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Dominion - A Book Review

© Joy Butler

When an animal cruelty case hits the news, it always brings about public outrage. That same outraged public continues eating its hamburgers and ignoring the horrors of factory farming, or calls them a necessary evil. So why is one animal afforded more compassion than another? Where does the value of an animal's life come from anyway?

In the woods, a party of deer hunters, guns in hand, discover a deer drowning in the river. They spend several hours in a rescue operation and feel quite pleased with themselves when she scampers away with at least one more day of life. They recognize value in that life and show mercy upon it. So where is their mercy when they find pleasure in pulling the trigger on a different deer?

Matthew Scully, former special assistant and senior speechwriter for President George W. Bush, attempts to answer these questions and others in his book, Dominion. Mr. Scully employs his talent powerfully in the 398 pages of this eloquently written work published by St. Martin's Press. A strong and healthy vegetarian of 28 years, he was also literary editor for the National Review and has been published in various periodicals.

Dominion is not the typical animal rights rant. The author, in a sensible and profound way, causes the reader to consider that with the power God granted mankind over animals, came also the responsibility to respect life, and to treat animals with dignity and compassion.

He takes us to the scene of several animal industries including a convention of Safari Club International, an International Whaling Commission conference, and a factory farm. We get an inside scoop on what really goes on in the captive hunts of the Safari Club, how the Whaling Commission is developing more efficient methods of harvesting "living marine resources", and how the factory farming industry is developing more efficient methods of production. We also learn that all of this comes with a price of more animal suffering. When these animal industry folks attempt to justify their practices, the author uses their own logic, with amazing skill, to show glaring contradictions in the defenses they present. That, to me, is one of the most impressive things about this book.

The author competently counters the argument of those who claim the Bible gives mankind the privilege to use animals in any way it chooses. Although Christian overtones are present, the message speaks to all cultures and religions, as well as the atheistic, and shows how mercy is demanded from all of us, simply as humans. Scully writes on page 137, "As our powers are unique, it would follow too that our ethical obligations are unique..." He argues that nature has given humans more and, thus, demands more of us. He points out that humans are the only predator with a choice and urges us to choose compassion for animals.

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