Peter Singer: global animal suffering has worsened
Philosopher says the animal rights movement has only made partial gains
Philosopher Peter Singer has said that the animal rights movement has 鈥渇ailed to achieve what I had hoped it would achieve鈥�.
Professor Singer, an Australian bioethicist whose 1975 book 鈥楢nimal Liberation鈥� helped spearhead the emerging animal rights movement, told the 麻豆约拍鈥檚 HARDtalk programme that globally, 鈥渢here are more animals in factory farms than there were ever before and there are more animals suffering from human use and misuse than there were before鈥�.
But he told Stephen Sackur that gains have been made: 鈥淚t didn鈥檛 totally fail because there is now an animal rights movement which is a powerful force in many of the countries in the world鈥nd that movement has had some achievements in some countries鈥�.
Singer has updated his original copy with a new book, 鈥楢nimal Liberation Now鈥�, in which he reiterates his belief that the poor treatment of animals is akin to racism. He coined the term 鈥榮peciesism鈥� to describe what he believes is the unequal treatment of humans compared with other species. 鈥淚 want people to see the analogies between racism, sexism and speciesism,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have a moral duty to treat their interests in not feeling pain and not suffering as equal to the interests that we humans have in not feeling pain and suffering.鈥�
