In this book Desmond Morris asks if the human species has become too successful for the good of the planet. Animals have been completely subordinated by humans and incarcerated on farms, in zoos and laboratories. But the fate of humans is inextricably linked to that of other animals and the relationship between them is more vital than at any other time in history. This relationship - the animal contract - is explored in this book which also looks at the consequences of breaking it. The laws of nature assert that you kill only for food, eat only when hungry, reproduce only in sustainable numbers and if any animal breaks these rules the result is extinction. For centuries, however, man has set himself above these laws, killing for pleasure, profit or glory, reducing captive creatures to a commodity and recklessly overpopulating everywhere.