David Grumett brings together biblical sources and modern animal welfare research to make the case that, ‘the welfare of farm animals can, and should, be protected and promoted’ (p. 92). This is not an argument for Christian veganism. Rather, it seeks best practices to promote the flourishing of animals farmed for food and fibre today. Written for lay readers rather than academics, The Bible and Farm Animal Welfare argues that the Bible demonstrates concern for animals, that their flourishing is part of their creaturely vocation and that Christians have a covenantal responsibility to promote the welfare of those animals humans have domesticated.

Each of the first three chapters examines different aspects of farm animals’ lives – their social structures, bodies and behaviours. The first chapter, ‘Herds and Flocks’, explores the social structures, sexual behaviours and maternal care of sheep, cattle, chickens, pigs, goats and geese. The second chapter, ‘Bodies’, draws on the Pentateuchal requirement that sacrificial animals be unblemished to argue against the mutilation of any farmed animals. It examines the natural functions of different body parts, including tails, horns, pig snouts, chicken beaks and the reproductive organs of non-breeding animals, to demonstrate that they all play important roles in individual or group flourishing. Occasionally, the text offers suggested alternatives to such mutilation. For example, Grumett notes that boar castration is justified by its impact on meat flavour, but that the flavour of uncastrated boars can be improved through specific diets, thus removing the need for castration. The third chapter, ‘Behaviour’, makes the theological point that farmed animals have ‘their own lives and modes of flourishing that are independent of human needs’ (p. 66) and that such flourishing is a necessary part of their creaturely vocation of praising God. With this argument, the assorted claims about a variety of farmed animals – many of whom are not discussed extensively, or at all, in the Bible – presented in the first three chapters begin to make sense. The species, body parts and behaviours that Grumett chooses to include in his discussions are those with which some modern animal farming practices interfere.

The final chapter, ‘Stockpersons’, is more overtly theological than the preceding three. Grumett argues that the command that human beings ‘have dominion’ (Gen. 1:28) establishes the ‘objective view’ of animals that allows for farming (pp. 69–71). Such dominion, however, should be covenantal, entailing ‘a continuing obligation on humans’ (p. 75) to provide for the animals in their care. The rest of the chapter explores how stockpersons can foster positive human–animal relations, and the benefits this provides to both the animals and the humans that tend them. The epilogue suggests actions that can be taken to improve farm animal welfare, including legislation and governmental regulation, farmers’ self-reform and consumer choice.

There is much for any Christian concerned about modern farm practices to like about Grumett’s project. He draws on a wide range of animal welfare studies to suggest the conditions necessary for a variety of farmed animals to flourish. He cites many texts throughout scripture that demonstrate attention to farmed animals during biblical times. And he offers brief theological arguments that Christians have an ethical responsibility to provide for the welfare of those animals whose products we consume. The structure of the book, however, leaves much to be desired. The information presented often seems like a roughly organised report on ‘interesting animal facts’. The engagement with modern science, scripture and early Christian writers is ad hoc and idiosyncratic. For example, at one point, Grumett claims that ‘sheep are hospitable to newcomers’ (p. 13). As evidence, he offers one study in which two flocks of sheep shared a range without hostility, but also without mixing, and Jesus’s statement in John 10:16 that he had other sheep not of this fold. Grumett concludes, ‘Jesus refers to this tendency of sheep flocks to welcome new members and thus to increase in size’ (p. 13). Neither the study nor the scripture demonstrates ovine hospitality to newcomers, and it is unclear what such hospitality would have to do with farm animal welfare even if it were a characteristic of the species.

In the introduction, Grumett names three goals for the book: to counter ‘the well-worn yet unfounded notion that Christianity is anthropocentric and is therefore bad news for animals’, to encourage ‘a renewed focus on the animals themselves’ and to motivate Christians to care about ‘the welfare of the animals that supply their meat, eggs, and milk today’ (p. 2). A book about humans farming animals, even humanely, cannot refute charges of anthropocentrism, and being slaughtered for either sacrifice or food remains bad news for animals. The assortment of animal facts presented reflect, and may encourage, greater attention to the animals treated in their own manners of creaturely flourishing, although the rapid transitions from species to species that occur throughout the book hinder the reader’s engagement with any one species in depth. The book best fulfills its final goal, offering Christians biblical and theological arguments for improving the welfare of farmed animals today.