The Lions and the Zebras: Towards a New Ethics of Environmental Management

Abstract

As our world grows closer together, our awareness of socio-economic inequalities has vastly increased. As a result, development programs in Africa have worked to address deficiencies in human healthcare, education, and poverty, striving to provide a better life for millions of human beings. Surprisingly little attention, however, has been given to the well-being of the countless non-human animals in their midst. Suffering from human cruelty, starvation, injury, and neglect, these animals interact with Africans every day, yet have been overlooked by those seeking to improve conditions on the continent.

The aim of this book is to directly address this lack of attention to a vital part of the African community. To the extent permitted by the incredible diversity of the continent, it analyzes the ways in which non-human animals impact, are a part of, and are affected by African societies, by investigating the moral, social, cultural, religious, and legal status of non-human animals in Africa. It shows that, far from being of secondary importance, animals are essential to the everyday lives and well-being of Africans and important in their own right.