Professor Bagaric gives a voice to the voiceless

Professor Mirko Bagaric from Deakin’s School of Law has been awarded a grant by Voiceless, an independent non-profit organisation dedicated to alleviating the suffering of animals in Australia. Professor Bagaric, the author of several books on human rights law and numerous articles on animal welfare, will complete a monograph on animal welfare titled ‘Civilising People: Humanising Animals’.

The book will explore the paradox between our moral values and emotional sentiments regarding animal welfare and our actual conduct. Examining how it is that nearly all people deplore animal suffering, on both a moral and emotional level, but still so much animal suffering occurs. Professor Bagaric says “This is one of the most striking and important paradoxes of our time.”

Investigation will be conducted into the physiology of pain, and will explain that while there are obviously different intensities of pain, human and animal pain occur via the same process. The suffering and pain experienced by animals is every bit as real and lamentable as that felt by humans.

Further the book will explore the extent of animal suffering and expose the massive and intense level of suffering that humans inflict on animals. The focus will be on the main forms of man-made animal suffering.

Professor Bagaric will examine:

• farming practices- in particular the treatment of battery hens and pigs
• veal and fine wool production
• the live export industry.

The immoral nature of the above practices will be explained and then the book will set out pragmatic steps that individuals can undertake to ameliorate the deplorable manner in which we treat animals.

Professor Bagaric is honored to have received this grant and feels that this work can go a long way in exposing our current treatment of animals and giving individuals some practical advice about how they can make a real difference.