Vol. 15 No.12 (December 2005), pp.1054-1056

RATTLING THE CAGE: TOWARD LEGAL RIGHTS FOR ANIMALS, by Steven M. Wise ; foreword by Jane Goodall. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing, 2001. 362pp. Paper US $18.50 / CAN $28.95 ISBN: 0-7382-0437-4.

DRAWING THE LINE: SCIENCE AND THE CASE FOR ANIMAL RIGHTS, by Steven M. Wise. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing, 2003. 322pp. Paper US $18.00 /

CAN $27.50 / UK £10.99.  ISBN: 0-7382-0810-8.

Reviewed by Deborah E. Sulzbach, Drake University Law Library, Drake University.  Email:Deborah.Sulzbach [at] drake.edu  

In RATTLING THE CAGE and DRAWING THE LINE, Harvard law professor and animal rights advocate Stephen Wise describes scientific, historical and legal traditions that support his theory that all nonhuman animals are deserving of legal rights. Because animals are unable to do it for themselves, Wise has made it his mission to convince others that basic rights must be given to these creatures. Both books present heartfelt and impassioned pleas for equal rights for all animals and insist that they should be afforded freedom from confinement and abuse.

RATTLING THE CAGE focuses specifically on chimpanzees and bonobos (pygmy chimpanzees), man’s closet living relatives. Chimpanzees share more than 98% of identical DNA with man, and due to this great similarity, Wise maintains that personhood must be afforded to them. He offers interesting vignettes of the work being done with chimpanzees and bonobos using American Sign Language and reveals how well they perform on human infant tests. But he also recounts horrific cruelties inflicted upon research animals, specifically Jerom and his cellmates, chimpanzees housed at the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center in Atlanta. Such vivid recounting of experimentation reinforces the call for personhood for these animals.

Wise also discusses the evolution of the legal system from the Code of Hammurabi to the present. In the past, both common and criminal law affirmed that the abuse of animals was not a crime. Wise points to one of the most significant hurdles encountered by those advocating animal rights – man’s belief in the concept of a Great Chain of Being which hierarchically places humans just below God and animals so far down on that chain that they are deemed property. He recounts customs through the ages illustrating man’s belief that animals were created to serve them and therefore are unworthy of basic rights. In the middle ages, killer animals were tried and punished just as their human counterparts. Animals were executed for maiming or killing people or were surrendered to the injured person or to his family. Animals were hanged for eating children or killing people. Victims of bestiality were executed along with their human attacker. These examples further highlight the fact that laws through the ages supported the premise that animals were nothing more than [*1055] chattel and defined how nonhuman animals were treated in society.

RATTLING THE CAGE presents examples of other captive animals who need legal intervention, such as dolphins and rabbits. However, because they are most like us, Wise focuses specifically upon chimpanzees and bonobos to make his points. There are sections of this book that are a little mind-numbing; however, the chapters on the signing chimpanzees and the testing of animals on human infant developmental scales are fascinating.  

In DRAWING THE LINE, Wise continues his argument for granting legal personhood to animals, expanding his case to include gorillas, orangutans, parrots, dolphins, elephants, dogs and honeybees. Wise presents examples of animal intelligence and behavior, recounting his personal experiences with some of the world’s most famous animal experts and the remarkable creatures they work with. These encounters, which make this work much more readable than his previous title, illustrate his theory that animals who possess certain mental abilities are worthy of basic legal rights.

In this book, Wise applies his theory of “practical autonomy” (p.7) to animals. If it meets each of the theory’s three requirements, that species should be granted legal personhood. The three criteria are whether the animal: “1) can desire ; 2) can intentionally act to fulfill her desires; and 3) possesses a sense of self sufficiency to allow her to understand, even dimly, that it is she who wants something and it is she who is trying to get it” (p.32). Examples of nonhuman animals that meet Wise’s practical autonomy guidelines, thus meriting equal rights and freedom from confinement and abuse, are presented.

Each chapter highlights one of Wise’s animal encounters and recounts his experiences from the field. A chapter is devoted exclusively to Koko the remarkable signing gorilla and Wise’s interactions with her. He explores her world, showcasing her great mental abilities, such as her cognition of events around her, the playing of practical jokes on visitors and her ability to carry on conversations with her human caretakers. A detailed recounting of his actual conversations with Koko is also presented. Koko has performed well on standardized tests for human children, consistently registering an IQ between 70 and 95. Due to her brightness and her overwhelming success at meeting the practical autonomy criteria, Wise maintains that Koko is entitled to legal personhood.

Wise also presents additional examples of his personal encounters with other extraordinary animals. Stories about Alex the African parrot’s reasoning and calculating at the level of a four-year-old, Echo the Elephant’s tool use and problem solving, and even Wise’s own dog Marbury’s communication skills further illustrate the author’s belief that, although displaying differing levels of intelligence, emotion, and language skills, each meets the practical autonomy standard and is entitled to basic legal rights.

Wise’s theories and beliefs are sure to provoke discussion and controversy. Evolutionists will willingly accept his arguments; however, creationists and the deeply religious may not be so [*1056] enthusiastic. His impassioned plea for equal rights for animals of all kinds is based in the theory of evolution. Those not so inclined may find his beliefs blasphemous.

Steven Wise’s books make passionate pleas for legal personhood for all animals. In each, Wise delves into scientific findings, philosophical principles and legal precedents, utilizing them to support his case. He maintains that one of the fundamental problems encountered today by those seeking legal rights for animals is the law itself. However, as laws evolved to emancipate slaves and enfranchise women, Wise believes our laws will one day evolve to establish legal rights for all animals due to their astounding similarity to humans and their advanced mental capabilities.

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© Copyright 2005 by the author, Deborah E. Sulzbach.