In her book\u00a0Saving animals: multispecies ecologies of rescue and care,\u00a0<\/i>Elan draws a very empathetic and\u00a0insightful\u00a0picture of the conditions of life under which animals in the US live, their current status and the way they are represented. I appreciated the nuanced way in which she presents animals status as being inherently connected to a vast array of cultural and socio-economic practices ranging from the food industry to the entertainment industry to companionship. She problematizes each case around the issue of seeing animals as property and how even the most benevolent\u00a0pet owners\u00a0or even the very sanctuaries which seek to reverse that logic and treat animals as right-bearing subjects still follow that logic. On page 18 she writes “It is precisely this property status that makes it possible for sanctuaries to hold them in captivity and care for them in the first place.” By outlining the limits of sanctuaries which are still presented as the most ethical option for animal care, Elan questions the very nature of human relationship to animals and pushes towards a different kind of awareness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In her book\u00a0Saving animals: multispecies ecologies of rescue and care,\u00a0Elan draws a very empathetic and\u00a0insightful\u00a0picture of the conditions of life under which animals in the US live, their current status and the way they are represented. I appreciated the nuanced … Continue reading