February 19, 2010

Time to Change How We View and Treat Animals

For many of us that spend time with animals, we commonly experience that they exhibit numerous emotions and behaviors that show empathy, cooperation and a sense of fairness. Susan's guest this week, is the award-winning scientist, Marc Bekoff, who has written the books The Emotional Lives of Animals and Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals that open our eyes to the emotional makeup we share with animals and that perhaps we as humans are not the only creatures that demonstrate morality. Marc will talk about animal's emotions, their morality and the reasons it is time to change how we relate to the non-human creatures with which we share this planet. You won't want to miss this provocative and controversial conversation!

(photo courtesy of The University of Chicago Press)

Episode Segments:

Wild About Pets: Wild Justice Dr. Marc Bekoff explains the main point he was trying to get across in his book. He also talks about why it’s not such a stretch to think animals have emotions, and give some examples of animals displaying compassion and morality.
Embed Code
Wild About Pets: Animals and Morality Dr. Bekoff talks about the three categories of moral behavior. He also has some more amazing Stories of dogs and other animals displaying empathy, and how he addresses the doubters of animal emotions.
Embed Code
The Animal Manifesto Dr. Bekoff discusses his animal manifesto, and our compassion footprint as it relates to animals. He also gives the six reasons for expanding our compassion footprint, and some of the practical applications of these steps.
Embed Code

Links to Related Websites:

Look While You Listen Visit Wild About Pets.net to view the photos Susan & her guest are discussing.

To Order The Animal Manifesto A collaborator with legendary primatologist Jane Goodall and the 2000 winner of the Exemplar Award from the Animal Behavior Society, author and Colorado University professor Bekoff (The Emotional Lives of Animals) lays out the "unique responsibilities" of human beings, as "moral agents," to overcome speciesism and recognize animals "as fellow sentient, emotional beings," with all the attendant rights that implies.

Guest(s) Appearing on this Episode

Mark Bekoff Marc Bekoff is Professor of Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, a fellow of the Animal Behavior Society, and recipient of their Exemplar Award for outstanding contributions to the field of animal behavior. He is co-founder with Jane Goodall of Ethologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals: Citizens for Responsible Animal Behavior Studies. Marc is on the Board of Directors of The Fauna Sanctuary, The Cougar Fund, the Skyline Sanctuary and Education Center, and the Prairie Preservation Alliance and on the advisory board for Animal Defenders and for the Laboratory Primate Advocacy Group and the conservation organization SINAPU. He has been part of the international program, Science and the Spiritual Quest II and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) program on Science, Ethics, and Religion. Marc is also an honorary member of Animalisti Italiani and Fundacion Altarriba, and on the Scientific Review Board of the Great Ape Trust. In 2006 he was named a Fellow of the Dancing Star Foundation and an honorary board member of Rational Animal. In 2005 Marc was presented with The Bank One Faculty Community Service Award for the work he has done with children, senior citizens, and prisoners. He has written more than 200 articles and is the author or editor of numerous books, including the Encyclopedia of Animal Rights and Animal Welfare, The Cognitive Animal (co-edited with C. Allen and G.M.Burghardt); The Ten Trusts: What We Must Do to Care for the Animals We Love (co-written with Jane Goodall), and the Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior. Other recent books include The Smile of a Dolphin, Minding Animals, and Animal Passions and Beastly Virtues: Reflections on Redecorating Nature.