Wild Animals and American Environmental Ethics

By Lisa Mighetto

Book Overview

Long before the Endangered Species Act and the spotted owl controversy, American conservationists debated the ethics of wildlife protection. Although all were alarmed by the rapid destruction of game species in the late 1800s, some sought to preserve animals for their aesthetic and material benefit to humans, while others believed it was wrong to mistreat any wild creature. Wild Animals and American Environmental Ethics shows how the latter view evolved into the animal rights activism of today. Lisa Mighetto examines portrayals of wildlife in popular literature dating from the nineteenth century, revealing how early conservationists looked for evidence of morality in animals that would make them more acceptable to the American public. Arguing that animals should be protected because they think, feel, and act in a manner similar to humans, some went so far as to claim that these creatures have rights. Not all wild animals readily conformed to the new image. The first conservationists did not extend their ethics to predators or "varmints," and supported government efforts to wipe them out. By describing how animal lovers gradually came to advocate protection of even these creatures, Mighetto traces the development of modern ecological values and the biocentric perspective. Americans now stand at a critical point in wildlife protection, wielding the threat of extinction over numerous species. Mighetto places arguments regarding wildlife protection in historical perspective and thus helps us evaluate our inherited attitudes and assumptions about the animal world. Enhancing the text are more than fifty illustrations that demonstrate the interaction between humans and wildlife over the last century.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0816511608
• ISBN13: 9780816511600
• Release Date: September 1991
• Publisher: University of Arizona Press
• Length: 209 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 0.8" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Good history of early animal welfare movement and its role in environmental movement

This book provides an intellectual history of American views toward wild animals. Though the book covers other matters, its particular contribution lies in emphasizing the role of the animal welfare movement as a motive for preserving nature and wilderness. Mighetto examines the early years of the animal welfare and environmental movements in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, giving a lot of attention to fiction writers and the popular press as opposed to philosophers or theoreticians. The animal welfare perspective tends to emphasize individual animals - - a Bambi perspective, if you well. As Mighetto notes, this leads to conflicts with two other strands of the conservation movement. First, there's an obvious conflict with hunters, who have historically been an important part of the conservation coalition. Second, there's a conflict with those who care more about biodiversity and/or whole ecosystems. For example, Mighetto discusses the problem of feral burros in the desert southwest, which the National Park Service would like to kill because they wreak havoc on the soil and native vegetation. Most environmental groups agree, but most animal welfare advocates would disagree with park service policy. This is a small book but a worthwhile one. It's not a profound treatment of a big topic, but it does a good job covering its particular neck of the woods.