Pleasurable Kingdom

The recognition of animal pain and stress, once controversial, is now acknowledged by legislation in many countries, but there is no formal recognition of animals' ability to feel pleasure. Pleasurable Kingdom is the first book for lay-readers to present new evidence that animals--like humans--enjoy themselves. It debunks the popular perception that life for most is a continuous, grim struggle for survival and the avoidance of pain. Instead it suggests that creatures from birds to baboons feel good thanks to play, sex, touch, food, anticipation, comfort, aesthetics, and more. Combining rigorous evidence, elegant argument and amusing anecdotes, leading animal behavior researcher Jonathan Balcombe proposes that the possibility of positive feelings in creatures other than humans has important ethical ramifications for both science and society. For more information please visit the author's website at www.pleasurablekingdom.com

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"'Entertaining examples of animal bliss - from drunken parrots to the caresses of fiddler crabs - bring a pleasure all their own.' - Psychology Today 'This is a lively, shrewd, well-argued book on the simple theme that animals are able to feel pleasure.' Times Higher Educational Supplement 'This entertaining and thought-provoking book is recommended for popular science collections.' - Library Journal 'This book is one in which all campaigners for good animal welfare should invest.' - The Ark 'A joy to read - a carefully balanced book - which also includes some humorous, enlightening and intriguing animal tales.' - www.scienceagogo.com 'His arguments may change your opinion of the next lobster that arrives steaming on your plate.' - Wired News"

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JONATHAN BALCOMBE is Animal Behaviour Research Scientist for the Washington DC-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. He has published numerous scientific papers and magazine articles on, among other things, bat communication, turtle nesting and bird breeding. His first book, The Use of Animals in Higher Education: Problems, Alternatives and Recommendations was published by Humane Society Press in 2000.

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PART I: WHY ANIMAL PLEASURE; Survival of the Happiest: The Adaptive Basis for Pleasure; Forbidden Pleasures: Our Reluctance to Acknowledge Animal Pleasure; Feeling Smart: The Intelligence of Pleasure; PART II: WHAT ANIMAL PLEASURE; Play: Fun for Its Own Sake; Food: The Pleasures of Sustenance; Sex: Procreation and Recreation; Touch: Making Contact with Pleasure; Love: The Ripening Warmth of Intimacy; Other Pleasures: Esthetics, Humor and Beyond; Fish and Thrips: At the Margins of Pleasure; PART III: FROM ANIMAL PLEASURE; Feeling Good, Doing Good: Implications of a Pleasurable Kingdom; NOTES, REFERENCES, FURTHER READING.

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