Animal welfare | TableDebates

Above, an otter eating a fish; below, a beaver. Woodcut after C. Gessner date approx. 1560 courtesy of the Wellcome Collection ref. 41004i

Invasions, Protections, and the Legacy of Empire in the Animal Kingdom

Researcher Alma Igra finds that what it means for a species to be native has long been bound up with ideas of human belonging: relationships with animals have been one of the many ways in which colonisers have enacted and justified control over people, resources and animals. In this blog she asks if acknowledgement of this colonial legacy can give us a broader understanding of what it means to protect nature and who we protect it for, and a more inclusive approach to animal and environmental care. Alma Igra is a historian who writes about food, science and animals in the 20th century. She completed her PhD at Columbia University in 2020 and is currently a post-doctoral fellow at the Polonsky Academy.

Image: Chick bird chicken, cocoparisienne, Pixabay, Pixabay Licence

News and resources

Gene-edited hens can avoid production of male chicks

Researchers from the Agricultural Research Organization - Volcani Center in Israel have developed a genetically edited hen that lays eggs from which only female chicks hatch. The genetic editing works in such a way that the female offspring do not carry any of the edits themselves. Any male embryos in eggs carry a different chromosome that stops their development at a very early stage when the eggs are exposed to blue light. The news has been welcomed by Compassion in World Farming, which says the technology could avoid the current system of slaughtering male chicks shortly after hatching.

Live, Die, Buy, Eat: A Cultural History of Animals and Meat

Live, Die, Buy, Eat: A Cultural History of Animals and Meat

Focusing on Norway, this book outlines how social attitudes to meat and animal farming have changed over the past 150 years. It argues that consumers have become increasingly disconnected from knowledge of how the meat they eat has been produced

Dairy Farming in the 21st Century

Dairy Farming in the 21st Century

This book explores the ethical, environmental and social issues linked to different forms of dairy production around the world, including smallholder production and intensive feedlots. It also discusses the shift towards plant-based substitutes for dairy.

Selective breeding: How gene editing will perpetuate animal suffering

Gene editing and animal suffering

This report from Compassion in World Farming argues that the traditional selective breeding of livestock has led to great suffering for farmed animals, and that gene editing technologies are likely to exacerbate these welfare issues. It describes how traditional breeding has resulted in chickens that grow so quickly they suffer from leg disorders and heart disease, dairy cows that produce so much milk they experience lameness, mastitis and metabolic disorders, and turkeys that are so large they have joint deformations and cannot mate naturally. The report argues that gene editing should only be used in exceptional circumstances where (a) there is no negative impact on animal health and welfare, (b) no less intrusive methods are available and (c) it does not facilitate industrial livestock systems.

Routledge Handbook of Animal Welfare

Routledge Handbook of Animal Welfare

This book presents an overview of animal welfare as it relates to farming, hunting, fishing, entertainment and environmental implications. It discusses legal developments around the world as well as how different groups of stakeholders view animal welfare issues.

New blog: Use, Misuse and Abuse - a vet reflects on animal exploitation - by Rebecca Sanders

Use, Misuse and Abuse - a vet reflects on animal exploitation

As I went through the process of extricating myself from an abusive relationship, back when I worked as a meat-vet, I started recognising my life was saturated in violence. That experience changed my perspective on not just my personal life, but the meat industry, the veterinary profession (my profession!), and our society at large. It forced me to rethink and re-evaluate some of my core-beliefs and values, and led me to make some fairly substantial changes in how I move through life. Content note: this piece mentions domestic violence, genocide, suicide and animal slaughter. About the author: TABLE intern Rebecca Sanders graduated as a veterinarian in 2011. After six years as a meat industry veterinarian in New Zealand, her growing concerns about the ethical and environmental implications of the meat industry prompted a radical change in trajectory and transition towards sustainable agricultural research.

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News and resources

Audio documentary: Reflecting on the first animal welfare law

The Culture & Animals Foundation (CAF) has launched the first two episodes of “Martin’s Act at 200,” an audio documentary that explores the origins and legacy over two centuries of the Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act, which was signed into UK law 200 hundred years ago and is widely considered the first piece of animal welfare legislation from a modern political body. Three series of six episodes each will eventually be released, examining animal advocacy around the world.

Grindadráp: What place does whaling have in a sustainable food future?

What place does whaling have in a sustainable food future?

Few food practices draw more intense debate than whaling. In the case of grindadráp, the traditional Faroese form of whaling, this debate plays out almost every summer in bloody images in tabloid newspapers around the world and calls for the tourist industry to boycott the islands. But beyond the headlines, this is a complex, challenging issue that raises questions about what a truly local, sustainable food future could look like. In this TABLE blog, Tamsin Blaxter, researcher and writer at TABLE, explores some of the issues around the grind, both from the perspective of animal rights and conservation, and food traditions and local identity.