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In Animal Rights: The Changing Debate, editor Robert Garner laments that the
subject is not given much attention at general elections, “being ambushed by
anthropocentric concerns, usually of an economic nature”. It’s a clue to the
style of this collection of essays (Macmillan, £14.99, ISBN 0 333 67484 7)
on the morality of treatment of animals. The discussion covers much, ranging
from the view that animals do not have any rights, through an examination of
their use in research, to their place in politics, including Marxism. Be
prepared for terms such as “rightist”, “welfarist”, “speciesism” and
“misothery”. Hearts are in the right place, though.