Hal Herzog

This is an interesting little book exploring the relationships between humans and animals, and the hypocritical behavior that is unavoidable in anyone who tries to care for animals. Why do we feed mice to snakes, but not kittens? Why do cockfighters love their birds, but sentence them to death? How did humans come to have pets?

The book doesn't have a ton of answers, it is content with raising the questions and telling the stories of people whose lives revolve around animals: from animal rights activists to meat farmers. Overall, I found it an enjoyable read.… (meer)

Herzog's book is a nuanced look at animals and our relationship with them. He looks at hypocrisies and inconsistent thinking as well as the compromises we all make. He is able to demonstrate that ethics is a messy business and that most things are not as cut and dry as we might assume.

Recommended for people who like reading books like Jon Ronson's The Psychopath Test as it has the same sort of approachable language and some humor. Fans of non-fiction authors like Mary Roach should also read it for similar reasons.… (meer)

This is a fascinating look at the relationship between humans and animals, focusing primarily on the ethics of human-animal relationships. Herzog examines the various relationships we have with animals: we eat some (but different cultures eat different animals), we keep some as pets (but different cultures and even different people have different ideas about what animals are acceptable pets), we use some for sport (hunting, cock fighting), and we use some for medical experiments. Some people devote their lives to fighting for animal rights.

At the root of all of these interactions are some major ethical questions about what we should and should not do to animals. Why is it okay to eat some and not others? Why is it okay to feed a rat to a snake, but not a kitten? Why do some people keep mice as pets, but then kill mice they find in their kitchens?

Ultimately, our relationship with animals is full of ethical conflicts. If you believe that any animals have rights, then logically those rights must either extend to all animals, or you must deny human rights. There is no logical way to decide what animals have what rights, or whose lives are more valuable than others. Herzog examines how these paradoxes play out in situations like cock fighting and medical research. Ultimately, he concludes that we have to come to terms with the inherent paradoxes in our relationships with animals, and we have to be comfortable with the fact that there is no logically/ethically consistent way to define human/animal relationships.

This makes for some really interesting reading, and requires a lot of soul-searching from the reader.… (meer)

The author is a psychologist with an interest in animal-human relationships. This book looks at studies on so many topics, many of which create moral quandries with regard to animals. He covers so many topics, it’s hard to recall them all, but based on the title you can probably guess, one of them looks at why some cultures keep dogs as pets and some eat them. Topics include pets, animal testing, farm animals, cock fighting, dog shows and breeding, animal activists, and so much more.

I love animals, and I have plenty of moral quandries with what I do/don’t do or think, feel, etc. when it comes to animals. I am not vegetarian, but what (little) meat I eat (not very often) is humanely-raised. I won’t buy products tested on animals. I do wear clothes made from animal parts (though not fur). I will catch and release bugs, spiders, etc. One thing – that he mentioned a few times – that I always found odd was that some vegetarians eat fish. That’s one I don’t “get”! There is a lot of information and he presents the results of lots of studies, and it’s hard to remember everything, but I did find it all very interesting. And I’m still conflicted about many things!… (meer)