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Animal Rights

A Political Theory of Animal Rights, Just Wondering (36 minutes)

Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka wrote a remarkable book of political philosophy called Zoopolis: A Political Theory of Animal Rights. In their work, they argue for a future where other animals are not only protected but enabled to shape society as well. A future where nonhuman animals are recognized as political actors instead of moral patients for which humans decide. In this video, we’ll explore some of these exciting ideas, along with some of the critiques the book has raised.

Speciesism: Human Nature or Exploitation?, Matthew Cole, Open University (3 minutes)

Veganism has been big news in recent years, and that trend looks set to continue. Explore the rise of veganism in this interactive, you will learn about how veganism relates to speciesism, the historical background to the vegan movement, and more.

Aquaculture

What’s Hiding Under the Surface of Aquafarms?, Mercy for Animals (2 minutes)

“We shouldn’t say ‘stress’. We can say ‘outright suffering.’” In this mini doc, experts reveal what’s really hiding under the surface of fish farms.

Disability

Animal and Disability Liberation, Just Wondering (14 minutes)

Sunaura Taylor is an artist, writer and activist for disability and animal rights. In this video we explore the central argument of her book, Beasts of Burden, that aims to show how ableism and speciesism are intertwined, working with one another as oppressions.

Family

Care, Love, and Grief in Multispecies Families, Just Wondering (26 minutes)

An exploration of the complex relationships existing between children and their “pets” by following the questions and findings of the CLAN research project, which stands for Children-Animals Friendships: challenging boundaries between humans and non-humans in contemporary societies. It can be useful for raising questions around concepts of care, multispecies families, grief for non-human beings and the connections between how human children and non-human animals are treated. 

Flesh Trade

73 Cows, Alex Lockwood (15 minutes)

73 Cows is the story of Jay Wilde, a beef farmer who battles with his conscience every time he takes his cows to slaughter. Feeling trapped within an industry he no longer believes in, Jay knows he must make a change and do what no other farmer from the UK has ever done before.

Drone Pilot Shares His Story: Meat Industry is Worse than You Think , Mercy for Animals (1 minute)

Drone pilot Mark Devries shares three of the most shocking things he’s witnessed while documenting the meat industry.

Indigenousness

Indigenous Knowledges and the Teachings of Plants, Just Wondering (20 minutes)

Reading and listening to Robin Wall Kimmerer already feels like a gift, and it reminded us to hold deep gratitude for this Earth. In turn, we wanted to give thanks by sharing her ideas, the Teachings of Plants, her ways of looking at mosses, and mingling Indigenous Knowledges and Wisdoms with Western Science. This video follows her ideas from her online speeches and her two books, Braiding Sweetgrass and Gathering Moss, with the hope of spreading the seeds of gratitude further.

Science, Sociology, and Knowledge

Critical Pedagogy Beyond Humanism, Just Wondering (16 minutes)

A look at Freire’s critical pedagogy through an antispeciesist lens, reclaiming the possibilities of his theories in a posthumanist fashion. It is particularly interesting to think and discuss with students, as it contains both critiques of education and anthropocentrism.

Ways of Thinking about Animals, Just Wondering (22 minutes)

Based on Matthew Calarco’s book Thinking Through Animals: Identity, Difference, Indistinction, this video explores three essential philosophical approaches reflecting upon the human/animal distinction and other animal issues. It gives a broad overview of different philosophical approaches to interpreting and responding to this constructed binary.

Skin and Hair Trade

SLAY , Collective Fashion Justice (1 hour, 25 minutes)

SLAY is a new feature-length documentary which poses the question; “is it acceptable to kill animals for fashion?”. Exploring the often hidden realities behind fur, leather and wool production, this film is a global investigation into green-washing, environmental, human and of course, animal harms. 

This film is not graphic, but informative, factual and thought-provoking. It features a wide range of people from the fashion industry, including Joshua Katcher, the designer behind Brave Gentleman, Collective Fashion Justice’s founding director Emma Hakansson, famous fashion photographer Alexi Lubomirski, and experts from Vogue, the London College of Fashion, and many others. 

The Toxic Price of Leather, Sean Gallagher (9 minutes)

On the banks of the Ganges River in northern India, lies the city of Kanpur. It has become one of the most important cities in India as its leather industry has grown and it is now the biggest producer of leather products in the whole country. First established in the mid 19th Century, the city’s leather is exported across the world, with 95% of its leather destined for western markets including those in the US, UK and Germany. This success is coming at great environmental and social costs that are destroying the local Ganges River ecology and scarring the local people in the form of life-threatening illnesses.

Willow and Claude , Animals Australia and Collective Fashion Justice (20 minutes)

First uncovering the cruelty behind wool, followed by the environmental problems associated with synthetic knitwear, this multi-award winning film traces the creation of a supply chain from farm to finished product, showing the importance of transparency and careful production. A solutions-focused film, this one isn’t graphic, and spends more time on how we can move forward, rather than on what’s wrong with fashion today. 

Veganism

A Closer Look at Veganism, Matthew Cole, Open University (4 minutes)

The history of veganism is closely tied to increased awareness of speciesism. It emerged as a way of trying to address some of the issues speciesist ideology can be seen to bring about. Watch the animation below to discover how veganism came to be.

Zoonotic Diseases

Where are the Pigs? African Swine Fever in Deadly Assemblages, Just Wondering (12 minutes)

This is an exploration and commemoration of a deadly pig pandemic and the lives it touched. It’s created by humans who believe it is important to find ways to respond to this catastrophe.