DOMINION OVER WILDLIFE?
An environmental theology of human-wildlife relations
By Stephen M. Vantassel. Resources Publications. 208 pages
ISBN 978-1-60608-343-7
Stephen Vantassel dedicates his book to sport hunters, including fur trappers, a group of people he believes to be unjustly misrepresented by what he terms ‘CAR (Christian Animal Rights) activists’. His main focus is hunting, although he often strays into general denunciations of vegetarians.
Vantassel collects together as ‘CAR activists’ a wide variety of authors, ranging from the distinguished theologian Andrew Linzey (‘the leader of the movement’) to the conservative writer Matthew Scully. He sets out their scriptural, ethical and scientific arguments, criticising and rejecting each in turn. His summary of the CAR position is fairest where he focuses on one author, but becomes a misleading stereotype where he lumps them all together. ‘CAR activists’ is so broad a grouping that it would certainly include John Calvin, C.H. Spurgeon, and the majority of Puritan authors.
