RSPCA 2022 essay collection

What have animals ever done for us?
by Jane Goodall
As the world recovers from a global pandemic and confronts the devastating effects of climate change, human...
As the world recovers from a global pandemic and confronts the devastating effects of climate change, human...

A pivotal moment
by Chris Sherwood
The first animal welfare legislation in the world was passed in the UK in 1822. Martin's Act forbade 'the cruel and the...
The first animal welfare legislation in the world was passed in the UK in 1822. Martin's Act forbade 'the cruel and the...

Zoomorphising humanity
by Usha Alexander
Rather than having compassion for animals because they're 'like us', true empathy comes from recognising that we're not at the...
Rather than having compassion for animals because they're 'like us', true empathy comes from recognising that we're not at the...

What are they worth?
by Tony Juniper
How do we assess the value of animals? Asked to consider the value of animals, many people's first thought would be about...
How do we assess the value of animals? Asked to consider the value of animals, many people's first thought would be about...

Beyond the five senses
by Jackie Higgins
Animals have shown us there are myriad senses. Can we rewild our own? Some 500 years ago, Leonardo da Vinci observed that...
Animals have shown us there are myriad senses. Can we rewild our own? Some 500 years ago, Leonardo da Vinci observed that...

Humans as animals
by Frans de Waal
If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it's that we are primates through and through. We aren't cyborgs, satisfied...
If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it's that we are primates through and through. We aren't cyborgs, satisfied...

Heaven is feral
by Melanie Challenger
Looking for the wild, we can see a better world, animated by the bodies, minds and agency of other animals. Children aren't...
Looking for the wild, we can see a better world, animated by the bodies, minds and agency of other animals. Children aren't...

A child's eye view
by Henry Mance
Children love animals. So what goes wrong? I'm not sure when I first had the urge to adopt chickens. It certainly wasn't...
Children love animals. So what goes wrong? I'm not sure when I first had the urge to adopt chickens. It certainly wasn't...

For better or worse?
by Harriet Ritvo
Human history has always been entangled with that of other animals, even though the details of that entanglement are not...
Human history has always been entangled with that of other animals, even though the details of that entanglement are not...

Battle for the planet: Why animal welfare holds the key
by Philip Lymbery
Winter in Novaya Zemlya, a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, and a snow-covered rubbish dump had been ransacked...
Winter in Novaya Zemlya, a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, and a snow-covered rubbish dump had been ransacked...

Following dogs following us
by Alexandra Horowitz
Understanding the way dogs experience the world is life-changing. I have been completely changed by dogs. Professionally, they...
Understanding the way dogs experience the world is life-changing. I have been completely changed by dogs. Professionally, they...

Pandemics and climate change: Why animals are crucial
by Jeff Sebo
Unless we put animals at the centre of our health and climate policies, they won't save us. Global health and environmental...
Unless we put animals at the centre of our health and climate policies, they won't save us. Global health and environmental...

Helping to solve loneliness
by Robin Hewings
Companion animals can help us address deep-rooted social problems. Loneliness is one of the major public health challenges...
Companion animals can help us address deep-rooted social problems. Loneliness is one of the major public health challenges...

So much depends on China
by Jeff Zhou
An insider's view of animal welfare in the world's rising power. I was one of eight children, brought up in a small village...
An insider's view of animal welfare in the world's rising power. I was one of eight children, brought up in a small village...

When is an animal not an animal?
by Paula Sparks
The law defines animals as 'things', not 'persons', leaving us in all kinds of mess. Everyone will have had experience of...
The law defines animals as 'things', not 'persons', leaving us in all kinds of mess. Everyone will have had experience of...

Where politics fails
by Sue Donaldson
Politics lags behind ethical progress when it comes to animals - but understanding animals as distinct political groups...
Politics lags behind ethical progress when it comes to animals - but understanding animals as distinct political groups...

How the world changes
by Cass R Sunstein
Social change happens when ideas turn into cascades. How might that happen for animal welfare? The 1959-1964 American...
Social change happens when ideas turn into cascades. How might that happen for animal welfare? The 1959-1964 American...

My life with a wolf
by Helen Pilcher
Humans have genetically altered animals throughout our existence. We are pretty bad at thinking through the consequences...
Humans have genetically altered animals throughout our existence. We are pretty bad at thinking through the consequences...

Woman, mother, philosopher
by Ellie Robson
One female philosopher changed prevailing - and distinctly male - ideas of human relationships with animals. Picture a...
One female philosopher changed prevailing - and distinctly male - ideas of human relationships with animals. Picture a...

Do we love robots more than animals?
by Kate Darling
A robotics expert argues that our relationships with robots cast light on our attitudes to animals. Thirteen years ago...
A robotics expert argues that our relationships with robots cast light on our attitudes to animals. Thirteen years ago...

The inescapable religious dimension
by Aaron Gross
Animal advocacy is inextricably entangled with religion in ways that require us to question other forms of oppression...
Animal advocacy is inextricably entangled with religion in ways that require us to question other forms of oppression...