If history is written by the victors, then this book is a much-needed step forward in our awareness and understanding of the non-human animals who have suffered at the hands of humans for millennia.
Judging by the title, I expected to find a book weighing in at a thousand or more pages. But at just over 200 pages author Helen Louise Cowie succeeds admirably in providing multi-faceted profiles and perspectives of animals small and large around the world and through the ages.
The book is divided into thematic chapters, each taking readers on a chronological journey: Consumption, Labour, Companionship, Exhibition, Knowledge, Biodiversity, Animal Rights. At the end of each chapter, Cowie provides in-depth narratives around selected species, ranging from cats and pigs to the platypus and kākāpō. These narratives alone make this book a fascinating read.
In Consumption we learn how a new fashion trend in Europe devastated a population of birds halfway around the world in supplying feathers for hats. Or the rising global demand for cochineal, a red dye made from the crushed bodies of cochineal bugs, led to naval warfare as English and Dutch privateers attacked Spanish galleons transporting this valued commodity. A mere one pound of the dye required the death of 70,000 insects. Fortunately, the invention of synthetic alternatives saved lives, both human and non-human.
In Companionship we learn about the history of companion animals, which goes well beyond dogs and cats. Squirrels and hedgehogs were favored pets at one time. In Japan, children have long kept crickets as indoor pets. As humans welcomed dogs into their homes they came to view the poor treatment of dogs outside of their homes as a crime, in particularly the vivisection of dogs by scientists, leading to the birth of the animal rights movement in England. Throughout history humans mourned the loss of their pets; a pet cemetery was opened in Paris back in 1899.
In Exhibition, we learn that animals were kept in menageries long before zoos. From Chinese emporers to Egyptian Pharaohs, a wide variety of animal species were kept and collected by those in power. Animals species were viewed as a type of currency, gifted or traded or simply paraded to signal wealth and status. Zoos, which emerged in the 1800s, also played a role in conveying status. Just as an American city wants a professional sports team to be deemed “major” — a zoo is also considered crucial. But at what cost to the animals? Cowie notes that while zoos have helped some species rebound from extinction, namely the California condor, there are larger questions. She writes:
Have zoos tended to prioritize the breeding of attractive and popular animals (such as pandas) over the less cuddly species and reptiles and amphibians? Would artificially bred animals survive in the wild, even if they were released? … The genuine value of zoos as conservation centers is thus open to question, and their work in this area is seen by some as insufficient justification for their continued existence.”
The book balances scholarship with compassion, meaning the animals are referred to, when possible, as he or she. And there are instances when the author acknowledges to the reader the horrors inflicted upon animals, which I found comforting. Some of the stories and statistics can be difficult to absorb.
In the final chapter of Animals in World History, author Helen Louise Cowie writes:
Cruelty has always been a feature of human-animal relations. From baiting bears in medieval England to extracting bear bile in twentieth century China, humans have subjected other species to pain, loss of liberty and death.
The word that resonated with me is “feature” as in: Should we view human cruelty to animals as an historical or cultural aberration or something that is core to who we are, a feature? I’d like to believe the former but with each passing year I grow less certain.
Animals in World History
By Helen Louise Cowie
Routledge
John is co-author, with Midge Raymond, of the Tasmanian mystery Devils Island. He is also author of the novels The Tourist Trail and Where Oceans Hide Their Dead. Co-founder of Ashland Creek Press and editor of Writing for Animals (also now a writing program).
