Introduction: The Struggle for NonHuman Personhood

Abstract

It's been nearly four decades since Peter Singer published Animal Liberation, the book that effectively kickstarted the modern animal rights movement. But as the public's awareness of the plight of animals has spread, and as advocacy groups have emerged in virtually all parts of the world, the reality is that very little has changed in terms of how we treat nonhuman animals and the status we afford to them. We continue to use them in our medical experiments and at increasing rates; new technologies threaten to make the situation worse, with some scientists openly advocating for the creation of genetically engineered monkeys with psychological disorders, such as schizophrenia. Animals continue to work for our pleasure, whether it be at circuses, zoos or marine parks. And the conditions under which they're forced to live in factory farms is beyond deplorable.