Animal Rights Tour

S1 Ep1: Animal Rights Tour

Welcome to the Animal Rights Tour!
What if animals had legal rights? Are animal rights laws possible?
This introductory episode explores how society has changed over time and takes a glimpse into the future to see what animal rights laws could be on the horizon.
 
Animal Rights Tour is written by Sean Butler, hosted by Carly McCann, and fact-checked by Paulina Siemieniec. 
 
This podcast is produced by the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law, an academic centre of competence dedicated to the study of fundamental rights for non-human animals. Learn more about the Centre at animalrightslaw.org. 

S1 Ep2: The Beginning of Animal Welfare Laws

This episode traces the earliest animal welfare laws, starting with a 1635 Irish law banning cruel practices like attaching ploughs to horse tails and pulling wool from live sheep, then highlights later English and American measures that criminalised animal cruelty.
It also covers Lord Erskine's 1809 proposal arguing that cruelty harms both animals and human compassion.
 
Animal Rights Tour is written by Sean Butler, hosted by Carly McCann, and fact-checked by Paulina Siemieniec. 
 
This podcast is produced by the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law, an academic centre of competence dedicated to the study of fundamental rights for non-human animals. Learn more about the Centre at animalrightslaw.org.

S1 Ep3: Martin’s Law

In this episode we explore Martin's Law, passed by the British Parliament in 1822 and championed by Richard Martin, MP for Galway. Martin's law prohibited cruelty to horses, farm animals, and other cattle. But Richard Martin didn’t stop there.
The episode covers Martin's efforts to enforce the law, including the famous case where he brought an injured donkey to court, and discusses the act's limits—punishing only conduct deemed "wanton or cruel"—and its legacy as a starting point for animal welfare reforms in Britain and beyond.
 
Animal Rights Tour is written by Sean Butler, hosted by Carly McCann, and fact-checked by Paulina Siemieniec. 
 
This podcast is produced by the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law, an academic centre of competence dedicated to the study of fundamental rights for non-human animals. Learn more about the Centre at animalrightslaw.org.

S1 Ep4: From Martin's Law to Modern Protections

In this episode of the Animal Rights Tour, we explore the early history of anti-cruelty laws: Martin's Law (1822), New York's 1829 statute, the founding of the SPCA/RSPCA (1824/1840) and the ASPCA (1866), and Massachusetts' 1869 law recognising neglect as cruelty.
We also cover 19th-century efforts to regulate vivisection with the 1876 Vivisection Act and notes that by the 20th century animal-protection laws were widespread but still focused mainly on cruelty. The episode closes by previewing Ruth Harrison's 1964 work and the coming shift in the debate.
 
Animal Rights Tour is written by Sean Butler, hosted by Carly McCann, and fact-checked by Paulina Siemieniec. 
 
This podcast is produced by the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law, an academic centre of competence dedicated to the study of fundamental rights for non-human animals. Learn more about the Centre at animalrightslaw.org.

S1 Ep5: Animal Machines

Ruth Harrison’s 1964 book Animal Machines exposed the harsh realities of intensive factory farming, documenting the treatment of calves, hens, pigs, and the use of drugs and growth stimulants.
With a foreword by Rachel Carson, the book sparked public outcry and a government inquiry led by Professor Rogers Brambell, setting the stage for major changes in animal welfare law. This episode dives into Harrison’s book and the ripple effect that it had on the world. 
 
 
Animal Rights Tour is written by Sean Butler, hosted by Carly McCann, and fact-checked by Paulina Siemieniec. 
 
This podcast is produced by the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law, an academic centre of competence dedicated to the study of fundamental rights for non-human animals and based in Cambridge, UK. Learn more about the Centre at animalrightslaw.org.

S1 Ep6: The Brambell Report

Professor F.W. Rogers Brambell led a 1964 Committee inquiry into animal welfare on intensive farms, investigating how factory farming had transformed traditional animal husbandry.
The Brambell Report revealed the scale and conditions of intensive systems, argued that animals’ welfare had been neglected, and helped lay the foundation for modern animal welfare standards.
 
 
Animal Rights Tour is written by Sean Butler, hosted by Carly McCann, and fact-checked by Paulina Siemieniec. 
 
This podcast is produced by the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law, an academic centre of competence dedicated to the study of fundamental rights for non-human animals. Learn more about the Centre at animalrightslaw.org.

S1 Ep7: Are Animals Like Us?

Professor Rogers Brambell and his Committee showed that animals feel pain, fear, frustration, and pleasure, and that their experiences are often similar to ours. Their scientific findings emphasised that actions cruel to humans can also be cruel to animals.
The Committee also created a legal framework to protect animal welfare—work that evolved into the Five Freedoms—and set the stage for rethinking factory farming and how society treats animals.
 
Animal Rights Tour is written by Sean Butler, hosted by Carly McCann, and fact-checked by Paulina Siemieniec. 
 
This podcast is produced by the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law, an academic centre of competence dedicated to the study of fundamental rights for non-human animals. Learn more about the Centre at animalrightslaw.org.

S1 Ep8: The Five Freedoms

The Brambell Committee reviewed farm animal welfare, set practical rules (minimum cage sizes, pen space, companionship, food and water) and recommended a statutory advisory body.
The Committee’s work led to the Farm Animal Advisory Committee and the formal adoption of the Five Freedoms—freedom from hunger and thirst; discomfort; pain, injury or disease; to express normal behaviour; and from fear and distress—which became the basis for animal welfare laws worldwide.
 
Animal Rights Tour is written by Sean Butler, hosted by Carly McCann, and fact-checked by Paulina Siemieniec. 
 
This podcast is produced by the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law, an academic centre of competence dedicated to the study of fundamental rights for non-human animals. Learn more about the Centre at animalrightslaw.org.

S1 Ep9: Animal Welfare Laws Today

This episode explains how the Five Freedoms, developed from the Brambell Committee, reshaped animal protection laws worldwide and distinguishes between anti-cruelty statutes and laws promoting animal welfare, with examples from the US, New Mexico, Pakistan, Germany, and the UK (2006 Animal Welfare Act).
It also introduces the series' focus on animal rights and notes that welfare laws alone may not be enough to secure a life worth living for animals.
 
Animal Rights Tour is written by Sean Butler, hosted by Carly McCann, and fact-checked by Paulina Siemieniec. 
 
This podcast is produced by the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law, an academic centre of competence dedicated to the study of fundamental rights for non-human animals. Learn more about the Centre at animalrightslaw.org.

S1 Ep10: The Animal Rights Model

Season 1's finale reviews the progress and limits of animal welfare laws—how they have improved lives for billions yet still leave many animals in poor conditions. It contrasts the prevailing welfare paradigm, which allows killing and harmful uses of animals, with the animal rights perspective that argues animals deserve a life worth living.
In Season 2, we will explore the animal rights model and why it may offer a deeper moral shift for humans and animals alike.
 
Animal Rights Tour is written by Sean Butler, hosted by Carly McCann, and fact-checked by Paulina Siemieniec. 
 
This podcast is produced by the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law, an academic centre of competence dedicated to the study of fundamental rights for non-human animals and based in Cambridge, UK. Learn more about the Centre at animalrightslaw.org.