Animals and the Prison Industrial Complex: Ethical Political Perspectives

Drawing on abolitionist thought, critical animal studies, and intersectional feminist philosophy, Kelly Struthers Montford and Chloë Taylor interrogate the ethical and ontological assumptions underpinning prison animal programs. Animals and the Prison Industrial Complex offers a philosophical inquiry into the multispecies realities of incarceration. Drawing on abolitionist thought, critical animal studies, and intersectional feminist philosophy, Kelly Struthers Montford and Chloë Taylor interrogate the ethical and ontological assumptions underpinning prison animal programs. These programs—often celebrated for their rehabilitative effects—are critically examined as sites of disciplinary power, anthropocentric logic, and carceral normalization. The authors explore how relationships between incarcerated humans and animals are shaped by colonial histories, species hierarchies, and the biopolitics of captivity. The book challenges readers to rethink concepts of care, autonomy, and justice beyond the confines of the prison-industrial complex and envisions transformative justice alternatives that center the lived experiences and species-specific needs of all animals. This volume offers a bold and original contribution to debates on abolition and the future of carceral reform.