Animal ethics plans for 2023
31 Jan 2023
We are increasingly emphasizing the importance of long-term work for animals. There are some areas where animal suffering could increase astronomically in the future if we fail to address them now. For example, the consumption of invertebrate animals is being proposed as an environmentalist alternative to the consumption of terrestrial mammals, and the consumption of marine animals raised in fish farms as an alternative to capturing animals in the open sea. Although many people do not think about this, most of the animals humans use for food are sentient. Even less attention is paid to the suffering of animals in the wild, which is much larger in scale.
That is why it’s important for society to start considering animals differently. It is essential to create the basis for a new way of relating to other animals in a non-speciesist way. And it is crucial that, as individuals and as societies, we prioritize the long-term impacts of our actions and decisions.
We have planned our activities for 2023 with these aims in mind. Below are some of the projects we will be working on.
- We’ll increase our outreach to encourage those who work on behalf of animals to adopt a long-term approach to their work. In this way, we hope that the resources dedicated to defending animals will be maximized in the long term. As part of this project, we’ll publish 3 videos on the topic in 3 languages, and give at least 8 talks. We’ll also host 2 workshops on longtermism for animal advocates. And we will publish 3 blog posts about longtermism on our website, as well as many materials on social media.
- We’ll spread concern about the consumption of invertebrate animals. This will primarily consist of publishing new materials on the subject explaining the capacity of these animals to suffer, as well as giving talks about it.
- This year we’ll also expand our presence into new areas, especially in Hong Kong. Our activities will include talks for students and animal advocates, and roundtable discussions with academics, lawyers, and others in a position to make a difference for animals in their work. We’ll also distribute books and leaflets throughout Hong Kong.In addition to the work mentioned above, we’ll give 7 more talks about speciesism, effective animal advocacy, and helping wild animals. We’ll also publish about helping wild animals in floods, using contraceptives for the benefit of animals, and a literature review about acoustic sensing, a part of our series on how we can use safe technologies to help wild animals on a large scale.
We’re also exploring new means of education, including augmented reality and interactive online materials. This year we’ll begin distributing educational materials for high school students that include videos and classroom games.
Without your help, it would be impossible to carry out all of these activities. We appreciate your support and welcome your feedback at any time.