Australian philosopher Peter Singer has been a champion of animal rights for more than 50 years.
His basic philosophical position has remained the same: the suffering of animals is just as important as the suffering of human beings. Pain is pain, whether it is in animals or humans. So, just as we think it is wrong to cause unnecessary pain and suffering in humans, it is wrong to cause the same in animals. To think otherwise is “speciesist”.
A prolific writer with more than 400 books and articles to his name, much of Singer’s work focuses on defending and developing this basic philosophical position. But he has also written books that are less concerned with philosophy, and more concerned with highlighting the suffering that animals undergo at the hands of humans.
