Animals in China: Law and Society
Deborah Cao 对中国动物保护法律与监管框架的首次全面考察——尽管中国哲学传统视人与动物为有机联系的道德宇宙，工具主义（将动物视为人类利益的工具）却主导了法律与实践。 Deborah Cao provides the first comprehensive examination of China's legal and regulatory framework for animal protection — despite Chinese philosophical traditions viewing humans and animals as organically connected, an instrumentalist approach has dominated law and practice.
Animals in China (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) is the first comprehensive study of China’s legal framework for animal protection in its social and cultural context. Cao argues that while traditional Chinese philosophy (Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism) views animals and humans as part of an interconnected moral universe, an instrumentalist approach — treating animals as tools for human benefit — has dominated Chinese law. The book examines regulatory gaps, enforcement failures, and the emerging animal protection movement, arguing that a fundamental shift toward recognizing animals’ intrinsic value is needed for substantive progress.