by Katrina Sharman
First published in The Dominion Post, New Zealand

Animal rights occupy a larger space in the public consciousness these days, but there is still plenty of cruelty to fight against, writes Katrina Sharman.

Three Quarters of the world's 4700 million egg-laying hens are confined in battery cages. Most of these birds barely have room to flap their wings and never feel the earth under their feet.

Across the shopping aisle, their cousins, 44 billion "broiler" chickens (each year) live a short but miserable life, reared for meat in dimly lit sheds and fed a diet that includes antibiotics, before being transformed into food such as drumsticks, burgers and nuggets.

It is more than three decades since Peter Singer kick-started the modern animal rights movement with his ground-breaking work Animal Liberation. With the release of his latest book, The Ethics of What We Eat, co-authored by Jim Mason, it seems an appropriate time for reflection.

Are animals doing any better?

At first glance, it would appear not. After all, the intensive "factory farming" of animals has become a global phenomenon, with the "Old MacDonald" style of farm fast disappearing from the rural landscape.

A report released last year by the world's largest network of animal protection societies, WSPA, reveals that, each year, approximately 2.5 billion pigs around the world are raised in factory farms where they spend most of their time crammed into sheds. Many females spend part of their lives in "sow crates", in which they can barely take a step forward or backwards for some of their reproductive cycle. Their piglets fare little better. Most of them only see the sunshine for the first time on their way to the abattoir. These sensitive, intelligent animals, who are at least as smart as our family dogs, also apparently have similar cognitive skills to primates.

This all sounds like a nightmare. It demonstrates a clear and continued violation of the right to bodily integrity and bodily liberty and would surely be actionable were animals not classified in law as mere property. And if you think that it couldn't happen in a beautiful, natural landscape like New Zealand, it does.

The good news is that knowledge of the extent and magnitude of animal suffering is spreading, and the animal protection movement is growing in size, legitimacy and sophistication as a result. In the same way that the environmental movement, once seen as fringe, became a general concern, discussion about animal rights and the basic right not to suffer is fast moving into the mainstream.

COMMUNITY education about the lives of animals has a crucial role to play because the bulk of animal suffering is hidden from the public eye. As consumers, we only ever see the "end product" of animal use, be it meat, clothes, cosmetics or pharmaceuticals.

We also have a limited but rapidly growing understanding of the complexity of other animals' lives. For example, it was once thought that tool use was the exclusive domain of the human animal, but we now know that chimpanzees and magpies can use tools; that great apes and whales have complex communication abilities and that pigs can experience apathy, stress and depression when their behavioural needs are not met.

Arguably, the suffering of animals alone should be sufficient grounds for providing them with a better life, however, as individuals, we are all persuaded by different ideas.

Whichever road we decide to take, the news is promising. Around the world, there is growing evidence to suggest that the community is rediscovering its respect for animals and expressing opinions and preferences, both in public forums and at the checkout.

Next week, Wellington will host New Zealand's national animal rights conference. The fact that the guest list includes lawyers and politicians is perhaps indicative of the most profound change for animals on this side of the South Pacific to occur in recent years, namely, the emergence of the animal rights law movement.

Following a North American lead, organisations such as the Animal Rights Legal Advocacy Network in New Zealand and Voiceless in Australia are spearheading debate and discussion among the legal community about the many barriers to justice that confront animals. And though most lawyers would never condone extremist animal rights activities that are unlawful or violent, it is important to remember that we all have a duty to question our laws. It was Martin Luther King junior who cautioned us to "never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal".

Though the obstacles to greater protection for animals are significant, they are not insurmountable if we are willing to open our hearts and minds to this important social justice movement.

* Katrina Sharman is the corporate counsel for Voiceless, a non-profit organisation for animals in Australia. She will be speaking at the National Animal Rights Conference in Wellington on June 9-10.

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