Putting the Horse before Descartes — My Life’s Work on Behalf of Animals

As a laboratory animal veterinarian working in Canada, I have witnessed the progressive changes in animal welfare that have occurred worldwide in the past 30 years. This autobiographical book highlights Dr. Bernie Rollin’s legendary role in improving the welfare of animals used in veterinary medicine, agriculture, and scientific research in the United States during this period. Having attended lectures where the author’s macho, gun-slinger style, cussing and commonsense/no nonsense approach were guaranteed to upset the more conservative members of the audience; I thoroughly enjoyed this humorous, entertaining, and informative book. It explains Dr. Rollin’s aspiration to put “the horse before Descartes,” provides understanding of mannerisms the author adopted to give him courage to buck the system, outlines his accomplishments in effecting substantive improvements in animal welfare, and provides the reader with areas of animal welfare needing further improvement. In the introductory chapters, the author describes his upbringing and work and academic experiences which help the reader to understand the strategies and tactics Dr. Rollin honed over his career to make substantial changes to the care and use of animals, especially in agriculture and research. The author defines the term “ethics” and describes his involvement in developing an ethical framework for veterinary medicine, humane societies, and agricultural research groups. He taught the first veterinary medical ethics course in the United States at Colorado State University in the 1970s, and he provides numerous examples of the application of ethics in real-life situations. He laments the failure of organized veterinary medicine to incorporate ethics in all facets of the profession. In this regard, Dr. Rollin praises the Canadian Veterinary Journal editorial staff for initiating the ethics column (edited by Dr. Tim Blackwell) to which the author has contributed for over 20 years! In the chapter “The New Societal Ethic for Animals — A Philosophical Approach to Animal Ethics,” Dr. Rollin discusses the moral status of animals and the need to “…plug animals into the logic of our societal ethical system and …provide a basis for protecting animals beyond the very limited protection the law provided to them.” In his experience, he believes that in the United States, animals can best be protected by limiting the use of animals as property through enacting effective legislation. In three subsequent chapters, he discusses the successes and shortcomings of this strategy with regards to the amendments to laws governing the use of animals in research in the United States in the mid-1980s. He outlines the history of the need for these amendments and the resultant emergence of a meaningful social ethic for animals with the enactment of a pain and distress clause, the requirement for institutional animal care and use committees in research facilities, and husbandry regulations. He spotlights the strengths and weaknesses of these laws and makes suggestions for future amendments to more effectively meet the needs of animals and societal expectations. In Chapters 9–11, Dr. Rollin explains why the scientific community has not engaged in ethical consideration of scientific endeavors, how scientific ideology evolved, and outlines ethical issues pertaining to animals used in research that need to be addressed. In subsequent chapters, Rollin describes his involvement in ethical issues pertaining to numerous animal uses including companion animals, agriculture, and biotechnology. He stresses the importance of the role that veterinary practitioners, animal scientists, and other animal advocates should play in ensuring better treatment of pets, and farm and research animals. This is an interesting and informative book for anyone wishing a better understanding of the ethical issues involved in agriculture and the use of animals in large, small, and laboratory animal veterinary practice. This includes animal science and veterinary students, animal technicians, veterinary practitioners and agricultural, biomedical, and veterinary scientists. It effectively highlights the impact that an individual wishing to make a difference to improve animal welfare, can make on the well-being of animals in our society.

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