‘We have to rethink the position of animals in politics’
‘Animals should be given a voice in politics too,’ according to UvA philosopher Eva Meijer. She will present her PhD-thesis on the topic on 20 September.
What is your thesis about?
‘It explores the political relationship between humans and other animals. I looked into several cases and concluded that our democracy doesn’t acknowledge or account for animal voices. We make decisions for and about them without considering them.’
It’s difficult to imagine animals participating in politics.
‘Yes, but animals are influenced by our democracy as well, so it’s only fair they have a voice. We have to rethink their position in politics. Of course this is difficult: our society is built for humans. But we need to acknowledge that animals have a voice and rethink the existing power relationship between humans and animals. Even small things would help. For example, people in Africa use special animal sounds to scare the elephants away. This helps foster a kind of understanding between species.’
What was the fun part of the research?
‘The research topic is pretty new, so there are only very few people in the world who know something about it. It’s a different way of looking at the world around us.’
What was the hardest part?
‘Learning that animals have feelings – for instance, how pigs get jealous, make friends and love their children – makes watching animals suffer harder to watch.’
Eva Meijer will present her PhD-thesis ‘Political Animal Voices’ on 20 September at 13.00 in the Oude Lutherse Kerk in Amsterdam.
