Animal suffering as a challenge to theistic theodicy

In the current debate on theodicy, the problem of animal suffering is becoming increasingly relevant, as demonstrated by some recent books devoted to this topic (M. J. Murray, N. Hoggard, T. Daugherty). Such a problem is particularly challenging for a theistic theodicy, as its traditional arguments (such as free will argument or soul-making theodicy) do not seem able to deal with it. In the first instance, the article aims to provide a brief overview of the main arguments sustained by theists regarding animal suffering, and secondly to provide an evaluation of such arguments which might be useful for further research on this topic.