Foreword

• Author: David S. Favre
• Profession: Professor of Law & The Nancy Heathcote. Professor of Property and Animal Law. Michigan State University College of Law
• Pages: 23-28

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Foreword

is book is about building bridges bet ween two dierent movements to

enhance the activities of both. W hile this is a noble and apparently useful

goal, it is perhaps more dicu lt than m ight be rst thought. On a fairly

regular basis, I have heard t he sentiment expressed that “Gee, you animal

people should be working with the environmentalists.” I have never turned

to the person and asked, “Why do you think this is the case?” I ask the reader

to give a quick thought to the question.

Perhaps it is because both groups seem to have a reverence for l ife and

strive to protect it, but in very dierent contexts. is is a true statement, but

the world is much more c omplex, both in law and in philosophy. e apple

and pineapple are both fruits humans eat. But to talk about apple issues does

not really deal with pineapple issues, e xcept at t he higher levels of abstrac-

tion. Likewise, the da ily issues of environmental protection do not seem to

overlap in any practical way with the daily issues of animal welfa re and ani-

mal rights.

Who am I to introduce this book? Well, I have been an active member of

both worlds, have friends in both worlds, and have taught and done scholarly

writing with environmental law and animal law. I have been a member of the

Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Sierra Club. I went to law school in the

1970s so I could become a defender of the environment. But after becoming

a professor and publishing my rst article on wildlife rights, I moved to the

animal side of the street. I have straddled two streams, owing in the same

direction but distinct nevertheless.

It is important for the re ader rst to have a n under standi ng of how

dierent t hese t wo stream s a re to be able to jud ge thi s book’s eort to

facilitate cooperation betwe en these t wo areas of law so they ca n be mutu-

ally supportive.

Differences in Origin

e environmental movement in the United States has specic origins in the

late 1960s and early 1970s with the publication of Silent Spring by Rachel

Carson, the rst Earth Day, and the adoption of a breathtaking set of federal

laws. e country was galvanized by the information showing high risk of

harm to humans, and to the environment generally. Human health was the