Peter Singer-Animal Liberation

(BlackTrush) #1

liberationist philosophy was tiny. Today People for the
EthicalTreatmentofAnimalshas250,000members,andthe
HumaneFarmingAssociation,whichiscampaigningstrongly
against veal crates, has 45,000.^41 Trans-Species Unlimited
has grown from a tiny group with one office in central
PennsylvaniatoanationalorganizationwithbranchesinNew
York City, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Chicago. The
Coalition to Abolish the LD50 and Draize Tests brings
together animal rights and animal welfare groups with a
combined membership in the millions. In 1988 Animal
Liberationachievedwhathasbecomeabadgeofrecognition:
a respectful cover story inNewsweek.^42


Wehavenotedsomeofthegainsforanimalsastheyarosein
our discussion of particular topics, but they are worth
bringingtogether.Theyincludetheprohibitionofvealcrates
inBritainandthephasingoutofbatterycagesinSwitzerland
and the Netherlands, as well as the more far-reaching
legislationinSwedenwhichwilleliminatevealcrates,battery
cages,sowstalls,andallotherdevicesthatpreventanimals
frommovingaboutfreely.Itwillalsomakeitillegaltokeep
cattlewithoutallowingthemtograzeinpasturesduringthe
warmer months. The worldwide campaign against the fur
tradehas succeededin greatlyreducing thequantityof fur
sold, especially in Europe. In Britain the House
ofFraser,aleadingchainofdepartmentstores,wasthetarget
ofprotestsagainstfur.InDecember1989,itannouncedthatit
wasclosing thefur salons in fifty-nine ofits sixty stores,
leaving only one remaining in the famous London store,
Harrods.


In the United States there have been no gains for farm
animals yet,but severalparticularly objectionableseries of

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