Dear Friends and Colleagues,

From all of us at ASI, Happy New Year!

This month ASI has been busy publishing within our two managed journals. Both Society & Animals and the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science passed significant milestones last year, with 30 and 25 years of publication respectively. In celebration, we and the publishers made a series of key, influential articles over those years Free Access for several months. The third and final sets of these articles are available in the ASI News section, below.

Also of interest is the latest issue of Society & Animals, now out as a Special Issue addressing a timely and important policy and practice issue: Outdoor Cats.

Finally, in 2022 ASI published a Special Issue of the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science (JAAWS) on Human-Animal Relationships and Welfare in the Anthropocene: Pandemics, Climate Change, and Other Disasters, which I edited. We are pleased to note that the issue’s articles combined have received over 10,000 views. Longtime HAS Report readers will remember that this Special Issue was prompted as a way to expand upon the reportage, research, and analysis I published here in 2020 and 2021 as an "Animals and COVID-19" section of this Report.

We believe these issues remain of crucial concern for human and nonhuman animals alike. Therefore, we have developed an initiative that over 2023 will continue to address and promote research on Human-Animal Relationships and Welfare in the Anthropocene: Habitat and Biodiversity Loss, Nonhuman Animals and the Climate Crisis, and The Human-Nonhuman Animal Urban Interface.

And now, with a grant from the Summerlee Foundation, we are able to offer a limited number of hard copies of the JAAWS Special Issue to those who request one. We would be most thankful if you would help us get the word out on these pressing matters, and are happy to send you a hard copy for yourself or for your institutional library. Please email me your request to the address below by January 31. We appreciate your concern about—and assistance in publicizing—these issues that affect the welfare, lives, and very future of nonhuman and human animals alike.

Thank you for your ongoing support of our Human-Animal Studies efforts. Stay healthy and safe, and do what you can to protect those you can.

Best,

Gala

Editor’s note: The HAS e-newsletter is organized as follows: Jobs, grants, and calls are ordered chronologically by deadline dates, with the earliest first, and will continue to be posted until the deadlines expire. Books and articles include, where possible, links to access them directly from this email. Because publication reference styles vary by source, they might not always be consistent or pretty, but they will get you there. To read more about the topics discussed, click the bold hyperlinks for source material and additional information. 

Please send your comments, suggestions, and submissions to: [email protected], and if possible include a URL link to your project or announcement.



The ASI-managed journal Society & Animals, 30(7), is out as a Special Issue on Outdoor Cats, addressing an important current policy and practice issue. The issue includes the following articles, including two of which are Free or Open Access. 

William S. Lynn, Francisco J. Santiago-Ávila and Kristin L. Stewart Outdoor Cats: An Introduction. FREE ACCESS

D.T. Tyler Flockhart, Lauren Lipsey, Daniel J. Herrera, Justin Belsley, Samuel T. Decker, Sophie M. Moore, Erin Robinson, R. Julia Kilgour, Ashley Gramza, William McShea, Michael V. Cove, Roger Haston, Margaret R. Slater, Danielle Jo Bays, and John D. Boone. Estimates of Domestic Cats in Urban Areas Using Interdisciplinary Science: The Washington D.C. Cat Count

Numi C. Mitchell, Michael W. Strohbach, Mariel N. Sorlien, and Scott N. Marshall. Confluence and Implications of Cats, Coyotes, and Other Mesopredators at a Feral Cat Feeding Station. OPEN ACCESS.

Joan E. Schaffner. Managing Our Relationship with Free-Roaming Cats in Zoopoland

Joann M. Lindenmayer, Danielle Jo Bays and Julia Pesek. Applying One Health to Free-Roaming Cats

Nicholas Holm. Consider the (Feral) Cat: Ferality, Biopower, and the Ethics of Predation

William S. Lynn and Francisco J. Santiago-Ávila. Outdoor Cats: Science, Ethics, and Politics

As announced preciously, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the publication of the ASI-managed journal, Society & Animals, in partnership with Brill Publications we have made the full text of ten previously published articles available for three months as Free Access. Articles were selected that: (1) demonstrate the expansion of the field to an increasing number of interfacing disciplines, (2) suggest changes in policy and practice involving human-animal relationships, and/or (3) make important conceptual advances in the field. Here is the third and final set of articles: 

Frommer, S., & Arluke, A. (1999) Loving them to death: Blame-displacing strategies of animal shelter workers and surrenderers. Society & Animals, 7(1),1-16.

Copeland, M. W. (2012). The History of Ape Language Experimentation in Fiction: A Review Essay. Society & Animals, 20(3), 316-323. 

Quinn, E. J. (2016). No Country for Queer Dogs. Society & Animals, 24(5), 507-521.

As part of the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the publication of the ASI-managed Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science (JAAWS) we are pleased to provide the full texts of selected important articles that have been published over the years. Below are the third and final set of articles which are now available Free Access for a four-month period. This set of articles concern the JAAWS content area of Farm Animals. Associate Editors Beth Ventura (University of Lincoln, UK), Christopher Byrd (North Dakota State University), and Joao H. C. Costa (University of Kentucky), provide an introduction describing the history of research in that area.

Meyer, M. M., A. K. Johnson, and E. A. Bobeck. 2020. Development and validation of broiler welfare assessment methods for research and on-farm audits. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 23:4, 443-446. 

Galindo, F., & Broom, D. M. (2002). The effects of lameness on social and individual behavior of dairy cows. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 5:3, 193-201. 

Yue, S., I.J.H. Duncan and R.D. Moccia. 2008. Investigating fear in rainbow trout (oncorhynchusmykiss) using the conditioned-suppression paradigm. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 11:1, 14-27.





Notes on Two Recent Publications from ASI Board President, Ken Shapiro

• The Routledge Handbook of Animal Welfare (full citation below), edited by Knight, Phillips, and Sparks with full text available as an E-book, provides a comprehensive presentation of current research in Animal Welfare Science (AWS).

As the term “animal welfare” is viewed negatively in some quarters of the animal protection movement, it may be helpful to note that the term has several referents. It can be used to refer to an ethical position, a segment of the animal protection movement, the living conditions of an animal, or an academic field. The handbook is primarily a contribution to the latter.

AWS is the study of the conditions that allow or that curtail fulfilling the welfare needs of a particular animal or animals. While any enterprise or activity has political and ethical implications, disclaimers to the contrary, AWS is not itself a political entity or an ethical theory or position. As any academic field, it seeks to retain objectivity. The conditions studied may have practice and policy implications consistent with gradualist changes (in sync with the moderate branch of the animal protection movement and an animal welfare ethic) or with changes that abolish a practice (in fulfillment of the mission of the rightist or liberationist movements and ethics). As an example of the latter, studies demonstrating that keeping elephants in a zoo cannot meet their welfare needs is a strong argument against keeping them in captivity.

• One of the findings of this recently published study is of particular interest to those of us involved in The Link between animal abuse and violence toward humans. Age, empathy, familiarity, domestication and call features enhance human perception of animal emotion expressions (full citation below). The finding is that people who are high in empathy are better than those with lower empathy abilities at identifying animal emotions when presented with sounds that animals of several species make. The “hi-emp” scorers more accurately distinguish between sounds made under stress vs non-stress conditions and between sounds with positive vs. negative valence.

The finding of this study and others referenced in the article support the importance of assessing and teaching empathy that has been incorporated into the two ASI-produced programs for mental health practitioners, The Assessment and Treatment of Children who Abuse Animals: The AniCare® Child Approach and The Identification, Assessment, and Treatment of Adults Who Abuse Animals: The AniCare® Approach.

•••

The January LINK-Letter about animal cruelty’s intersections with child, elder and domestic abuse looks back at its Legislative Scorecard to review the many victories seen in 2022 addressing animal abuse’s Links with human violence. It also explores whether Extreme Risk Protection Orders in domestic violence cases might also prevent animal abuse and contains a survey for veterinary and veterinary social work volunteers to pilot-test a screening tool to identify animal abuse and family violence among their clients.

A unique set of “conversation Cards,” Let’s Talk: Nonhuman Animals, provides an introduction to Human-Animal Studies. The cards are designed for secondary school students, young adults wishing to extend their knowledge and vocabulary to the field of animal studies, and students interested in ecology, plant-based diets, humans' place in the world, and the latest research into the nonhuman animal world. The collection encourages students to engage in meaningful conversations about the place of non-human animals in the world, express themselves fluently in English and improve a wide range of skills, from thought organisation to critical thinking.

The College of Doctoral Studies at Grand Canyon University invites those working with animal-assisted therapy (AAT) to participate in an online questionnaire where trained mental health professionals can describe the role of their dog in AAT and the therapeutic relationship of clients in the United States. 

The Animals’ Inbox project aims to promote critical thinking around the treatment of animals in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and invites letters to be written to the animals who are ready and waiting to write back. 

Culture & Animals Foundation latest grant cycle is now open to scholars, performers, and artists to further the case for animal rights. Grants are given in three categories: research, creativity, and performance. The deadline is January 31, 2023.





This section includes both upcoming live events, and past events that were recorded.

The Animals & Society Research Initiative will hold the virtual talk in its Distinguished Lecture Series, “Animal-Centric Storytelling in Mi’kmaw Social Research,” with Dr. Margaret Robinson, Associate Professor, Departments of English, Sociology and Social Anthropology, Dalhousie University. Dr. Robinson is a two-spirit scholar and a member of Lennox Island First Nation who grew up in the Eskikewa’kik district of Mi’kma’ki, in what is currently Nova Scotia. Register here. The lecture will take place on Tuesday, January 17 at 1:50pm (PST).

The free webinar, Women’s & Companion Animals’ Recovery from Family and Domestic Violence: Happy Paws, Happy Hearts, will take place on Friday, January 20, 2023 at 1pm (Brisbane time) GMT +10. 

The Israeli Anthropological Association will host the fourth human-animal studies meeting of 2022-2023 on the subject: “Meeting with animals in nature photography” with the participation of photographer Amos Nachoum. The lecture will take place online on Sunday, January 22, 2023 at 5:45pm-7:45pm (GMT +2). To register, email [email protected]

In Episode 207 of Knowing Animals, Dr Hannah Boast discusses a paper ‘Theorizing the Gay Frog’ that touches on themes of resource politics, political ecology, food studies, queer ecology, and critical animal studies. 

The Culture & Animals Foundation’s 2022 Tom Regan Memorial Lecture, with researchers Charlotte Blattner and Will Kymlicka, is now available. 

A new short film entitled “Oxford: The Home of Controversy About Animals” featuring major historical figures, who have pioneered animal protection, has been released on YouTube and Vimeo. Based on a walking tour of Oxford, the film features distinguished names, such as John Ruskin, John Henry Newman, Lewis Carrol, John Wesley, Frances Power Cobbe, Bishop Joseph Butler, C. S. Lewis, and Albert Schweitzer, and the places where they taught and resided at Oxford. The seven-minute film can be viewed on the Centre’s website, YouTube and Vimeo.



Following are some recent books published of interest to the field of Human-Animal Studies.

Coulter, Kendra. (2023). Defending Animals: Inside the Front Lines of Animal Protection. MIT Press.

Donovan, Josephine. 2022. Animals, Mind, and Matter: The Inside Story. Michigan State University Press.

Giroux, V., Voigt, K., and Pepper, A. (eds.) (2023). The Ethics of Animal Shelters. Oxford University Press. 

Jane Hamlett and Julie-Marie Strange (2023). Pet Revolution: Animals and the Making of Modern British Life. Reaktion Books.

Knight, A., Phillips, C., and Sparks, P. (eds.) (2023). The Routledge Handbook of Animal Welfare. OPEN ACCESS.

Tracie McKinney, Siân Waters, and Michelle A. Rodrigues (2023). Primates in Anthropogenic Landscapes: Exploring Primate Behavioural Flexibility across Human Contexts. Springer.

Saskia Stucki (2023). One Rights: Human and Animal Rights in the Anthropocene. Springer. OPEN ACCESS.

Thurston-Torres, Jonathan W. (ed.). 2023. Animals and Race. Michigan State University Press.

Rick De Vos (2023). Decolonising Animals. Sydney University Press. 



Following are some recent research articles and book chapters published in the field of Human-Animal Studies.

Annie Bernatchez (2022). Animal Justice Citizen Activism in Canada: Paradox in the Politics of Sight. Journal for Critical Animal Studies, 19(2).

Jasmin Sowerby Greenall, Lydia Cornu, Anne-Laure Maigrot, Monica Padilla de la Torre and Elodie F. Briefer (2022). Age, empathy, familiarity, domestication and call features enhance human perception of animal emotion expressions. Royal Society Open Science. 

Kopnina, H.  (2023). Animal Personhood in Sustainability Education. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. Oxford Research Encyclopedias. 

Anastasiya A. Lokteva (2033). Animals and Humans: Interactions in Nineteenth‑Century Russian Culture. Corpus Mundi, 3(2). (in Russian)

José María Cerezo López, Ana María Castillo Canalejo, and César Mora Márquez (2022). Perception of and Motivation for Attending Bullfights: A Comparative Analysis of Tourists and Residents. Cuadernos de Turismo, 50, pp. 333-353. (in English)

Mace, J.L. and Knight, A. (2022). The impacts of colony cages on the welfare of chickens farmed for meat. Animals, 12(21).

Leanne O. Nieforth, Sarah C. Leighton , Elise A. Miller and Marguerite E. O’Haire (2022). Survey of international academic centers and institutes focused on the human-animal bond: Scope and landscape in 2021. Human-Animal Interactions. OPEN ACCESS.

Paul Mihai Paraschiv (2022). Becoming Bone Sheep: Assemblages, Becomings, and Antianthropocentrism. Metacritic Journal for Comparative Studies and Theory, 2, 138-150.

Fiona Probyn-Rapsey and Lynette Russell Monash University (2022). Indigenous, Settler, Animal: A Triadic Approach. Animal Studies Journal, 11(2). 

Amy Kate Rehn, Victoria Rose Caruso, Saravana Kumar (2023). The effectiveness of animal-assisted therapy for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 50.

N. Junca Silva (2022). Should I pet or should I work? Human-animal interactions and (tele)work engagement: an exploration of the underlying within-level mechanisms. Personnel Review.

Nora Sullivan (2023). Felines in Carceral Facilities: A Call to Introduce Cat Visitation Rooms in Prisons. Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal, 20(1) Winter 2023.

Szczygielska, M., Kuen, L., O’Mahony, K., and Keil, P.G. (2022). Feral ethics: Thinking feral with Pigs. New Alphabet School (HKW).

Marcos Díaz Videla, Rafael Delgado Rodríguez, Rafael Martos-Montes, David Ordóñez Pérez & Paula Calvo (2023). The LGBTQ+ People-Animal Bond: A Systematic Review of the Effects of Companion Animals on LGBTQ+ People. Journal of Homosexuality.

Walsh, E.A. (2023). Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 Restrictions on the Welfare and on the Behavior of Puppies and Dogs in Ireland. Journal of Applied Animal Ethics Research.



MDPI is calling for submissions for the Special Issue of their journal, Animals, titled, Animal Welfare from a Cross-Cultural Perspective. For this Special Issue MDPIs welcome manuscripts that address animal welfare from a cross-cultural perspective, including more-than-human cultures. The deadline for manuscript submissions is March 23, 2023. Find more information here. 

MDPI is calling for submissions for the Special Issue of their journal, Animals, titled, Advances in Marine Mammal Cognition and Cognitive Welfare. For this Special Issue MDPIs welcome manuscripts that speak to issues regarding the cognitive abilities and/or cognitive well-being of any marine mammal species. The deadline for manuscript submissions is June 30, 2023. 



My Dog is My Home’s Third Annual Co-Sheltering Conference will be held virtually on March 21-23, 2023. This year’s theme is: Changing Systems. Changing Lives: Creating a world with equitable access to homes for people and their animals.

The Association of Social Anthropologists will host An Unwell World? Anthropology in a Speculative Mode Conference on April 11-14, 2023 at SOAS University of London. 

The in-person Human-Animal Interaction Conference with the theme of “Animal Assisted Services: Focus on the Animal” will take place April 28-29, 2023.



As you can see, ASI is promoting a tremendous amount of activity in the field of Human-Animal Studies. We always invite your input and participation.

Your donation to the Animals & Society Institute will enable us to continue to expand the field in many more ways and work in conjunction with others around the world who share these goals.

Thank you for supporting ASI's Human-Animal Studies efforts!