The Gist: Good afternoon VegNews Book Clubbers, and welcome to the month of June! I realize that we are still technically in the month of May, but it will be June soon enough, and it's time to discuss our final book of the VegNews Book Club, Fear of the Animal Planet by Jason Hribal. This is definitely more of an independent book, and not well-known, but it seems to be an interesting book so far, and I look forward to discussing it with everyone!I asked you to read the introduction, prologue, and chapter one for our discussion today. As you may have realized, this book mainly deals with animals used in the entertainment business, rather than food animals. It is also intriguing because it highlights instances when these animals have pretty deliberately sought revenge. The introduction gives a bit of history of human and animal interaction, and the writer, Jeffrey St. Clair, spends a good amount of time talking about how in the Middle Ages, animals were put on trial just like humans. These trials stopped a little after the early-seventeenth century, in which St Clair believes is the time when humans started to think of themselves as superior to animals, and able to use animals any way they wanted to, such as for entertainment and educational purposes.
Hribal's first chapter talks about circus elephants, and depicts different times in history when elephants have attacked and sometimes killed their trainers, as well as their escape attempts. He writes the book from the animals' point of view, helping the reader to understand why the animal attacked in the first place. We in the animal-rights movement already know how viciously these animals are treated, but you don't need to be an animal-rights activist to understand why these elephants did what they did. Hribal concludes the first chapter with the story of Tyke—an elephant killed in 1993 in Honolulu after he attacked his trainers and escaped from a show. His death—even though it was just one of many—helped to start a movement against the use of elephants in the entertainment industry. Although they are still used today, Hribal claims that the number has greatly decreased, and many elephants have been saved and moved to sanctuaries to live the rest of their lives in peace.
The Discussion: Here are two discussion points to help get the conversation started. I look forward to hearing from you!
1. As mentioned by St. Clair, people now view putting animals on trial as foolish. What are your thoughts on this point of history when animals were put on trial?
2. What do you think of Hribal's writing style? Do you think he's getting his point across?
The Assignment: Please read chapter two of Fear of the Animal Planet for our discussion on Monday, June 6. See you then!
~VN Book Club Hostess Lyndsay Orwig
