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Juris Zoology: A Dissection of Animals as Legal Objects
This book exists at the intersection of two complementary and conflicting perspectives, law and biology. From the vantage point of both disciplines, Juris Zoology provides a comprehensive and realistic framework to objectively assess the role and significance of animals in American civil and criminal law. Contrasting the views of animal rights activists, Duckler examines animals in terms of their prehistory, history, biology, social utility, economic effect, and aesthetic value. Focusing on animal captivity, control, use, and value, Duckler refutes the proposal of granting animal's legal rights. The book offers a new and controversial voice to the national conversation on the propriety of animal rights, and would be of interest to lawyers, economists, sociologists, as well as scholars and professionals in animal-related fields.
280 pages, Paperback
Published March 15, 2024
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May 31, 2022
I received an ARC of Juris Zoology through Reedsy Discovery in exchange for an honest review. Read the full review at https://reedsy.com/discovery/book/jur...
A fascinatingly informative, if sometimes dry, read, Dr Geordie Duckler's Juris Zoology takes readers through the nuances, fallacies, and difficulties faced by those who practice law, and those who are subjected to it, when it comes to animals. Written by someone who has both studied and practiced law pertaining to animals for decades, as well as the recipient of a Ph.D in biology, Duckler is perhaps one of the few people on earth with the education and professional background to write a study of this kind, and what a study it is.
In his text, Duckler reveals that simple, blanket statements like "All animals should be protected" for the nightmare fallacies that they are. If all animals are protected, then when you give your dog a flea-bath, are you committing genocide and therefore legally responsible for the insect deaths? What about your dog when they catch a rabbit, are they now a murderer, and thus should charges be filed against them? If your dog does go to trial, who mounts their defense? Does the State or owner provide an attorney, or does the dog defend itself? The rabbit hole gets twistier and more ludicrous the deeper you go.
This is, most assuredly, a simplification of a complex book and a complicated legal, moral, and ethical question that we should all grapple with at some level, but especially our lawyers and lawmakers. If nothing else, Duckler lays out in stark terms that there are no easy answers when it comes to protecting the natural world and those we share it with. Juris Zoology is perhaps not a book for the casual readers, but will be invaluable to legal scholars, animal rights activists, and those whose livelihoods depend on animal stock for years to come.
A fascinatingly informative, if sometimes dry, read, Dr Geordie Duckler's Juris Zoology takes readers through the nuances, fallacies, and difficulties faced by those who practice law, and those who are subjected to it, when it comes to animals. Written by someone who has both studied and practiced law pertaining to animals for decades, as well as the recipient of a Ph.D in biology, Duckler is perhaps one of the few people on earth with the education and professional background to write a study of this kind, and what a study it is.
In his text, Duckler reveals that simple, blanket statements like "All animals should be protected" for the nightmare fallacies that they are. If all animals are protected, then when you give your dog a flea-bath, are you committing genocide and therefore legally responsible for the insect deaths? What about your dog when they catch a rabbit, are they now a murderer, and thus should charges be filed against them? If your dog does go to trial, who mounts their defense? Does the State or owner provide an attorney, or does the dog defend itself? The rabbit hole gets twistier and more ludicrous the deeper you go.
This is, most assuredly, a simplification of a complex book and a complicated legal, moral, and ethical question that we should all grapple with at some level, but especially our lawyers and lawmakers. If nothing else, Duckler lays out in stark terms that there are no easy answers when it comes to protecting the natural world and those we share it with. Juris Zoology is perhaps not a book for the casual readers, but will be invaluable to legal scholars, animal rights activists, and those whose livelihoods depend on animal stock for years to come.
Displaying 1 of 1 review