Listen to Us: Perceptions of Animal Voice and Agency

SIMPLE SUMMARY: In this study, we used open-ended interviews to explore how animal moral claims and interests may be best represented in the human world. The findings suggest that the key to animal representation lies in human perceptions of animal voice and that these perceptions are shaped by cultural, social, economic, legal, and political language constructs and paradigms. Our findings illustrate how the human contextual definition of animals as voiceless or as having a voice has serious implications for animals, society, and the environment. This study highlights the importance of recognising animal voice as crucial for animal representation and draws parallels with similar calls in the literature. We recommend future research to focus on developing ethical, compassionate, and respectful approaches to understanding animal subjective experiences to empower and amplify animal voices. ABSTRACT: In many contexts, the interests of nonhuman animals (hereafter “animals”) are often overlooked or considered to be a lower priority than those of humans. While strong arguments exist for taking animal moral claims seriously, these largely go unheard due to dominant anthropocentric attitudes and beliefs. This study aimed to explore how animal interests might be best represented in the human world. We conducted interviews to investigate people’s perceptions of what it means to speak for other animals and who can reliably represent animal interests. Using Grounded Theory analytical methods, we identified one major theme: “Animal voice”, and its subthemes: “Animals do/do not have a voice”, “Human language constructs realities and paradigms”, and “Let animals speak”. Our findings illustrate how human language constructs contribute to shaping the realities of animals by contextually defining them as voiceless. This has serious implications for animals, society, and the environment. Drawing parallels with the relevant literature, our results reflect calls for the social and political recognition of animal voice as fundamental to animal representation. We recommend future research to focus on developing ethical and compassionate approaches to understanding animal subjective experiences to empower and amplify animal voices.