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Washington Post Debate on Animals

27th December 2009

The Washington Post has published a debate on animals featuring two recently published Oxford University Press authors.

The exchange is between Dr Adrian Morrison, Professor Emeritus of Behavioural Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine, and author of An Odyssey with Animals: A Veterinarian’s Reflections on the Animal Rights and Welfare Debate, and the Centre Director, Professor Andrew Linzey, author of Why Animal Suffering Matters.

Professor Linzey argues that the rational basis for animals has been understated and that “Like infants and young children, animals are blameless, unable to understand, unable to consent or represent themselves, and are wholly or largely vulnerable. These are the rational grounds for considering the suffering of young children and animals as especially objectionable”, while Professor Morrison seeks to justify the status quo including experimentation, rodeos, and hunting.

The exchange is available online here.