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End of Year Round-up and Christmas Appeal

15th December 2023

Dear Friends

We have had a wonderfully productive year, which would not have been possible without your continued support and encouragement.

This year’s highlights include:

• The publication of Killing to Kill: An Ethical Assessment of “Predator Control” on Scottish Moors. Our report commissioned by the League Against Cruel Sports, which aims at informing the debate around Scotland’s Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill. The ethical analysis of our report was supported by over 120 academics and intellectuals from around the world.

• We had the first private screening of The Animal Thing: Linzey the Movie and launched the website. The documentary highlights the contribution of our director, Andrew Linzey, to the animal movement. The film is under consideration at film festivals now, and we are hopeful of finding a distribution deal.

• The 2023 Annual Oxford Animal Ethics Summer School on Animals and the Media: Communicating Ethical Perspectives on Animals was a great success. Held at Merton College, Oxford, in partnership with our Gold Level Sponsor, the Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, over 160 academics and animal advocates from around the world attended. Photos from the Summer School can be seen here, and the Summer School video can be seen here.

• We published three new edited collections: Animal Ethics and Animal Law, Animal Theologians, and The Ethics of Fur. Each one represents a major contribution to the fields of ethics, law, and theology. Comprising 62 chapters from over 50 authors, these three volumes are part of our work to encourage new scholars in the animal field, and to help establish new areas of academic inquiry concerning animals.

• The Journal of Animal Ethics now has over 15 thousand subscribers (including institutions) in print and online. This year we published its 13th volume in two issues. Covering practical issues, such as critiques of Tasmanian Aquaculture, and how AI can support the animal movement, as well as historical explorations of figures such as Augustine, Richard Wagner, and Margaret Cavendish and their thought in relation to animals. With pieces on Ethical Veganism as Quiet Resistance, and Rational Hope in the Animal Rights Movement, the journal aims to pioneer interdisciplinary thought on animals ethics.

• The Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Book Series, continues going from strength to strength. Three new volumes were published in the series this year:
  • Animals, Ethics, and Language: The Philosophy of Meaningful Communication in the Lives of Animals by Rebekah Humphreys
  • Life Between Weakness and Power by Simone Ghelli
  • Farmed Animals on Film: A Manifesto for a New Ethic by Stephen Marcus Finn

• The Oxford University Animal Ethics Society remains the heart of ethical discussion concerning animals at Oxford. The Society has had a wonderful year, with presentations on topics, such as Ethical Veganism, Animal Property Rights, Invertebrate Pain and Suffering, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and Animal Rights as a Feminist Issue.

• In addition, the Society sent the most successful team ever to the International Business Ethics Case Competition arguing for a yeast-based alternative to the production of collagen for medical and cosmetic uses from animal bodies. The team competed in the graduate division and won in two out of the three competitions, coming second in the third.

• Clair spoke about animal theology inter alia at the Ministers’s Conference at the Charles University in Prague, Compassion Consortium, the Council of World Mission DARE Forum, and fur factory farming at the Canadian Animal Law Conference. She has recently become a Research Fellow in Animal Ethics at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford.

Considering Andrew had a triple heart by-pass this time last year, we think these are achievements to be celebrated.

Our work is only possible because of the wonderful support we receive from our fantastic community. We are still raising funds for a variety of projects large and small to help them come to fruition next year:

• The 2024 Summer School on Animal Thinkers: Celebrating the Pioneers of Ethical Sensitivity to Animals. The Call for Papers is open until February and we have just opened registration. The Summer School is the most costly part of our work, but we believe the most exciting. It is a joy to bring so many of you together, and having your participation encourages us in the work we all do for the animals. We are always looking for sponsors to help us bring this wonderful event to life.

• The Animal Thing is looking for distribution, which is helped by creating buzz and enthusiasm around the film. Following us on social media and sharing the website is a great way to help. But we also need financial support to help us get the film in front of as many people as possible.

• We have more books in the pipeline, and with your help and support, we’ll be able to get the next round ready for publication.

There are many ways to support the Centre:

• You can give a PayPal donation as a one-off
• You can become a monthly supporter
• You can put us in your will
• You can donate to us from the USA in a tax-free way, through Americans for Oxford.

If you would like to discuss any of these options, please email Clair at depdirector@oxfordanimalethics.com.

As always, we are deeply grateful for your support.

We wish you and yours a peaceful and joyous Christmas.

Warmly
Clair and Andrew