Abstract
This article reviews Charles Danten’s Slaves of Our Affection: the Myth of the Happy Pet, outlining and evaluating Danten’s arguments for the abolition of the pet trade. The review delineates Danten’s main points; that the commodification of companion animals is antithetical to their welfare, that veterinarians, pet food manufacturers and breeders serve the dictates of the economic bottom line rather than the interests of animals, and that the majority of pet owners, while well-intentioned, are ill-equipped to meet the physiological and psychological needs of their animal companions.
The reviewer asserts that Danten’s arguments are generally successful, but suggests that the text might have benefited had the author engaged more with the work of other animal ethicists, particularly when making potentially controversial claims about the moral acceptability of euthanizing healthy, but unwanted, animals.
Recommended Citation
Allen, Katherine
(2016)
"Review of Slaves of Our Affection: the Myth of the Happy Pet,"
Between the Species:
Vol. 19:
Iss.
1, Article 12.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/bts/vol19/iss1/12