A brand-new book is available this week, one that has the potential to cause a change in the lives, liberties and legislation for all beings. The Animals’ Agenda: Freedom, Compassion, and Coexistence in the Human Age is written by renowned animal behavior expert Dr. Marc Bekoff and leading bioethicist Dr. Jessica Pierce.  Staff at In Defense of Animals previewed a copy of this astounding book and wholeheartedly recommend it to all who seek and strive for a more rational and compassionate world for all species.

The Animals’ Agenda has already served as a seminal source for the work of several of our campaigns where the authors reveal the ambiguous ways in which humans strip animals such as elephants, dolphins and whales, of almost all of their possible freedoms.  Although most humans claim to value freedom above all else and pretend to afford choice to nonhuman animals, the authors conclude “It is a cruel irony that what animals used in human industry most lack is freedom. Their lives are not their own.”

The authors conclude that the bottom line is that even “good” welfare is not good enough. Rather than being used to enhance the freedoms of animals, welfare science has been put into the service of human interests. The Animals’ Agenda offers a new paradigm the authors call the science of animal well-being, in which the life of every individual animal matters, and which commits to radically improved freedoms for animals, especially freedom from human captivity and exploitation.

For those who seek the science to support the sentiment – it already exists! In their excellent companion article for New York Magazine titled, “Human Behavior Toward Animals Hasn’t Caught Up to the Science”, Bekoff and Pierce summarize what more of us need to know, and implement immediately:

“Not only must we seriously address sources of human-induced suffering, but we must also work to create a world in which animals are free to live their own lives and make their own choices. After all, humans aren’t the only intelligent beings on Earth.”