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A major new exploration of the economics of animal exploitation and a practical roadmap for how we can use the marketplace to promote the welfare of all living creatures, from the renowned animal-rights advocate Wayne Pacelle, President/CEO of the Humane Society of the United States and New York Times bestselling author of The Bond.In the mid-nineteenth century, New Bedford, Massachusetts was the whaling capital of the world. A half-gallon of sperm oil cost approximately $1,400 in today's dollars, and whale populations were hunted to near extinction for profit. But with the advent of fossil fuels, the whaling industry collapsed, and today, the area around New Bedford is instead known as one of the best places in the world for whale watching.This transformation is emblematic of a new sort of economic revolution, one that has the power to transform the future of animal welfare. In The Humane Economy, Wayne Pacelle, President/CEO of the Human Society of the United States, explores how our everyday economic decisions impact the survival and wellbeing of animals, and how we can make choices that better support them. Though most of us have never harpooned a sea creature, clubbed a seal, or killed an animal for profit, we are all part of an interconnected web that has a tremendous impact on animal welfare, and the decisions we make - whether supporting local, not industrial, farming; adopting a rescue dog or a shelter animal instead of one from a "puppy mill"; avoiding products that compromise the habitat of wild species; or even seeing Cirque du Soleil instead of Ringling Brothers - do matter. The Humane Economy shows us how what we do everyday as consumers can benefit animals, the environment, and human society, and why these decisions can make economic sense as well.



About the Author

Wayne Pacelle

Wayne Pacelle is President and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States, which is one of the nation's top charities. Pacelle is a passionate defender of animals and an inspiration to millions of supporters and advocates. He's seen cruelty and compassion up close in his work, and he writes about the timeless but still ever-changing bond between humans and animals. He explores how that bond has been broken in so many ways in the industrial era.

Pacelle, who has led the humane movement from the margins to the mainstream, takes readers to ice floes of Atlantic Canada and the sealers' assault on the greatest wildlife nursery in the world, gives them a glimpse of a freshly shuttered slaughter plant in California, plunges them into the chaos of animal rescue in the aftermath of Katrina, and provides them with a front-row seat as he and Michael Vick talk in a prison courtyard about dogfighting and the human-animal bond.

In the end, Pacelle tells us about the new, humane economy and a way forward that is good for us and good for animals.

To receive Pacelle's daily updates on our relationship with animals and efforts to protect them, sign up to subscribe to Wayne's blog at hsus.typepad.com.



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