On animal welfare

I have read some positive reviews about the octopus documentary on Netflix titled “My Octopus Teacher.” Though I haven’t watched it yet, I am familiar with some of the topics raised in the documentary. One of these, perhaps not discussed explicitly, is animal welfare. If animal welfare is near and dear to you and if you haven’t already, I would encourage you to read the recent book by professor and scholar Ernest Freeberg, A Traitor to His Species. If the name Henry Bergh doesn’t ring a bell, perhaps you’re familiar with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, more commonly referred to by its acronym, ASPCA. Bergh was the founder.

Obviously, documentaries aren’t mass news media, but they are vehicles for informing the public (although often more biased than straightforward news). Nonetheless, if you are interested in man’s relationship with animals and how humans view other such species, there are lots of resources available. If you’re specifically into octopi or octopuses (either is acceptable as the plural of octopus), the documentary mentioned above seems to be a good place to start. I would also encourage you to read Sy Montgomery’s book, The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness, which I have read and can’t recommend highly enough. Oh, and while we’re on the subject of animal welfare and octopi, check out the interview with Craig Foster, the documentarian behind My Octopus Teacher, in the science magazine Nautilus. Foster and the interviewee DO touch on man’s relationship with nature, animals, etc.

If you’re not a Nautilus subscriber, you should be. Great science magazine.