Once in a while I come across a book that changes my perception of the world and how we affect everything around us. This is one such book. I’m privileged to be sharing my thoughts on Through A Vet’s Eyes, as part of the book tour hosted by Random Things Tours. Thank you for sending me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
My other book reviews and blogs can be viewed here.
Synopsis
A compelling account of the trials, tribulations and triumphs of life as a vet – and a lesson to us all on how we should treat the animals with which we share our lives.’ – Stephen Moss, naturalist and author
Dr Sean Wensley is an award-winning vet and lifelong naturalist who has contributed to animal welfare and conservation projects all over the world. His debut book is about how we can choose a better life for animals, from the chickens we eat to the pets we keep.
As our societies become more urbanised, we are further removed from the reality of where and how our food is produced. Surveys suggest that nearly 1 in 4 UK adults don’t know that bacon comes from pigs. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the humanisation of our pets is a risk to their welfare; with over 60% of UK dogs being overweight or obese, we are effectively killing them with kindness. Through A Vet’s Eyes seeks to redress this imbalance so that we see all animals as thinking, feeling beings not dissimilar to ourselves.
As he takes us through the years in which he trained to become a vet, and set against a backdrop of inspiring natural spectacles, Dr Wensley shares his first-hand experience of how animals are treated and used for our benefit. He interrogates the different levels of welfare afforded to them and reveals how we the general consumer can reduce our animal welfare footprint through the choices we make every day.
My Review
To give the book its full title, Through A Vet’s Eyes: How we can all choose a better life for animals gives us a meaningful and thought provoking insight into our interactions and relationship with animals that live in the wild, those we farm for food, and those we invite into our homes and our families. It also focuses on how we treat animals very differently depending on what we want them for; from the closeness with family pets, and therapy animals, to the intensive farming, exploitation, and mass slaughter of animals to feed our appetite.
It was a worrying statistic that 6 out of every 10 dogs in the UK are overweight, one of which is my lab Cocker cross Wispa. I found the book to be engaging, eye-opening, and heartwarming, and then disturbing, shameful, and heartbreaking as the graphic truth of how we treat the animals we share the world with is revealed.
Overall, this is a book that should be in every school, every library, every home. I mean, seriously? 25% of UK adults didn’t know where bacon comes from? I cannot recommend this book highly enough, and for that reason, I gave Through A Vet’s Eyes, by Dr. Sean Wensley, five stars.
Meet The Author 
Dr Sean Wensley FRCVS is an award-winning UK veterinarian and recent President of the British Veterinary Association (BVA). He chairs the Animal Welfare Working Group of the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE), which represents veterinary organisations from 40 European countries
Sean has contributed to animal welfare and conservation projects around the world and in 2017 received the inaugural World Veterinary Association (WVA) Global Animal Welfare Award for Europe. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and is Senior Veterinary Surgeon for Communication and Education at the national UK veterinary charity, the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA).
His media appearances include BBC Radio 4 Today, BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 2 Jeremy Vine and The Big Questions.
About The Book
ASIN : B09LHD5WHL
Publisher : Gaia (28 April 2022)
Language : English
Paperback : 368 pages
ISBN-13 : 978-1856754750
Ebook File Size : 4680 KB
ISBN-10 : 1856754758
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Not Enabled
Where To Buy
For print copies, please consider supporting your local bookshops. The Book is available in hard cover from 20 April. To Buy online, the book is available in the following formats:
John's Bookshelf 