Richard Adams and Animal Welfare
Posted: May 17, 2020 Filed under: Animal Welfare, Speculative Fiction | Tags: Animal welfare in Richard Adams Plague Dogs, Christian animal welfare, Christian animal welfare as advocated by Richard Adams, discussion of animal welfare in Plague Dogs, Richard Adams a Christian animal welfare activist, Richard Adams and animal welfare 1 Comment
Richard Adams
English author Richard Adams is best known for his worldwide best seller, Watership Down first published in 1972, and was subsequently made into an animated movie 1978, and animated television series in England, then recent butchered by Netflix-BBC two years ago. Adams was involved in a number of movements directed toward animal welfare, and was, for a time, director of England’s RSPCA. In Watership Down, Adams’ rabbit characters remark about humanity’s indifference, and even hostility to animals and the environment in general. Perhaps the most striking lament by Adams comes from Chapter 21, “For El-ahrairah to Cry.” Here, Holly (the Bard of the band of rabbits) states:
It [evil] comes from men…All other elil [enemies] do what they have to do and Frith [the rabbits’ god] moves them as he moves us. They live on the earth and they need food. Men will never rest till they’ve spoiled the earth and destroyed animals
