Jonathan Balcombe on NPR
March 22, 2010
Jonathan Balcombe doesn't remember a time in his life when he was not enamored with animals. His parents nurtured a natural fascination for all creatures by traveling around the world and encouraging an open-minded respect for others, regardless of how many legs they had.
With a PhD in ethology (the study of animal behavior) and nearly fifty published papers on animal behavior and protection, Balcombe jumped at the chance to instruct a course in Animal Behavior, Animal Minds, and Animal Protection for Humane Society University. "Sharing my passion with others is one of the great joys of working in this field," says Balcombe. Balcombe feels that humankind's current relationship with animals is profoundly out of step with what we now know of animals' capabilities, but he is excited by the upwelling of awareness and concern for their plight. He believes the animal cause is the next great social movement.
Balcombe's earlier books include The Use of Animals in Higher Education: Problems, Alternatives, and Recommendations (Humane Society Press, 2000), and Pleasurable Kingdom: Animals and the Nature of Feeling Good (Macmillan, 2006). His latest book, Second Nature: The Inner Lives of Animals (Palgrave) has just been published (March 2010), and a fourth book, Exultant Ark: A Pictorial Tour of Animal Pleasure (University of California Press) is scheduled for publication by year's end.
