Zoopolis: A Political Renewal of Animal Rights Theories

This new political approach to animal rights is a long-overdue improvement of existing animal rights theories. I say ‘improvement ’ because Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka are not criticizing the extension of basic negative rights to other animals. Zoopolis is without a doubt an abolitionist theory, but argues that ending the property status of animals does not necessarily mean the extinc-tion of all domesticated animals and the segregation of human beings from other animals. A major appeal of Donaldson’s and Kymlicka’s ground-breaking political approach to animal rights is the move beyond the need to choose between rights and relationships. Relational approaches to animal ethics do not challenge tradi-tional animal rights theories (ART), but complement and improve them. Resisting the idea that what is owed to an animal is owed to all animals with similar capacities, Zoopolis acknowledges relation-based obligations toward different