Morris expands the script of a 1990 television series about the deteriorating relationship between human beings and animals. While many of his points are valid -- the further our culture moves into technology, the less we understand other animals -- he has a tendency to mention vague "studies" or say "it is estimated" without ever providing information on his sources.

He quite correctly keeps circling back to one huge causative factor, but it is one without resolution. Humans have been tremendously successful in an evolutionary sense, and that very success will ultimately destroy us. (Whether that happens in time to save the other animals on the planet is problematical.) The issue is population, which is burgeoning far beyond the planet's capability to support it. More people require more land for housing and for food production, which of course reduces that available for wild animals, and puts pressure on farmers/ranchers to become more "efficient" in their use of resources. Unfortunately, "efficiency" often comes at the expense of the comfort and freedom of domestic animals.

The book becomes a dreary parade of atrocities without suggestions for a workable compromise. There is a proposed "new" contract, of "10 Commandments" for the general welfare of both domestic and wild animals, but practical plans to impose it are lacking. ( )