The Wildlife Society Drafts Policy Against the Animal Rights Movement

I am very pleased to announce that the venerable Wildlife Society has drafted a policy statement against the philosophy known as animal rights.

You can view the statement at The Wildlife Society Drafts Policy Against the Animal Rights Movement. 

It is encouraging to see that the Society has recognized the threat animal rights protest industry activists pose to our natural resources.

Stephen M.Vantassel is a longtime opponent of the animal rights protest industry and has published and spoken out against this anti-environmental movement.

Point-Counterpoint with a Christian Animal Protectionist

Unfortunately, more and more self-professed Christians are adopting a quasi-animal rights perspective on human-animal relations. Whereas the church, for thousands of years, has held humanity has the right and privilege to use animals for human needs and wants (provided they didn't serve the sole purpose of inflicting pain and injury), these individuals believe that Christ wants us to extend reconciliation to the animal kingdom.


I was invited by Ben DeVries of Not One Sparrow to answer questions related to this issue. I also had the opportunity to ask him questions. I will let you decide whether I answered him in a biblically grounded fashion and whether he did the same.

http://www.notonesparrow.com/blog/2010/5/26/dominion-over-wildlife.html

http://www.notonesparrow.com/blog/2010/5/27/five-questions-for-stephen-vantassel.html

http://www.notonesparrow.com/blog/2010/5/28/five-questions-for-not-one-sparrow.html

For the record, I welcome anyone who can explain to me what exactly Ben DeVries position is. I have asked him on several occassions, and I still haven't received an answer.  For example, 1. When may humans morally kill animals? 2. Since he believes eating meat is a personal decision based on conscience, how does this fact impact his understanding of extending reconciliation to animal kingdom? 3. Is hunting, trapping, and fishing moral and a proper activity for the Christian? and 4. Why didn't Christ rescue the pigs he saw drown when the demons entered them?

Stephen Vantassel, CWCP, ACP  is author of Dominion over Wildlife? An Environmental-Theology of Human-Wildlife Relations (Wipf and Stock, 2009).

A Rat is a Pig is a Dog is a Boy by Wesley J. Smith

I recently reviewed this book by attorney Wesley J. Smith on Amazon.com. Whether you are support or oppose animal rights, Smith's discussion of the social and ethical issues involved in the debate are necessary reading. His statements will, at minimum, refine one's position.

You can read my review at 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/AO75WOAGEXMAK/ref=cm_cr_dp_auth_rev?ie=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentReview
Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP

Is Nature Cruel?

NebraskaLand Magazine (Doug Carroll, Jan/Feb 2010 pp.42-43) published an interesting article about two whitetail deer bucks whose horns were locked together. Although the landowner who found them tried, to save them, one was already dead, and the other was too weak to recover.

While Disney and various cartoons may suggest that nature is cute and cuddly, the reality is much starker than that. Every fall, bucks compete for dominance and the right to mate with various female deer. While many of these conflicts end without injury, deaths clearly occur. I could expand the list of species that employ violent competition between males but that would belabor the issue.

So my question stands as, "Is nature cruel?" You may think it is a stupid question. After all nature is neither moral or immoral. But if we agree that humans are part of nature and not separate from it, then we have another question, "If nature has harsh events that are completely natural, why do animal rights activists complain when humans harm animals too? Isn't human behavior to be understood as completely natural?" Why should human behavior be understood or evaluated on different terms than those of other animals? Is it possible that humans are not animals? 

I would be interested in your responses.

Copyright 2010 Stephen M. Vantassel