Perhaps what makes Building An Ark: 101 Solutions To Animal Suffering by Ethan Smith and Guy Dauncey different from many animal rights’ books is its gentle message of hope. Normally when animal cruelty statistics are stacked up together it becomes a litany of woe and suffering – the planet is losing 50,000 species a year, 90% of sharks, tuna, cod, swordfish and marlins are forever lost, in the US alone nearly 10 billion mammals and birds are killed every year (not including fish), 25 million animals are used in medical experiments and more than 10 million unwanted animals are euthanized each year. Yet somehow Building An Ark manages to include well-researched factual information without overwhelming the reader.
Unfortunately for many in the green movement, animal welfare is still seen as somehow outside the list of possible solutions to heal our sick planet. The authors ask us to remember to include animal welfare and well-being in all our decisions, environmental or otherwise. Animals shouldn't be an afterthought or a tokenistic addition to our discussions, animal welfare is imperative to any environmental argument as animals are an intrinsic part of the planet we all share. I think of the gentle words of Albert Schweitzer who asked us to ‘Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight.’
Animal welfare is imperative to any environmental argument as animals are an intrinsic part of the planet we all share.
Building An Ark is part of the Solutions Project, created by Dauncey, and follows a similar format to other books in the series. The first half of the book is laid out with subjects exploring what life is like for animals on the planet. Animal sentience, factory farming, animal entertainment, cetaceans as elders and many more components of animal existence encourage the reader to consider their relationship with animals.
The second section of the book is divided into straight forward solutions for elevating animal suffering backed up with figures on how much suffering can be elevated by say, not consuming meat (Solution 5), so you will save about 35 animal lives each year. The second half of the book includes various solutions geared towards individuals, schools, action groups, businesses, governments, etc.. Some of the solutions are a touch repetitive but overall the book is excellent.
Building An Ark deserves a wide audience, in particular schools would very much benefit from having this gentle and accessible book as part of their course criteria, which fits in perfectly with Solution 22: Help Children Voice Their Compassionate Choice.
Published by New Society Publishers, a British Columbia publishing house committed to printing books that are 100% old growth forest free, chlorine free and printed with vegetable-based, low-VOC inks.
Order this book on Amazon.com Building An Ark
Link: http://www.newsociety.com
Publisher: New Society Publishers
288 Pages
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