The most common view
When it comes to animals living in the wild, most people think: "We should stop harming them and leave them alone. We should only help if the problem was caused by humans."
A view that is being questioned
In recent years, more and more philosophers have questioned this view. Wild animals suffer a lot from natural causes: hunger, thirst, disease, parasites, cold, heat, disasters, and attacks by other animals.
This volume offers two main arguments:
- If we really care about animals, it makes no sense to worry only about what humans cause. For the animal, it doesn't matter whether its hunger came from something humans did or from nature: it suffers just the same.
- Even people who agree that we should help sometimes think the reasons are weaker when the harm is natural. The volume asks whether that makes sense.
What this volume will do
Over 37 chapters, the author shows what life is like for animals in the wild, answers the most common objections, and looks at what is already being done and what else could be done to help them.
In short
- The common view is "leave wild animals alone."
- But they suffer a lot from natural causes.
- People who care about animals have reasons to help them in these cases too.