🔍 NEW ARTICLE: Animal disability and welfare: Prevalence, perception, and practice in zoological organisations Shannon L. O'Brien https://ow.ly/VQem50Zuz82 #AnimalWelfare #ZooWelfare
Dr Heather Browning (Veit)
@zoophilosophy.bsky.social
Scientist & Philosopher | Former zookeeper, now Lecturer at University of Southampton, specialising in animal welfare, sentience, and ethics
Absolutely love this diagram illustrating the problem with attempting to validate and apply an indicator in the same study (from Mason et al. 2026, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10....)
Just read a preprint for a paper forthcoming in a top 10 philosophy journal that has clearly used AI in much of the writing, if not the idea generation. Very disappointing to see.
Do birds enjoy flying? Cool new research shows evidence of positive affect associated with flying in galahs (an Australian parrot species) doi.org/10.1163/1568...
Our latest paper is out in @cp-trendsecolevo.bsky.social! It’s an overview of the emerging field of wild animal welfare science. 🔗 buff.ly/hcIUr0g See 🧵 for some of the key points we make about the field, as well as opportunities, challenges, and research priorities.
buff.ly
My book on consciousness at Oxford University Press is now available! It is titled House of Mirrors: The Illusion of Phenomenal Consciousness. The (open access) pdf can be downloaded for free on Oxford Academic: academic.oup.com/book/62981 Printed copies should be available at the end of July.
House of Mirrors: The Illusion of Phenomenal Consciousness
Abstract. This book provides a defense and an exploration of illusionism regarding phenomenal consciousness. Phenomenal consciousness supposedly encompasse
academic.oup.com
Slightly belated, but I had a great time in London last month attending both the Science for Animal Welfare (@scifaw.bsky.social) Conference and LIFT Cost Action (@liftcostaction.bsky.social) closing workshop. Always great to have a change to discuss animal welfare with like-minded researchers!
New RSPCA Animal Welfare Science Update, featuring research on obesity in pets, breed-specific legislation, killing 'surplus' dairy calves, animal welfare economics, agency in horses, alternatives to animal testing, and impacts of visitor interactions on zoo animals www.rspca.org.au/learn/animal...
Animal Welfare Science Update
Every quarter, RSPCA Australia’s science team produces the Animal Welfare Science Update. The aim of the publication is to raise awareness of recent…
rspca.org.au
Had a great time talking about animal minds with Charlotte Bookham and Claire Hamlett, for the inaugural episode of their 'Animal Culture' podcast open.spotify.com/episode/7gYL...
Hoppers & Animal Minds with Dr Heather Browning
Animal Culture · Episode
open.spotify.com
The most dangerous thing about AI is not that the machines might one day think. It is that we are being trained, by men with enormous financial gains riding on our acquiescence, to stop thinking for ourselves.
Very interesting paper reviewing the psychological research on speciesist attitudes and underlying ideological foundations doi.org/10.1038/s441...
Speciesism and the psychology of animal exploitation - Nature Reviews Psychology
People care deeply about some animals (such as pets) but engage in practices that harm other animals (such as eating meat). In this Review, Dhont and Hodson outline how people evaluate different anima...
doi.org
Beyond my book on happiness, I've been working away on /The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Desire/. The volume has 35 entries from many fantastic talented people, on a vast range of topics - wellbeing, decision, action, neuroscience, animals, pleasure, love, economics, AI, and more.
Love this new research showing that mice can discriminate between conspecifics with good and poor welfare (and show a preference for the former as breeding partners). Potentially promising new direction for finding novel welfare indicators, particularly olfactory ones. doi.org/10.1002/zoo....
Finding Mr. Right: Housing Quality Affects Male Mouse Attractiveness to Females, With Implications for Conservation Captive Breeding
Housing quality affects male mouse attractiveness to females
doi.org
Adding to the case for insect sentience - new research shows flexible self-protective behaviour in injured crickets doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
Flexible self-protection as evidence of pain-like states in house crickets
Abstract. The possibility that insects experience pain is a frontier question at the intersection of behaviour, cognition and philosophy of mind. Interest
doi.org
A growing body of evidence suggests that cephalopods can experience pain and distress, as described in #BiologicalReviews by @dralexschnell.bsky.social, @zoophilosophy.bsky.social, Andrew Crump, Charlotte Burn, and @birchlse.bsky.social: doi.org/10.1002/brv....
Sentience in cephalopod molluscs: an updated assessment
This article evaluates the evidence for sentience – the capacity to have feelings – in cephalopod molluscs: octopus, cuttlefish, squid, and nautilus. Our framework includes eight criteria, covering b...
doi.org
Fascinating new open-access paper from @zoophilosophy.bsky.social argues for mapping species-specific "affect profiles"—moving beyond pain as the default proxy for animal sentience.
Dr Heather Browning (Veit)@zoophilosophy.bsky.social · 4mo agoMy new paper 'Mapping profiles of animal affect' is now out in Biology and Philosophy. In it, I explore why understanding species-specific “affect profiles” matters for animal welfare research, and sketch some possible ways we might begin to map them. Available open access: doi.org/10.1007/s105...
Love this idea - 'Creature Connect', using digital technologies to create opportunities for mutually rewarding human-animal interactions in the zoo dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1...
Great review on the validity of abnormal repetitive behaviours as welfare indicators, assessing them against multiple validity tests to show they are (somewhat) robust, and providing potential explanations for observed patterns of failure. doi.org/10.20944/pre...
🌟 2026 UFAW Award Spotlight We are pleased to recognise Dr Heather Browning (Veit) as a joint recipient of the UFAW Early Career Animal Welfare Researcher of the Year Award. 🔗 Read more about the 2026 UFAW Award winners: https://ow.ly/s88450YIPzk #UFAWAwards
My new paper 'Mapping profiles of animal affect' is now out in Biology and Philosophy. In it, I explore why understanding species-specific “affect profiles” matters for animal welfare research, and sketch some possible ways we might begin to map them. Available open access: doi.org/10.1007/s105...
Mapping profiles of animal affect - Biology & Philosophy
Biology & Philosophy - The study of animal consciousness typically focuses on the distribution question: i.e., which animal taxa are conscious. However, recent work has instead suggested a...
doi.org
Nooo why would he be called the 'edible' dormouse 😭 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europea...
European edible dormouse - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Congratulations, Heather. @zoophilosophy.bsky.social
Science for Animal Welfare@scifaw.bsky.social · 4mo ago🏆 Announcing the 2026 UFAW Awards Winners 🏆 We are delighted to recognise this year’s UFAW Awards winners for their outstanding achievements and significant contributions to animal welfare science. 🔗 Read more about the 2026 UFAW Awards winners here: https://ow.ly/50v850YGve6 #UFAWAwards
I'm proud and honoured to be one of this year‘s winners
Science for Animal Welfare@scifaw.bsky.social · 4mo ago🏆 Announcing the 2026 UFAW Awards Winners 🏆 We are delighted to recognise this year’s UFAW Awards winners for their outstanding achievements and significant contributions to animal welfare science. 🔗 Read more about the 2026 UFAW Awards winners here: https://ow.ly/50v850YGve6 #UFAWAwards
🏆 Announcing the 2026 UFAW Awards Winners 🏆 We are delighted to recognise this year’s UFAW Awards winners for their outstanding achievements and significant contributions to animal welfare science. 🔗 Read more about the 2026 UFAW Awards winners here: https://ow.ly/50v850YGve6 #UFAWAwards
New RSPCA animal welfare science update, featuring research on (among others): cat containment, chickens’ perceptions of humans, separation anxiety in horses, wildlife tourism, and relationships between farmer wellbeing and animal welfare www.rspca.org.au/learn/animal...
Animal Welfare Science Update
Every quarter, RSPCA Australia’s science team produces the Animal Welfare Science Update. The aim of the publication is to raise awareness of recent…
rspca.org.au
"Philosophy of Animal Welfare," a workshop at Duke University, is now accepting abstracts. Topics include which animals should count as welfare subjects, how animal welfare should be measured, managing uncertainty, and more.
Dr Heather Browning (Veit)@zoophilosophy.bsky.social · 4mo agoPhilosophers with an interest in animal welfare - call for abstracts now open for what promises to be a great workshop at Duke University. We welcome any work relating to the nature, measurement, and/or moral significance of animal welfare. Applications close June 1. law.duke.edu/laweconomics...
Philosophers with an interest in animal welfare - call for abstracts now open for what promises to be a great workshop at Duke University. We welcome any work relating to the nature, measurement, and/or moral significance of animal welfare. Applications close June 1. law.duke.edu/laweconomics...
Philosophy of Animal Welfare Conference | Duke University School of Law
Conference to be held at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, US, on Friday-Saturday November 20/21, 2026. This conference is organized by the Duke Center for Law, Economics, and Public Policy (CL...
law.duke.edu
Omg « NOT ALL NATURAL THINGS ARE GOOD & NOT ALL UNNATURAL THINGS ARE BAD » Louder for the people in the back Merci @zoophilosophy.bsky.social !!
Talk absolument génial du Dr @zoophilosophy.bsky.social sur l’agentivité animale pour @interspecies-io.bsky.social : où l’on apprend que les rats et les chimpanzés aiment aussi s’amuser avec un interrupteur comme Jacquouille dans #LesVisiteurs youtu.be/LGxz_RYSz9I?...
WOOHOO #philsci #phisky #sentience Cocky's celebrating with her fave Angus Young from AC⚡DC impersonation to "Back in Black" - 🎶coz she's refusing to hit the sack🎶, waiting for humans to crack🎶 from the sound of her track🎶 🎶BAU BAU-BAU-BAU BAU-BAU-BAU🎶 BAU-BAU 🎶BAU-BAU BAU-BAU BAU BAU🎶
a white parrot is standing on a bed in a living room with a projector screen in the background
ALT: a white parrot is standing on a bed in a living room with a projector screen in the background
media.tenor.com
Dr Heather Browning (Veit)@zoophilosophy.bsky.social · 5mo agoNew study shows that many animals like the same sounds as we do - suggesting a shared aesthetic sense (further evidence that animals' perceptual worlds are an important part of their welfare experience) www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...