Granta 137

The animal kingdom: a community that we alternately identify with and distance ourselves from. We love animals as pets, we weave them into our myths and fables; we breed them under conditions of terrible cruelty so we can eat them cheaply. Animal rights campaigners draw our attention to pig factories, battery hens and cattle containers, while goods marked as ‘free range’, ‘organic’ and ‘ethically sourced’ fill the aisles of our supermarkets. And as new developments in animal cognition force us to concede fewer distinguishing characteristics between us and them, the neighbouring species have begun to occupy a new place in our culture.