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Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy
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Product Description
In this crucial passage from the Old Testament, God grants mankind power over animals. But with this privilege comes the grave responsibility to respect life, to treat animals with simple dignity and compassion.
Somewhere along the way, something has gone wrong.
In Dominion, we witness the annual convention of Safari Club International, an organization whose wealthier members will pay up to $20,000 to hunt an elephant, a lion or another animal, either abroad or in American "safari ranches," where the animals are fenced in pens. We attend the annual International Whaling Commission conference, where the skewed politics of the whaling industry come to light, and the focus is on developing more lethal, but not more merciful, methods of harvesting "living marine resources." And we visit a gargantuan American "factory farm," where animals are treated as mere product and raised in conditions of mass confinement, bred for passivity and bulk, inseminated and fed with machines, kept in tightly confined stalls for the entirety of their lives, and slaughtered in a way that maximizes profits and minimizes decency.
Throughout Dominion, Scully counters the hypocritical arguments that attempt to excuse animal abuse: from those who argue that the Bible's message permits mankind to use animals as it pleases, to the hunter's argument that through hunting animal populations are controlled, to the popular and "scientifically proven" notions that animals cannot feel pain, experience no emotions, and are not conscious of their own lives.
The result is eye opening, painful and infuriating, insightful and rewarding. Dominion is a plea for human benevolence and mercy, a scathing attack on those who would dismiss animal activists as mere sentimentalists, and a demand for reform from the government down to the individual. Matthew Scully has created a groundbreaking work, a book of lasting power and importance for all of us.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #49118 in Books
- Published on: 2003-10-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 448 pages
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
This is one of the best books ever written on the subject of animal welfare. Scully, a journalist and former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, chooses to fight on his own ground, and he rightly argues that the important thing is not insisting upon equal "rights" for animals but in treating them with a modicum of respect and dignity. His book is as close as a philosophy can come to representing "animal rights" goals while not proclaiming animals to be equal in status to humans, as do classic works like Peter Singer's Animal Liberation. As a journalist, Scully personally investigated several major animal industries, including those of hunting, whaling, and factory farming. He asks penetrating questions and shows the logical and political inconsistencies used to defend cruel industries. Although some may balk at the author's sarcasm, it adds an emotional element to his unequaled depth of insight. Scully has a remarkable grasp of the issues and a unique perspective on our societal treatment of animals. Every library should purchase this book. Highly recommended.
John Kistler, Utah State Univ. Lib., Logan
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Increasing media coverage of troubling trends in animal mistreatment, from genetic cloning and experimentation to factory farming, has heightened the moral imperative to examine how humans use and treat animals, according to Scully. He quotes a wide variety of sources--including the Bible, other famous literature, debates in British parliament, and conversations at a hunter's convention--to provide a wide spectrum of views on the uses of animals and whether they possess consciousness and the ability to feel pain. Scully takes note of our arbitrary, often contradictory approach to the treatment of animals, from objections to experimentation on animals and bans on wearing furs to the blithe consumption of burgers and steaks. He traces the history of the animal rights movement and its philosophical underpinnings and argues for a balance between the cruel and cavalier treatment of animals and the more radical notions of the animal rights movement. Scully is sensitive and insightful without being sentimental. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"Scully's riveting account... shows how unspeakable and systematic animal cruelty is the currency of a soulless industry that has shattered American rural communities, poisoned our soils, air, and water, made family farmers an endangered species, and undermined our democracy. Scully's book gently questions whether we can foster human dignity in a society that treats other sentient beings as production units." --- Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
"Matthew Scully has set forth a case - in a wry and riveting manner - that will resonate with any reader who values logical reasoning and ethical conduct. I expect that Dominion will be the most influential book on animal protection in the last twenty-five years." -- Wayne Pacelle, Senior Vice President, The Humane Society of the United States
-- Review
Customer Reviews
Not helpful to the animals and written by a perpetuator of war
This book does nothing but make excuses for treating animals as slaves and putting forth the Christian perspective. When the book came out, I was invited to a private party to meet the author whom I immediately thought was not at all an animal supporter and not at all someone whom I could ever respect. Over the years, he has gone on to prove this as a Bush/Cheney lackey, who has pushed the phoney war agenda, makes excuses for treating animals kindly, and who has now crafted the speech of Sarah Palin, the most anti-animal candidate ever running for office in my opinion. It is really a shame that Gene Baur, Wayne Pacelle, and Karen Dawn have been supporters of this man.
Scully Hypocrite
I find Scully to be a hypocrite, liar and greed monger. He wrote Sarah Palin's sneering, nasty speech, stretching truths about who she is and outrighting lying and chiding our presidential nominees. His hate speech full of divisive and attack lines will be remembered and talked about in the short term, but in the long term, the results of his manipulated words and outcome on society will be on his conscience alone. How could he write such a negative hate speech for a women who shoots animals from a helicopter and can "field-dress" a moose. As if that is such an accomplishment. "Dominion" and all it's crediblility is lost and wasted on a moment that may forever change the political landscape and not for the better. Just as Americans were turning the tide and engaging in politics and discussing issues and paying attention, Single minded Scully wrote those devisive words of hate, recoiling all the gains of a nation. I don't know how he will sleep at night.
Scully = Hypocrite
I just discovered that Matthew Scully is the speech writer for Sarah Palin, who you would assume to be the antithesis of all he believes in.
Apparently Dominion is nothing but empty words. And Scully, who claimed to support the rights of other living creatures on this planet, is nothing more than another unprincipled money-grabbing shill. What else could explain the willingness to embrace, and worse--promote, the very people who glorify wanton killing of animals.
Scully should take a long look in the mirror. He has betrayed the people who have promoted his book and his supposed philosophy. And worse, he has betrayed the creatures that he claimed to respect. The word 'Hypocrite' is not strong enough. Now that this Judas has made his 30 pieces of gold, he should forever be pictured with Sarah Palin and her dead trophies. He deserves no more.
