Review - Pleasurable Kingdom

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Review - Pleasurable Kingdom - Jonathan Balcombe

Anyone who has owned a dog or cat will have little doubt that animals can feel pleasure. You only have to see a dog's response to attention, or the cat's more self-centred attitude to sitting in the sun. As Jonathan Balcombe points out in this warm and enjoyable book, we do need to be careful about imposing human responses on animals - but even so, it's hard to doubt that these and other animals experience not only gratitude at the absence of pain, but a positive feeling of wellbeing when life is good.

Once Balcombe has established the point of pleasure - as an encouragement towards survival traits that can then in some circumstances be enjoyed in its own right beyond the original need for it - he makes it obvious why scientists have been reluctant to discuss the subject ,in part for the not unreasonable argument also applied to the gap between science and theology, that there's no point taking a scientific view on something that can't be verified. He goes on to address concerns about the way limited intelligence in animals seems to preclude them feeling enjoyment don't really add up.

With that foundation, Pleasurable Kingdom explores the evidence we have for animal pleasure, and what we can learn from it. It might all be indirect, we can't know what an animal is thinking and feeling (famously it has been said we can't get inside the mind of a bat) but we can observe elements like play, the effect generated by food and attention, the sexual response and more. We might even, Balcombe argues, have to do away with the old excuse of anglers that fish don't have feelings - there is some evidence that even they can have positive feelings, as well as discomfort and pain.

Where does all this take us? Balcombe argues that animal welfare (except for our treatment of pets) is largely oriented to preventing discomfort, rather than enabling pleasure. Should we worry? It seems that a happy animal is a fit animal - hardly a surprise, I suspect - and that we have a moral responsibility to at least consider going the extra mile and giving animals for which we have responsibility the opportunity for pleasure.

I feel a little guilty, and hope I'm not causing Dr Balcombe pain, in only giving this book three stars. It is well written and pleasurably light reading. It makes an interesting point that we might not normally consider. There's nothing at all wrong with this book, and anyone with an interest in animal welfare (or just in animals) certainly ought to read it. My hesitation to give it a higher rating is just a feeling that as science this isn't too exciting. But that doesn't spoil the enjoyment of reading it. I may even read it to my cat... (Great cover picture, by the way.)

Only in hardback

Reviewed by Martin O'Brien

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