“Although our views of animals in western culture are rapidly changing, they are also increasingly bizarre. Our relationship to animals is almost entirely defined by their use to us. Pets can be loved, protected and their well being fought for, yet for most people industrialized farming or the use of animals in research is not even a moral question. As it now stands the relationship remains one of commodity; pet, research subject, food or clothing, justified solely by the fact they are members of another species. But do animals have moral worth in and of themselves? The time I have spent with the great apes has made it clear to me that the sharp line between animal and human I was raised to believe in, does not exist. I have seen first hand how morality, linguistics and the expression of culture all exist in the great apes. As human history has moved forward the moral circle has begun to expand; the inherent rights of women and people of other races were once ridiculed too. Finally the conversation about our moral relationship to non-human life has begun. I fully support the brave exploration of these questions through Liz Marshall’s
THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE.”
Warm Regards,
Kerry Bowman
Conservationist and President/Founder,
Canadian Ape Alliance
Dr. Bowman is a conservationist and the president and founder of The Canadian Ape Alliance, is on the board of directors of The Jane Goodall Institute and is a consultant to The United Nations Environment Program. He is actively involved in conservation projects in Brazil, The Democratic Republic of Congo and North Korea. He has spoken and consulted on environmental and conservation issues in Argentina, Vietnam , Laos, India, Suriname and The Andaman Islands. His area of focus is balancing human needs and cultures with environmental protection. Dr. Bowman is also a Bioethicist at The University of Toronto and Clinical Ethicist at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Dr. Bowman has a Ph.D. in Bioethics, a fellowship in Cultural Psychiatry and a Masters degree in Social Work..
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