PODCAST

Animal Rights: the Debate

Martyn Ford & David Thomas

Animal Rights: the Debate explores the issues around around our relationship with animals.

society & culture philosophy

All Episodes

44:39

Can Animals Be Persons?

Animal Rights: the Debate ·

2024/11/28

To suggest that animals are persons – with all that such a claim implies – may seem far-fetched to some. After all, the way we treat animals is usually justified on the basis that there are fundamental differences between humans and animals. In the latest episode, we are joined by Professor Mark Rowlands from the University of Miami in Florida, who makes the case that other animals meet the criteria for personhood. His books ‘Can Animals Be Persons?’ and ‘The Happiness of Dogs’ provide a fascinating

38:55

Animal Equality, Undercover Investigations, and...

Animal Rights: the Debate ·

2024/11/07

The scale of animal farming is vast, its cruelty horrific, and the environmental damage extensive. Animal Equality is an international organisation working to end the suffering caused by such farming, and to promote a plant-based diet. Its large number of undercover investigations have been instrumental in exposing the reality between farm and slaughterhouse. We talk to its Executive Director, Abigail Penny, about the challenges and the successes, and how each and everyone of us can make a real

34:33

Genetic Engineering and the patenting of animals,...

Animal Rights: the Debate ·

2024/10/17

In this episode, we talk to Dr Maureen O’Sullivan who is a law lecturer at the University of Galway, and whose academic interests include intellectual property law, particularly the morality of granting patents for biotechnology ‘inventions’, including genetically altered animals. Maureen has a particular interest in vegetarianism and veganism in Ireland. At the recent summer school run by the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, of which she is a Fellow, she presented on the animal rights sympathies of

42:52

A Lifetime Campaigning

Animal Rights: the Debate ·

2024/09/05

Few individuals have played such a central role in the modern animal rights movement as Kim Stallwood, whose career stretches back nearly half a century. From working as a holiday job in a slaughter house, to his role as executive director of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals [PETA], Kim's journey provides a shining example of commitment to the values of truth, justice and compassion. We talk to him about how much has changed, from when a London vegetarian restaurant called Cranks in the

39:10

Vegans, the Law, and the Workplace

Animal Rights: the Debate ·

2024/08/01

Adopting veganism is a transformative and fulfilling experience, but it is not always welcome, particularly in the workplace. The Vegan Inclusion Co works with employers to help them understand and accommodate the needs and rights of vegans, for whom a plant-based diet is not a dietary preference, but an ethical position. Join us as we talk to Jeanette Rowley, who gave key evidence in a case before an Employment Tribunal which successfully established veganism as a protected characteristic in

34:14

Who Will Speak On Behalf Of the Animals?

Animal Rights: the Debate ·

2024/06/30

Extensive polling has shown that a considerable majority of the population want to see significant changes to the way our society treats animals. David and Martyn discuss the state of public opinion, and the extent to which the political parties have taken it on board. Join us for an election special. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at animalrightsthedebate@outlook.com

45:11

Cruelty Knows No Boundaries

Animal Rights: the Debate ·

2024/06/06

The campaign for animal justice is world-wide, with legal action sometimes taken against those who break the law. In this episode we talk to Carlos Contreras Lopez, a leading animal rights lawyer originally from Colombia and now practising in Spain and who is representing Cruelty Free International, one of the complainants in a prosecution of laboratory technicians for allegedly causing appalling suffering in a Spanish laboratory. Carlos says watching the video changed his life. Please email us at

34:33

Dominion over the Animals

Animal Rights: the Debate ·

2024/05/02

Compassion for others is a principle close to the heart of religion, but how far - if at all - does it extend to other animals? In this episode, we speak to Barbara Gardner, a co-founder of the Animals Interfaith Alliance, 'a unique alliance of the world's most influential faith based, animal advocacy organisations. Author of The Compassionate Animal, Barbara Gardner joins us for a discussion about faith, morality, and animals.

23:53

Animals in the news

Animal Rights: the Debate ·

2024/04/18

In this episode, Martyn and David discuss topical issues in the news which are distinct but also connected - the richness of animals' lives, their cognitive abilities, and sentience; the benefits to neuroscience from studying animals' brains, and the implication this has for animal ethics; our commodification of animals such as dogs and farm animals; and the environmental degradation caused by intensive farming.

38:37

Richard Ryder and the Victims of Science

Animal Rights: the Debate ·

2024/04/04

Richard Ryder has been dubbed the father of animal rights in this country, coining the term 'speciesism' to describe our irrational approach to non-human animals. He has published a dozen books, including, most famously, Victims of Science, described in Parliament at the time as the best-informed reference book on animal experiments. As well as a number of other books on animal rights, he has written about history and psychology. He spent an incredible 50 years as a trustee of the RSPCA. Join us for

38:12

Parliament Debates Animal Experiments

Animal Rights: the Debate ·

2024/03/08

Thousands of dogs, monkeys, and other animals are subjected to experiments which cause pain and suffering, all permitted under the law. What is the moral justification for treating sentient beings in this way? And will yet another debate in the House of Commons lead to meaningful progress in ending such research? Join us as we discuss this controversial subject.

45:26

The RSPCA - after 200 years

Animal Rights: the Debate ·

2024/02/15

As the oldest animal welfare society in the world, the RSPCA is synonymous with campaigning against cruelty to animals. Founded in 1824 by William Wilberforce and others who had brought about the end of the slave trade, the RSPCA soon became supported by the great and the good, with Queen Victoria its patron. Two hundred years later, we celebrate the RSPCA's achievement in putting cruelty at the heart of the nation's concerns, but we also ask about the challenges ahead. The intensive farming of

39:32

Plant-Based ...the Future?

Animal Rights: the Debate ·

2024/01/29

Whether it is because of the appalling cruelty inevitable in animal farming, the protection of the environment, or concerns about our health, many people across the world sign up to follow a plant-based diet during January. Is it a steppling stone to a permanent shift in lifestyle, or a short-lived experience? And is the decline in the fortunes of some companies producing vegan alternatives just a set-back as the market adjusts, or does it herald the passing of a fashion? Join us as we speak to Dr

23:36

The Price of Meat - for the Animals

Animal Rights: the Debate ·

2024/01/08

Millions of animals spend their lives in 'factory farms', before they meet a brutal end in a slaughter house. Apart from its impact on the environment, animal farming raises some fundamental moral issues about the treatment and killing of other sentient beings. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals - PETA - is a world-wide organisation campaigning for a radically different approach to the way we treat animals. Join us for a discussion with Chelsea Munro, a campaign manager for PETA, as we

25:17

Are all animals equal?

Animal Rights: the Debate ·

2023/12/04

The idea that animals have rights has now become mainstream, but what does that mean in practice? Whilst cruelty to animals has long been regarded as unacceptable, is it wrong to kill animals for food, or to cause them suffering in scientific research? In this first episode, we will look at some of the issues that arise from our relationship with other animals, and how it can be unlawful to cause them unncessary suffering but at the same time treat them as mere commodities.

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Animal Rights: the Debate

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