Advocates for Animals

August 1, 2017
Social justice issues like LGBTQI rights and female prisoners' rights have long been Girshick's (No Safe Haven: Stories of Women in Prison, 1999) concern. Her new book is on animal rights and protections, advocacy for which focuses on cruelty prevention, factory farms, and spaying/neutering. Besides those matters, Girshick discusses such issues as the problem of feral cats and sensible control of them through TNR (trap, neuter, release) and how animal sanctuaries may not always make the welfare of their inhabitants a priority. Each chapter tackles a specific issue and is chock-full of interviews with and anecdotes from activists who work with the issue. The book is heavily footnoted and contains an appendix, so it could lend itself for discussion groups or educational purposes. Readers can decide if they agree with one interviewee's belief that animal welfare is a social justice issue because it addresses how we humans treat other sentient beings with their own desires, relationships, and families. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)