units give birth to hormone-enhanced litters.
 whose growth and slaughter are to be It’s all unpalatable. But it’s the
 maximized no matter what the cost? philosophical justifications for these
4     The answer, Scully says, comes endeavors that occupy Scully most
 down to simple anthropocentrism: Too fully. Challenging the daunting
 An animal rights activist protests much concern for animals is coalition of science, religion and
 European Union farm policy in  threatening to a worldview that puts commerce, he skilfully refutes almost
 Brussels. humans at the apex of God’s creation. every argument that allows the misery
  Compassion is a slippery slope. Start and suffering of animals to be
 Dominion giving animals rights, according to the tolerated.
 The Power of Man, the Suffering of thinking, and soon humans won’t have8     Scully has written what is surely
 Animals, and the Call to Mercy any. destined to be a classic defense of
 by Matthew Scully5     Scully thinks this is nonsense, mercy. A master of language, he
 Reviewed by Nicols Fox nothing more than a selective reading leaves a memorable phrase on
  of Scripture that, in attempting to virtually every page. Yet our
1     What are we to do about animals? justify our insatiable appetites and relationship to animals remains trickier
 There is no logic or consistency to the rapacious self-interest, conveniently than he acknowledges. Caring for
 way we act toward them now. The ignores the great tenderness to God’s creatures can go just so far
 person with the pampered Dalmatian animals expressed throughout the before it becomes fanaticism.
 may have no problem at all slicing into Bible. And yet science, industry and Members of India’s Hindu Jain sect
 veal from a calf that led a brief and religion have collaborated to create an sweep the street as they go along to
 miserable life. It’s not just the soulful- elaborate construct that allows us to avoid stepping on an insect. Surely
 eye standard. Veal calves, lambs and have our chicken tenders and baby- raising mice simply for experimentation
 even pigs have soulful eyes. back ribs without a shred of remorse is a perversion of stewardship, and yet
2     Matthew Scully’s Dominion bravely for the thousands of creatures setting a trap for a mouse in the pantry
 takes on this complex and challenging subjected to unspeakable brutality is a reasonable thing to do. Scully
 question. Because it’s the soulful eye before their short lives end in the argues that there is a kind of natural
 we see, the one we’re forced to look bloody agony of slaughter. moral governor that tells us what is
 at, that seems to count the most, it is6     Animals, according to the acceptable if we will only pay attention.
 no accident that the dreadful things behaviorist view, have no Reasonable lines must be drawn. But it
 done to animals by human hands are consciousness: They have no thoughts won’t be simple.
 carefully hidden from public view. or emotions, and thus cannot really9     Scully seems to imply that every
 Scully is a vegetarian. Perhaps more suffer in any human sense of the word. bite of meat must be accompanied by
 to the point, he is a conservative, and More nonsense, says Scully, who finds guilt. In today’s world of factory
 as a special assistant and senior other science to support what any pet farming, he’s probably right. Humanely
 speech writer to former President owner or horse breeder knows without reared and slaughtered farm animals
 George W. Bush, one with solid question - that animals do indeed think are scarce. Yet the conservative Scully
 credentials. It is likely that only and feel. __35__, the Cartesian view of fails to acknowledge that the appalling
 someone so well-positioned could animals as nothing more than machines conditions on today’s industrialized
 confront the real puzzle, however, has led to the dehumanization of all farms are the inevitable result of a
 which is how the Bible-inspired belief life. It’s a mindset that allows national cheap-food policy, one
 in dominion over the creatures of the science to cheerfully anticipate abetted by a global marketplace that
 Earth has been perverted to support growing human replacement parts in insists on absolute efficiency in food
 the widespread and often needless animal “volunteers,” rearranging bits production. When the consumer is
 torture of animals in the name of and pieces of various species to create driven by the same economic
 science, agriculture and sport. whatever creatures can be envisioned, incentive, never questioning __38__,
3     Why do so many otherwise kindly and cloning anything that moves. A factory farms thrive. A workable
 Christians and compassionate little closer reading of the Bible, Scully economic system that allows for the
 conservatives not only tolerate the suggests, might identify this as hubris incorporation of other values may be
 widespread abuse of farm, laboratory of the worst sort. as challenging to devise as it will be to
 and game animals but also routinely7     In his reportorial mode, Scully implement – which means that more
 label those who attempt to defend takes the reader to a meeting of the remains to be written on this subject.
 these animals as dangerous, International Whaling Commission, Let’s hope that Scully will oblige.
 misguided radicals, dismissing every where Japan and Norway argue for the 
 argument for mercy? And how right to go after what remains of these The Washington Post
 precisely did Christianity and massive sea mammals, then tours a