The Bond: Our Kinship with Animals, Our Call to Defend Them

by Wayne Pacelle

Overview

A fascinating exploration of humanity's eternal bond with animals, and an urgent call to answer the needs of millions of at-risk creatures

A landmark work, The Bond is the passionate, insightful, and comprehensive examination of our special connection to all creatures, written by one of America's most important champions of animal welfare. Wayne Pacelle, the president of the Humane Society of the United States, unveils the deep links of the human-animal bond, as well as the conflicting impulses that have led us to betray this bond through widespread and systemic cruelty to animals.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061969805
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	04/03/2012
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	423
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Wayne Pacelle is president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, the nation's largest animal protection organization.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Introduction: Sanctuary 1

Part I A Special Bond

1 The Ties that Bond 21

The Biochemistry of the Bond 24

Pet Keeping Through the Ages 30

Domesticated Animals: "Bonded to the House" 33

Animal Sacrifice: "The Perfect Gift" 40

Animal Welfare and the "Great Republic of the Future" 43

Self-Evident Truths 48

2 The Mismeasure of Animals 54

Thinking and Feeling: Shared Capacities 56

Denying Animal Intelligence 59

Signs of Change 66

Lifesaving Dolphins and Dogs, Altruistic Elephants, and Other Remarkable Animals 71

The Emotional Lives of Animals 79

Part II The Betrayal of the Bond

3 A Message From Hallmark: Exposing Factory Farming 91

The Slaughterhouse Next Door: Inside a California Meat Plant 94

The Hypocrisy of "Happy Cows" 105

Endless Denials: The Challenge of Reform 114

"The New Agriculture": The Ways of Industrial Farming 119

"Meat Science": Turkeys Who Can't Walk, Pigs Who Can't Move, and Other Victims of Agribusiness 125

Stirring the Silent Majority 130

4 A Culture of Cruelty: Animal Fighting in America 135

Bad Newz on Moonlight Road: Dogfighting Comes Out of the Shadows 137

Michael Vick and the Contradiction of Cruelty 145

Blood Sport Through the Ages 153

"The Feathered Warrior" 157

"I Won't Disappoint You" 172

5 For the Love of Pets 177

Katrina and the Human-Animal Bond 180

The Animals in Our Lives 190

In the Name of Mercy: Animal Shelters and the Problem of Euthanasia 196

Factory Farms for Dogs: The Tragedy of Puppy Mills 204

The AKC and "the Maintenance of Purity" 209

Nothing Fancy: The Costs of Reckless Breeding 217

6 The Cull of the Wild 222

Unfaithful Stewards: Betraying Yellowstone's Bison 225

Killing and Longing: The Lessons of TR 233

The Era of Rational Slaughter 239

"Let's Kill them All": The Attack on Alaska's Wolves 243

"Garbagingfor Bears": Commercial Hunting and Contemptible Conduct 248

The Face of Innocence and the Shame of Canada 253

Part III Building a Humane World

7 Cruelty and its Defenders 269

The Moral Scale and Humane Living 272

Rhetorical Camouflage: Debating Opponents of Animal Protection 277

Collateral Damage and the NRA 284

"The Agro-Industrial Complex": Harvesting Subsidies 294

"The Rising Plague" and the Veterinary Oath 302

8 The Humane Economy 312

"Creative Destruction" and Living Capital 314

Wild Neighbors 326

Chemistry and Compassion 333

Twenty-First-Century Science 338

Innovation and the Spark of Life 344

Appendix: Fifty Ways to Help Animals 351

Acknowledgments 357

Notes 363

Index 409

What People are Saying About This

Jeffrey Masson

Majestic in sweep and beautifully written, The Bond is a monumental achievement. I can’t think of any other book that is so valuable. It is truly wonderful!”

John Mackey

“The Bond is the best overall book on animals I have ever read. Brilliant and moving, it will change the way we see the world and the way we see ourselves.”

Jane Goodall

“If the animals knew about this book, they would, without doubt, confer on Wayne Pacelle, their highest honor.”

Editorial Reviews

No one can doubt Wayne Pacelle's position on the subject of this book: He is the president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States and a key official in the Fund for Animals. His new book isn't just a rich celebration of the deeply entrenched bond between animals and humans; it is also a penetrating alarm about widespread cruelty to animals and the threat to thousands of species now facing extinction. A poignant book for anyone who ever loved a pet. Now in trade paperback and NOOK Book.

— Vicki Powers

The Humane Society of the United States does more than work to save puppies and kittens. As Pacelle, its president and CEO, relates, the organization has worked to protect farm animals, pets, and wild animals, helping push forward legislation banning the production of downer cows (those too sick or weak to stand), bolstering laws banning cockfighting and dog fighting, and documenting the slaughter of bison and wolves at Yellowstone National Park. Pacelle believes that "a bond with animals is built into every one of us" and explores these bonds, along with the battles the HSUS has fought. The science and history of the animal-human bond, on the other hand, receives little attention, and Pacelle's first book often jumps abruptly across topics. But Pacelle's accounts are engaging and readers interested in learning more about the HSUS will enjoy the many vivid, poignant stories. Pacelle offers a list of "Fifty Ways to Help Animals," ranging from political activities to shopping, giving readers the means to affect change in the lives of animals and perhaps strengthen their own bond with them in the bargain. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"If the animals knew about this book, they would, without doubt, confer on Wayne Pacelle, their highest honor."

Jane Goodall

"The Bond is the best overall book on animals I have ever read. Brilliant and moving, it will change the way we see the world and the way we see ourselves."

John Mackey

Majestic in sweep and beautifully written, The Bond is a monumental achievement. I can’t think of any other book that is so valuable. It is truly wonderful!"

Jeffrey Masson

If the animals knew about this book, they would, without doubt, confer on Wayne Pacelle, their highest honor.

JANE GOODALL

The Bond is the best overall book on animals I have ever read. Brilliant and moving, it will change the way we see the world and the way we see ourselves.

JOHN MACKEY

Majestic in sweep and beautifully written, The Bond is a monumental achievement. I can’t think of any other book that is so valuable. It is truly wonderful!

JEFFREY MASSON

Plenty of books on the human-animal bond have appeared lately, but this one is special: the author is the high-profile president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States. The book is rich with anecdotes (like Pacelle's confronting seal clubbers and Michael Vicks). With a 100,000-copy first printing and a six-city tour.

Library Journal