This is a concise yet complete overview of the problems of animal suffering, linking them to larger issues of human and environmental exploitation. Authors Erin E. Williams and Margo DeMello examine industries that exploit animals - meat processing companies and agribusinesses; medical experimentation and cosmetic testing facilities; the entertainment industry (circuses, rodeos, zoos, racing, and film making); the pet industry; the fur and leather industry; and commercial and recreational activities centered on hunting. The authors also consider the adverse environmental effects of animal exploitation from pollution to deforestation and the depletion of biodiversity.In addition, they look at the connections between the poor treatment of animals and human exploitation of immigrants, slaughterhouse and farm workers, as well as the larger issues of globalization, hunger, and the negative consequences for Third World nations. Highly informative yet very reader-friendly, this book not only explores the connections between animal and human suffering, but also integrates solid information with positive case studies of rescued animals and inspiring stories of individual successes. As the authors state, the treatment of animals in modern America is full of contradictions. Although we lavish time, money, and love on our pets, we allow the animals raised for our consumption (either as food, product testers, or medical experiment subjects) to languish in sometimes appalling conditions. The authors' goal is to demystify these realities and show how the animal industries maximize profits and cut costs in ways that cause human and animal misery. In prose that deliberately avoids complicated ethical and philosophical reasoning but instead states the case for humane treatment of animals in basic language, the authors examine the meat industry, hunting, the textile industry, animal experimentation, the pet industry, and animals in entertainment. The heavily endnoted text explains the issues; quotes from both sides of the argument (though leaning heavily on the animal-welfare side); provides examples of abuse and exploitation; discusses the effects, both physical and mental, on both animals and humans; and concludes with summations of what has been and what can be done to alleviate animal suffering. A well-organized presentation of the animal-welfare argument. Bent, Nancy Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved ""…an excellent look at cruelty to animals on an institutional level in various industries, taking a 'common sense perspective' and revealing many disturbing facts .... This is a tough but fair-minded revelation of how mass production of animals for food and other purposes results in cruelty that usually remains hidden from sight.”Publishers Weekly“Erin Williams and Margo DeMello have written a compact and compelling treatise on how animals suffer in institutional settings and why people of conscience should take note and take action. They have put together an overwhelming case for a new ethic in dealing with animals, and my greatest hope is that it will have a vast readership.”Wayne PacellePresident & CEOThe Humane Society of the United States Erin E. Williams (Silver Spring, MD) works for the Humane Society of the United States. Margo DeMello (Placitas, NM) is a lecturer at Central New Mexico Community College, administrative director of the House Rabbit Society, and the author of Bodies of Adornment, Bodies of Inscription, Low-Carb Vegetarian, and Stories Rabbits Tell. why ANIMALS MATTER the case for animal protection By Erin E. Williams Margo DeMello Prometheus Books Copyright © 2007 Erin E. Williams and Margo DeMello All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-59102-523-8 Contents Acknowledgments..............................................................91. WHY CARE ABOUT PROTECTING ANIMALS?........................................112. THE MEAT INDUSTRY: ANIMALS AS FOOD........................................19Introduction.................................................................20Laws.........................................................................22Birds........................................................................27Pigs.........................................................................45Cows.........................................................................52Rabbits......................................................................60Fishing and Aquaculture......................................................64The Meat Industry and Social Justice.........................................72Corruption and the Meat Industry.............................................85Environmental Consequences of Meat Production................................88Conclusion...................................................................983. HUNTING: ANIMALS AS GAME AND PESTS........................................103Introduction...............................