In this episode, Martyn and David discuss topical issues in the news which are distinct but also connected – the richness of animals’ lives, their cognitive abilities, and sentience; the benefits to neuroscience from studying animals’ brains, and the implication this has for animal ethics; our commodification of animals such …continue
Richard Ryder has been dubbed the father of animal rights in this country, coining the term ‘speciesism’ to describe our irrational approach to non-human animals. He has published a dozen books, including, most famously, Victims of Science, described in Parliament at the time as the best-informed reference book on animal …continue
Thousands of dogs, monkeys, and other animals are subjected to experiments which cause pain and suffering, all permitted under the law. What is the moral justification for treating sentient beings in this way? And will yet another debate in the House of Commons lead to meaningful progress in ending such …continue
As the oldest animal welfare society in the world, the RSPCA is synonymous with campaigning against cruelty to animals. Founded in 1824 by William Wilberforce and others who had brought about the end of the slave trade, the RSPCA soon became supported by the great and the good, with Queen …continue
Whether it is because of the appalling cruelty inevitable in animal farming, the protection of the environment, or concerns about our health, many people across the world sign up to follow a plant-based diet during January. Is it a steppling stone to a permanent shift in lifestyle, or a short-lived …continue
Millions of animals spend their lives in ‘factory farms’, before they meet a brutal end in a slaughter house. Apart from its impact on the environment, animal farming raises some fundamental moral issues about the treatment and killing of other sentient beings. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals – …continue
The idea that animals have rights has now become mainstream, but what does that mean in practice? Whilst cruelty to animals has long been regarded as unacceptable, is it wrong to kill animals for food, or to cause them suffering in scientific research? In this first episode, we will look …continue
