Human-Animal Studies in Europe

I just got back from ten days in Switzerland and Basel, where, on behalf of The Animals and Society Institute, I was lucky enough to visit three institutions (of at least nine) in the German-speaking countries that are involved in human-animal studies, while giving talks on how we mourn, and do not mourn, animals when they die.

First was the Animal Turn and the Law, the first-ever European animal law conference, organized by the University of Basel doctoral program in animal law, itself the first of its kind. The program was terrific, featuring top-notch legal scholars like Steven Wise, Tamie Bryant, Anne Peters, Kathy Hessler, and Maneesha Deckha, as well as philosophers like Judith Benz-Schwarzburg, Markus Wild, and Bernd Ladwig. These scholars discussed issues like the status of animals under the law today in a variety of nations, the question(s) of personhood for animals, the moral standing of animals, how human-animal studies can inform animal law, and how both lawyers and human-animal studies scholars can help animals.

From Basel, I traveled to Innsbruck, where I spoke to a group of students and faculty at the University of Innsbruck, who have an active group of scholars studying human-animal studies organized loosely through the university's animal rights group, LIFE. These scholars have, with very little campus funding, managed to create classes attracting hundreds of students who are hungry for information about the human-animal relationship, and are reading books and articles primarily in English, because there are so few texts in German available.

Finally, I spent my last days in Vienna, and spoke to students and faculty at the Messerli Research Institute, a research and teaching center which is part of the University of Veterinary Medicine. The center is split in to three programs: animal cognition, ethics, and comparative medicine, and the center offers a Masters degree, which is taught in English, in Human-Animal Interactions, and students have to take classes in all three areas.

Artwork by Judith Benz-Schwarzburg of the Messerli Research Institute. Sustitia (Latin for pig and Justice) is the mascot of the Messerli Research Institute and adorns the entrance to the Department of Ethics.

Artwork by Judith Benz-Schwarzburg of the Messerli Research Institute. Sustitia (Latin for pig and Justice) is the mascot of the Messerli Research Institute and adorns the entrance to the Department of Ethics.

The trip was an eye-opener. I knew that animal studies was growing around the world. Obviously, the English-speaking world doesn't have a monopoly on the field. But I was blown away by how much interest and scholarship there is overseas, and how passionate and sophisticated everyone I met was. This field will only continue to grow, and mature, as new voices join the chorus in studying human-animal relationships, and use the knowledge that is developed to help non-human animals.

As a side note, even while exploring Austria, I found evidence of the human-animal relationship everywhere. The image at the top of this blog was taken from the Römermuseum in Vienna which documents the presence of Romans in what was once known as Vindobona and later became Vienna, from the first to fifth centuries. In the image, you can see small toys and other artifacts in the shape of animals found from among the Roman ruins, and the caption in the display notes that not only were dogs and birds popular pets, but that some dogs even had their own grave inscriptions!