ANIMAL RIGHTS WATCH

LEGAL (R)EVOUTION?: Mexico just put animal welfare into its national constitution

SAM DELGADO: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum signed a set of constitutional reforms that will pave the way for a comprehensive federal animal welfare law. The changes represent the first-ever mention of nonhuman animals in the Mexican Constitution, marking a milestone achievement for Mexico’s animal rights movement, which has for years been drawing attention to pervasive animal cruelty and extreme confinement in the country’s growing meat industry… These reforms are internationally unique. While national animal protection laws aren’t uncommon, most countries have no mention of animals in their Constitutions. Constitutions are “a reflection of socially where we are,” Angela Fernandez, a […]

‘Speciesist Ignorance’: How injustices towards animals are encouraged through social institutions and interactions

EMNEE VAN DEN BRANDELER: The concept of speciesism has played an important role in the field of animal ethics for delineating the moral status of animals. As first conceptualized by Richard Ryder — and later popularized by Peter Singer — speciesism is analogous to other –isms, such as sexism and racism. For the sake of my argument, I assume that speciesism is indeed a form of discrimination, and can therefore constitute a moral wrong. When discrimination among individuals happens on the basis of a morally superfluous trait — such as skin colour, sex, or cognitive intelligence — it is morally […]

‘LEFT’ BEYOND: Helping animals in the new ‘far-right’ political climate

TOBIAS LEENAERT: In the US and Europe, authoritarian and populist (far) right and nationalist parties have gained in influence or entered government coalitions. That isn’t good news for animals: conservatives generally seem to be less in favor of animal-friendly policies, alternative protein products or plant-based lifestyles. And increasing polarization is making things worse. While meat alternatives have long been stereotyped (they’re for bunny lovers, green freaks or health nuts), now apparently they’re also something for “woke” progressives and part of the “culture wars” (not to mention they’re “ultra-processed”). Many people on the right now classify ideas like veganism and diet […]

BEAUTY IN THE BEAST: Vegans seen as moral but also face contempt from meat-eaters

SOPHIE FREEMAN: Vegans and people who embrace meat alternatives elicit fear and contempt from others, a study has suggested. Researchers asked 3,600 people from four European countries including the UK to evaluate people who eat plant-based food. While they were perceived as “moral and environmentally and health-conscious, and worthy of admiration”, they also produced feelings of “envy, fear, contempt and anger” in observers. It’s thought that meat-eaters feel bad when they see vegans making changes that they haven’t made themselves, causing them to “turn”. Roosa-Maaria Malila, the co-author of the study, from the University of Vaasa in Finland, said that […]