A conversation between myself and my friend Joey about the first half (the first 3 chapters) of the book “Wild Animal Ethics: The Moral and Political Problem of Wild Animal Suffering” by Kyle Johannsen and published by Routledge earlier this year (2021). It was recorded primarily in July of 2021.

Joey Kukura is a guitarist by profession (and he kindly made the music for the channel-podcast) and lives in Denton, Texas, where he recently graduated from the University of North Texas with a music degree. Some years ago, after having an interest in animal related ethics, he became vegan and anti-speciesist and lately has been branching out into wild animal suffering and suffering related ethics in general.

Kyle Johannsen is Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Queen’s University, Kingston. He is primarily interested in social and political philosophy, and in animal and environmental ethics. His first monograph – A Conceptual Investigation of Justice – was published with Routledge in 2018. Though many political philosophers and ethicists have the intuition that we should leave nature alone, Johannsen argues that we have a duty to research safe ways of providing large-scale assistance to wild animals. In Wild Animal Ethics, he explores how a collective, institutional obligation to assist wild animals should be understood. Among other things, Johannsen’s currently guest-editing a topical collection for the Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics entitled ‘Positive Duties to Wild Animals’.

For more information on Kyle Johannsen and to order the book:
https://www.routledge.com/authors/i16...

Art by: Paula Meninato
https://paulameninato.com

Music by: Joey Kukura and Matt Harnett