Love this idea - 'Creature Connect', using digital technologies to create opportunities for mutually rewarding human-animal interactions in the zoo
dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1...

Great review on the validity of abnormal repetitive behaviours as welfare indicators, assessing them against multiple validity tests to show they are (somewhat) robust, and providing potential explanations for observed patterns of failure.
doi.org/10.20944/pre...

🌟 2026 UFAW Award Spotlight

We are pleased to recognise Dr Heather Browning (Veit) as a joint recipient of the UFAW Early Career Animal Welfare Researcher of the Year Award.

🔗 Read more about the 2026 UFAW Award winners:
https://ow.ly/s88450YIPzk

#UFAWAwards

Mapping profiles of animal affect - Biology & Philosophy Biology & Philosophy - The study of animal consciousness typically focuses on the distribution question: i.e., which animal taxa are conscious. However, recent work has instead suggested a...

My new paper 'Mapping profiles of animal affect' is now out in Biology and Philosophy. In it, I explore why understanding species-specific “affect profiles” matters for animal welfare research, and sketch some possible ways we might begin to map them.

Available open access: doi.org/10.1007/s105...

European edible dormouse - Wikipedia

Nooo why would he be called the 'edible' dormouse 😭
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europea...

Congratulations, Heather. @zoophilosophy.bsky.social

I'm proud and honoured to be one of this year‘s winners

Golden star trophy on a reflective surface with text celebrating the UFAW Awards 2026 winners on a blue background.

🏆 Announcing the 2026 UFAW Awards Winners 🏆

We are delighted to recognise this year’s UFAW Awards winners for their outstanding achievements and significant contributions to animal welfare science.

🔗 Read more about the 2026 UFAW Awards winners here: https://ow.ly/50v850YGve6

#UFAWAwards

Animal Welfare Science Update Every quarter, RSPCA Australia’s science team produces the Animal Welfare Science Update. The aim of the publication is to raise awareness of recent…

New RSPCA animal welfare science update, featuring research on (among others): cat containment, chickens’ perceptions of humans, separation anxiety in horses, wildlife tourism, and relationships between farmer wellbeing and animal welfare
www.rspca.org.au/learn/animal...

I'd like to be part of it :)

"Philosophy of Animal Welfare," a workshop at Duke University, is now accepting abstracts.

Topics include which animals should count as welfare subjects, how animal welfare should be measured, managing uncertainty, and more.

Philosophy of Animal Welfare Conference | Duke University School of Law Conference to be held at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, US, on Friday-Saturday November 20/21, 2026. This conference is organized by the Duke Center for Law, Economics, and Public Policy (CL...

Philosophers with an interest in animal welfare - call for abstracts now open for what promises to be a great workshop at Duke University. We welcome any work relating to the nature, measurement, and/or moral significance of animal welfare. Applications close June 1.
law.duke.edu/laweconomics...

Omg

« NOT ALL NATURAL THINGS ARE GOOD & NOT ALL UNNATURAL THINGS ARE BAD »

Louder for the people in the back

Merci @zoophilosophy.bsky.social !!

Talk absolument génial du Dr @zoophilosophy.bsky.social sur l’agentivité animale pour @interspecies-io.bsky.social : où l’on apprend que les rats et les chimpanzés aiment aussi s’amuser avec un interrupteur comme Jacquouille dans #LesVisiteurs

youtu.be/LGxz_RYSz9I?...

WOOHOO #philsci #phisky #sentience

Cocky's celebrating with her fave Angus Young from AC⚡DC impersonation to "Back in Black" - 🎶coz she's refusing to hit the sack🎶, waiting for humans to crack🎶 from the sound of her track🎶

🎶BAU
BAU-BAU-BAU
BAU-BAU-BAU🎶
BAU-BAU
🎶BAU-BAU
BAU-BAU
BAU BAU🎶

Humans share acoustic preferences with other animals Many animals produce courtship sounds, and receivers prefer some sounds over others. Shared ancestry and convergent evolution may generate similarities in preference across species and underlie Darwin...

New study shows that many animals like the same sounds as we do - suggesting a shared aesthetic sense (further evidence that animals' perceptual worlds are an important part of their welfare experience)
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

BBC Radio 4 - Rare Earth, Should we still have zoos? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski ask what the role of zoos is in the 21st century.

I was part of a discussion on BBC Radio 4 last week about the future of zoos - you can listen here:
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

BBC Radio 4 - Rare Earth, Should we still have zoos? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski ask what the role of zoos is in the 21st century.

I was part of a discussion on BBC Radio 4 last week about the future of zoos - you can listen here:
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Lovely review by Kyle Johannsen, of our book 'What Are Zoos For?'
journals.uvic.ca/index.php/pi...

I'm sick of people saying that veganism is 'anti-farmer'. Who do they think grows the crops used in plant-based food?

Is Diversity Intrinsically Valuable? On the merits of thought experiments in philosophy and a reply to Eric Schwitzgebel

I wrote a new essay responding to Eric Schwitzgebel: Is Diversity Intrinsically Valuable? If you can provide me with better arguments for the existence of intrinsic values I'd be happy to be convinced.
walterveit.substack.com/p/is-diversi...

Why Modern Philosophy is Broken | Walter Veit YouTube video by Unsolicited advice

Made an appearance on one of youtube's largest philosophy channels. Joe Folley's Unsolicited Advice. Give it a watch! youtu.be/o1Fusxds1Lk?...

Sentience in cephalopod molluscs: an updated assessment This article evaluates the evidence for sentience – the capacity to have feelings – in cephalopod molluscs: octopus, cuttlefish, squid, and nautilus. Our framework includes eight criteria, covering b...

This open access paper in Biological Reviews offers an up-to-date synthesis of the scientific evidence on cephalopod sentience 🐙🦑

It considers 120+ studies using an 8-criterion framework:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

@zoophilosophy.bsky.social @birchlse.bsky.social

Further evidence for the sentience of octopi (and other cephalopods) by @birchlse.bsky.social @zoophilosophy.bsky.social Andrew Crump and Charlotte Burn, using an 8-valued matrix (it seems that one criterion only would be unfair to non-human animals who are so ≠ than us)
#AnimalMinds #OtherMinds

Page 1 of a letter in the Veterinary Record calling for a radical re-think of the government’s bovine TB policy.

Page 2 of a letter in the Veterinary Record calling for a radical re-think of the government’s bovine TB policy.

Our letter in the Veterinary Record on the future of bovine TB control (it’s over two pages).

TLDR: a radical re-think is needed. @markjonesvet.bsky.social @markavery.bsky.social @protectthewild.bsky.social
@zoophilosophy.bsky.social
@jw132.bsky.social
@garethenticott.bsky.social

Interesting argument here, making the Effective Altruism case for research into sustainable and cruelty-free pet diets
www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/16...

Hmm, perhaps a Freudian slip?

Request for Proposals: Humane Fish Slaughter Research/Prototypes

Exciting funding opportunity for those working to develop human slaughter techniques for fish
coefficientgiving.org/funds/farm-a...

Letting Animals Speak: Increasing animal agency with animal-computer interaction — Heather Browning YouTube video by Interspecies Internet

For those who missed it, my recent webinar for @interspecies-io.bsky.social is now available to watch online:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGxz...

Ratio Annual Conference on Animals and Philosophy I am pleased to announce that I am organizing the annual Ratio conference of our department this year on the topic of animals and philosophy.

I am pleased to announce that I am organizing the annual Ratio conference of our department this year on the topic of animals and philosophy.
walterveit.substack.com/p/ratio-annu...