Advocates for Animals
An Inside Look at Some of the Extraordinary Efforts to End Animal Suffering
By (author) Lori B. Girshick Foreword by Gene Baur
Publication date:
11 April 2019Length of book:
260 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781538127469
With over 65 percent of households having a pet, and Americans spending over $60 billion on them each year, it’s a proven statistic that Americans love animals. Public opinions consistently show we favor compassion for all animals. Animal welfare, rights, and protection is one of the most popular issue areas to which individual donors give, and is an area in which people working with rescue and nonprofit organizations are extremely passionate.
In Advocates for Animals, Lori Girshick not only provides a better understanding of the laws surrounding animal rights but looks at the nonprofit organizations and people who are making a huge difference in today’s growing animal protection community. These volunteers and organizations fill the gap in what laws, policies, practices, and services do not address for animal rights/protection. Through the personal reflections of 204 individuals who volunteer or work with animals in a wide range of circumstances we learn about their paths to involvement, what they do, what they hope to achieve, and how this has impacted their lives.
Many experts speak of the importance of protecting the rights of animals, and without human support, many animals face abuse, neglect, and suffering. Advocates for Animals invites you to join these efforts, enriching your own lives and living compassion in action toward animals.
In Advocates for Animals, Lori Girshick not only provides a better understanding of the laws surrounding animal rights but looks at the nonprofit organizations and people who are making a huge difference in today’s growing animal protection community. These volunteers and organizations fill the gap in what laws, policies, practices, and services do not address for animal rights/protection. Through the personal reflections of 204 individuals who volunteer or work with animals in a wide range of circumstances we learn about their paths to involvement, what they do, what they hope to achieve, and how this has impacted their lives.
Many experts speak of the importance of protecting the rights of animals, and without human support, many animals face abuse, neglect, and suffering. Advocates for Animals invites you to join these efforts, enriching your own lives and living compassion in action toward animals.
Social justice issues like LGBTQI rights and female prisoners’ rights have long been Girshick’s concern. Her new book is on animal rights and protections, advocacy for which focuses on cruelty prevention, factory farms, and spaying/neutering. Besides those matters, Girshick discusses such issues as the problem of feral cats and sensible control of them through TNR (trap, neuter, release) and how animal sanctuaries may not always make the welfare of their inhabitants a priority. Each chapter tackles a specific issue and is chock-full of interviews with and anecdotes from activists who work with the issue. The book is heavily footnoted and contains an appendix, so it could lend itself for discussion groups or educational purposes. Readers can decide if they agree with one interviewee’s belief that animal welfare is a social justice issue because it addresses how we humans treat other 'sentient beings with their own desires, relationships, and families.'