NEWS RELEASE

IMMEDIATE: 2 April 2011
Launch of ground-breaking Journal of Animal Ethics

A ground-breaking new journal covering the issue of animal ethics has been launched by a US and UK academic partnership with the goal of widening international debate about the moral status of animals. This month, the University of Illinois Press will publish the pioneering new Journal of Animal Ethics (JAE), the result of years of collaboration between the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics and the University Press.

The Journal of Animal Ethics, which is to be published bi-annually in the summer and winter, is jointly edited by the internationally known theologian the Reverend Professor Andrew Linzey, Director of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, and Professor Priscilla Cohn, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Penn State University and Associate Director of the Centre. The JAE is the first academic journal in the world to include the phrase 'animal ethics' in its title.
'For far too long, academics have been slow to contribute to the burgeoning public debate about animal ethics. This is an opportunity for them to make their contribution to a multidisciplinary journal that aims to put animal ethics on the academic map' said Professor Andrew Linzey. 'We want to ensure that animals receive the academic attention they deserve.'

The Journal comprises: full-length scholarly articles, 'argument' pieces in which authors will advance a particular perspective (usually related to current affairs) or respond to a previous article, review or research report, as well as review articles and book reviews. The JAE is devoted to the exploration of progressive thought about animals and is multidisciplinary in nature and international in scope. It covers theoretical and applied aspects of animal ethics that will be of interest to academics from both the humanities and the sciences, as well as professionals working in the field of animal protection. It aims to publish ground-breaking work written by new and established academics from a wide range of disciplines including anthropology, ethics, history, law, literature, linguistics, political theory, religion and science. In the first issue of the JAE: David M. Lavigne and William S. Lynn address Canada's commercial seal hunt; Joel Marks writes on how animal suffering is unrecognized in research; Andrew Fenton and Frederic Gilbert question the use of animals in spinal cord research; Judith Benz-Schwarzburg and Andrew Knight examine the cognitive abilities of animals and asks how long they can be denied similar rights to humans; Grace Clement asks whether animals can be classed as 'pets or meat'? Barbro Froding, Martin Peterson, and Mark J. Rowlands debate whether animal ethics should be based on friendship, and Jan Deckers and Jay B. McDaniel debate whether Whiteheadians should be vegetarians. To subscribe to the Journal, please visit the Journal's website at http://www.press.uillinois.edu/journals/jane.html . Contributions to the Journal are welcomed and submission guidelines can be found on the JAE's website.

ENDS

For more press information please contact Sam Calvert, Samantha Calvert Marketing & PR, sam@samcalvert.plus.com  / +44 (0)1782 505430 / +44 (0)7967 042050 or Jeff McArdle, Associate Journals Manager at the University of Illinois Press, jmcardle@uillinois.edu  on + 1 -217-244-0381.

Notes to editors

-- The Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, founded in 2006 by its director Professor Andrew Linzey, is an independent Centre with the aim of pioneering ethical perspectives on animals through academic research, teaching and publication. The Centre has more than 50 Fellows drawn from a variety of academic disciplines from throughout the world. For more information about the Centre and its Fellows please see its website at www.oxfordanimalethics.com .

-- The Revd Professor Andrew Linzey is a Member of the Faculty of Theology, University of Oxford. He has written or edited 20 books, including Animal Theology (SCM Press/University of Illinois Press, 1994) and Creatures of the Same God (Winchester University Press, 2007), and Why Animal Suffering Matters (Oxford University Press, 2009).

-- Professor Priscilla N. Cohn is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Abington College, Penn State University. She has taught courses on animal ethics for 35 years, and lectured on five continents. Her books include Contraception in Wildlife, Book 1 (Edwin Mellen Press, 1996) and Ethics and Wildlife (Edwin Mellen Press, 1999).

-- The Centre is dedicated to the memory of the celebrated Catalan philosopher Jose' Ferrater Mora. His prodigious scholarship is widely acclaimed, and the Centre honours his name because of his outstanding contribution to humanitarian thought, particularly in the area of animal ethics.

-- Founded in 1918, the University of Illinois Press ranks as one of the USA's larger and most distinguished university presses. It publishes works of high quality for scholars, students, and the citizens of the state and beyond. More information about the University of Illinois Press and the JAE can be found here: http://www.press.uillinois.edu/journals/jane.html  The JAE's Facebook page can be found at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Journal-of-Animal-Ethics/150427961683536?v=info&sk=info#info_edit_sections .

The Revd Professor Andrew Linzey, PhD, DD
Director of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, Member of the Faculty of Theology, University of Oxford, and Honorary Professor, University of Winchester.

Centre's website: www.oxfordanimalethics.com

Books include:
Animal Theology (SCM Press/University of Illinois Press, 1994)
Dictionary of Ethics, Theology, and Society (Routledge, 1996)
After Noah (Mowbray/Continuum, 1997)
Animals on the Agenda (SCM Press/University of Illinois Press, 1998)
Animal Gospel (Westminster John Knox Press, 1998)
Animal Rites (SCM Press/The Pilgrim Press, 1999)
Animal Rights: A Historical Anthology (Columbia University Press, 2005)
Gays and the Future of Anglicanism (O Books, 2005)
Creatures of the Same God (Winchester University Press/Lantern, 2007)
Animals and Christianity: A Book of Readings (Wipf and Stock, 2008)
Why Animal Suffering Matters (Oxford University Press, 2009)
The Link Between Animal Abuse and Human Violence (Sussex Academic Press, 2009)