Abstract Hayao Miyazaki’s animated films have long been characterized by animistic ideas and ecological thought. In his works, nonhuman characters, including nonhuman animals and machines, mediate relationships among humans, society, and the natural world. During World War II , nonhuman animal characters served as key instruments of political propaganda and national identity in both American and Japanese animated films, and this tradition has persisted in contemporary Japanese animated films. However, such representations have gradually shifted from speciesism to cultural representations that serve contemporary film narratives. This article takes Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron (2023) as a case study to analyze how nonhuman animal figures generate agency through the narrative process and to propose the concept of “animal-imagery species” to explore the mediating role of nonhuman beings in Japanese animated films.
Abstract This article reads Secret Zoo (Son, 2020) as a satirical critique of nonhuman animal spectacle, precarious labor, and speculative redevelopment in contemporary South Korea. Situated within the post-1997 landscape of restructuring and compressed modernity, the film presents a zoo emptied by debt and revived through costumed human performance rather than animal conservation. This premise exposes an institutional order in which ethical care can no longer be sustained materially and survives only through simulation, improvisation, and compromise. Through close analysis of the zoo’s liquidation, the viral Coca-Cola polar-bear scene, Kkamanko’s captivity, and the ecological resort that replaces the zoo, the essay shows how Secret Zoo links nonhuman animal display to corporate media logics and financialized extraction. At the same time, the film refuses opposition between false spectacle and authentic care, presenting a form of impure care that remains ethically meaningful despite its entanglement with confinement, possession, and institutional failure.
Abstract Extinction studies often foreground representational practices as instruments of visibility, mobilizing the public against biodiversity loss. Taiwanese artist Zhang Xu Zhan’s Si So Mi reconfigures this logic by centering roadkill – an anthropogenic animal death at once hyper-visible yet largely absent from extinction discourse. Reading the work through Taiwanese funerary practices and film theory’s conception of cinema’s “undying” nature, this article argues that Si So Mi suspends ecopolitical instrumentality to privilege mourning as an ethical obligation. Situated between the moment of encountering death and the prospect of de-extinction, this interval of grief reframes human–nonhuman relationality, extending even to nonhumans’ capacity to mourn conspecifics. The video thus disrupts a double blindness: the habitual erasure of roadkill and the denial of nonhuman affective interiority.
Abstract Domestic dogs are increasingly acknowledged as valued members of multispecies families, yet they often occupy a “liminal” status whereby they can both be loved and experience significant limitations to freedom that compromise welfare. This paper explores these tensions through a qualitative analysis of 20 semi-structured interviews with individuals living with dogs in Ontario, Canada. We discuss three key themes: 1) acknowledging dogs’ complex inner lives; 2) tensions between enabling dog preferences and thwarting agency; and 3) tensions between acknowledging canine differences and suppressing “dogness.” Our findings add nuance to understandings of the human-animal bond and the liminal position of companion dogs. Importantly, our work addresses a research gap by illustrating ways in which dog preferences and needs are denied or respected. We conclude by briefly reflecting on interpersonal and structural causes of observed tensions, and how future interventions could foster relationalities that better enable the flourishing of dogs as dogs.
Abstract Influenced by Natural Horsemanship ( NH ), the Japan Racing Association frames biting as a behavioral issue rooted in instinct, correctable through training. This paper draws on a four-month ethnographic encounter with a retired racehorse labeled a “biter” to challenge such framing. Using Itō Asa’s concepts of dentatsu (conveying) and seisei (generative) communication, it argues that defining biting as instinct triggers a closed loop of understanding that reduces horses to behavioral types. In contrast, approaching biting as a relational, context-dependent act enables a seisei mode of communication – one that invites mutual attunement rather than correction. NH ’s emphasis on prey-animality often unintentionally objectifies horses, reinforcing control even as it promotes partnership. In Japan, such logic can justify severe outcomes, including culling. This paper advocates for a shift from behavior modification to attentive listening, framing biting not as misbehavior, but as both a meaningful expression and a communicative act within an interspecies relationship.
Abstract The present essay closely reads Kurt Vonnegut’s (1985/2019) Galapagos as a novel that blurs the boundaries separating humans from animals. Galapagos , modeled on Charles Darwin’s theories of natural selection, presents two timeframes, that of the 1980s and its near future to a million years later when humans have undergone modifications in their design, making them indistinct from aquatic mammals. Vonnegut’s novel resists the conception of the human as disembodied and autonomous to imagine it as an assemblage or a working arrangement of organic and inorganic bodies and forces. Further, the essay employs Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s theories of becoming-animal to explore humanity’s gradual transformation into a transversal, a hybrid, neither human nor animal but inhabiting the limit between the two boundaries. The essay concludes that the novel destabilizes hierarchical binaries to give way to a fluid humanity that subverts notions of linearity, progress, and identity.
Abstract Policy and legislative developments have emerged in response to evidence that the presence of companion animals ( CA s) is often associated with delays in leaving abusive partners. Domestic violence shelters are increasingly providing shelter for CA s to mitigate this barrier to help-seeking, and several jurisdictions have amended their protection order ( PO ) statutes to enable inclusion of CA s. Whether intimate partner violence survivors in jurisdictions with animal-inclusive PO s are likely to have access to programs for CA s, and whether domestic violence shelters in these areas are more likely to screen for and include CA s in safety planning, however, is unclear. This paper empirically examines this concern in Canada and the US. We find that animal-inclusive PO statutes can be characterized as a form of policy slippage given that individuals in jurisdictions with animal-inclusive PO s are less likely to have access to CA services, which raises serious safety concerns.
Abstract The current study builds on existing literature by developing and successfully testing the effectiveness of an equine-assisted intervention program for enhancing sibling relationships in children. The sample included eight parents and eight sibling dyads. The eight-week program was developed using previous research on equine-assisted therapies and sibling dynamics literature. Pre- and post-intervention measures included both parent- and child-reported measures of parent involvement in sibling dynamics, sibling warmth, conflict, and support. Additionally, parents and siblings provided qualitative data. Differences were found in parent reports of sibling warmth and parent involvement in sibling conflict between pre-test and post-tests. Qualitative data revealed several themes including description of the state of the sibling relationship prior to intervention and factors contributing to sibling teamwork, playtime, and closeness after the intervention.
Abstract The present study aims to understand, through the perceptions of nine Portuguese victims of domestic violence, women aged 27–59 years old, how they characterize their companion animals and what role(s) they play in the context of domestic violence. Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted and coded via thematic analysis. To evaluate victims’ psychological suffering, the Outcome Questionnaire-10.2 was administered. The results indicated strong attachment between victims of domestic violence and their companion animals, with companion animals being a strong emotional support for them, but also a source of threat and coercion. Most companion animals were direct targets of violence by aggressors, influencing victims’ decisions to stay or leave abusive relationships. The separation between companion animals and victims of domestic violence causes several impacts on health and global functioning. Measures to help victims who own companion animals are discussed.
Abstract This paper develops a political ecology of reanimation as a novel approach to generate a deeper understanding of new directions in wildlife conservation. It highlights the lives of individual nonhuman animals in reanimated forms of nature, not just as species to “save,” but as essential actors in building healthy ecosystems. To do this, the paper integrates political ecology and animal studies. This offers a first step by sketching out how political ecologists can move beyond anthropocentrism to take animal lives seriously. The paper also invites animal studies scholars to engage more fully with the relations of capitalism in conservation which lead to social injustices and ultimately fail to stem rapid biodiversity loss. It focuses on rewilding in Europe to tease out how understanding the role of individual animals can help to uncover and analyze the much deeper dynamics of human-animal relations that drive and sustain continuing biodiversity losses.
Abstract Given the rise of depression and anxiety symptoms in college students, the implementation of animal-assisted interventions ( AAI s) on campuses has become increasingly popular. A pretest-posttest experimental design was conducted to determine if a miniature horse-assisted intervention would impact students’ short-term positive and negative affect ( PANAS-GEN ) and state optimism levels ( SOM ). College students ( N = 55) were surveyed before and after attending an AAI event on campus at the beginning of the semester. As predicted, participant optimism and positive mood significantly increased following the interaction, while negative mood significantly decreased. These results also confirmed findings from prior studies. Future research is needed to confirm that the AAI (rather than some other factor) caused the changes in mood and optimism, when in the academic semester AAI s may be most impactful for student mental health, and if the type of animal chosen for the AAI (e.g., miniature horses vs dogs) has an impact.
Abstract Domestic cats ( Felis catus ) are well-loved companion animals; however, cats easily become unsocialized if abandoned. Abandonment amplifies human concerns over increased predation on local wildlife and disease transmission to housed companion animals. Thus, attention must be given to limiting the “creation” of feral/unsocialized cats while also humanely managing existing cats within municipalities. To understand public attitudes toward domestic cats, including feral/unsocialized cats, a study was undertaken in Prince George, British Columbia, utilizing an online survey, with a mix of close- and open-ended questions. Results identified concerns about unsocialized/feral cats, including disease transmission, damage to private property, and killing birds. In response, spaying/neutering was strongly supported, as well as active management of feral colonies by responsible parties. The elimination of feral colonies, in contrast, was not widely supported; respondents called for compassion in any management approach, arguing for an organized, community-based solution. Examples of such an approach are considered.
Abstract This questionnaire-based study investigates factors influencing the Italian general public’s perception of companion animals visiting their guardians in hospice care. Responses from 1,556 participants revealed a generally positive outlook for visiting animals. Most participants highlighted benefits like psychological support and enhanced palliative care rather than negative effects, such as concerns about hygiene, furniture, or medical equipment damage. Supporters of companion animal visitations believed in their potential to offer emotional comfort and promote social integration and physical activity. Conversely, opponents expressed concerns that animals might add complications to an already challenging situation and be a nuisance due to factors such as smells and noises. Living in towns rather than cities and exclusively keeping dogs and cats indoors were identified as predicting factors for a more positive attitude toward companion animal visitation to hospice patients. These findings could assist healthcare policymakers in implementing animal-related regulations that benefit all patients.
Abstract The aim of this study was to explore how experienced horse riders describe their communication with the horse to understand that the horse is in self-carriage, and how to achieve it. A contextual analytic research methodology has been used to analyze semi-structured interviews with eight experienced riders, commenting on video clips of their own riding. The findings showed that horses’ conformation and fitness are prerequisites for achieving self-carriage, and so are riders’ body awareness, fitness, and knowledge of riding. Two ways of communication were discerned: the technical communication which refers to the rider acting in a clear, instruction-based communication toward the horse; and the bodily holistic communication about a relational understanding, where the horse is an agent and both rider and horse are acting in mutual communication. This study highlights the importance of combining both technical and bodily holistic forms of communication with the horse to achieve self-carriage.
Abstract There were nearly 10,000 reported cases of animal abuse in the US in 2019 alone. Exposure to violence is an established risk factor for animal abuse; however, little research explores the potential mechanisms through which this relationship occurs. Using data from 1,354 participants who took part in the Pathways to Desistance study, the results of the analyses suggest that violent victimization was positively associated with increased odds of animal abuse, with depression and anger mediating over a quarter of this relationship. The findings suggest that those wishing to reduce the prevalence of animal abuse should endeavor to prevent potential instances of violent victimization among adolescents. Furthermore, it is critical for youth who have been victimized to have opportunities to address any potential depression or anger symptoms that might occur because of their victimization.
Abstract This study explores volunteers’ care work for dogs and cats who live on the street. It focuses on how gendered aspects affect the social value that is attributed to this work. In-depth interviews with caretakers indicate that care work is gendered in all aspects: routine work, emotional and managerial dimensions, experience, and skills development. Organizational and managerial skills, as well as emotional involvement, are essential parts of this work. Findings indicate that the work is devalued by trivialization, gendered pathologization with care work for humans, and violence inflicted on volunteers. Gender stereotypes emphasizing “feminine emotionality” and “masculine rationality” are responsible for the devaluation. In accordance with the findings, subordinate masculinity, familialism, and speciesism deepen gender differences in care work.
Abstract This article follows fall webworm caterpillars, examining the disgust and discomfort that are often associated with bugs and insects. Fall webworms have been dubbed “aesthetic pests,” are often called “unsightly,” and are frequently removed from gardens and green spaces. To unravel these repulsive gestures, this article turns to Sarah Ahmed’s discussion of disgust and examines two common disgust reactions that relate to insects. First, it considers how removing “disgusting” creatures from conservationists’ publicity campaigns idealizes natural beauty. Second, it questions activists’ disgust toward bug-fearing humans, which idealize feel-good relations. Finally, to avoid (re)creating these hierarchies, this article advocates for remaining open and attentive to the many bodily sensations that emerge across bodies when differences meet.
Chinese vernacular names of insects mirror diverse ecological “stories,” representing the interdependence of insects, humans, and the environment. However, there is insufficient research on attitudinal meanings and stories of Chinese insect names. To fill the gap, we collected 39 names of ladybugs and 34 names of cockroaches from authoritative sources as comprehensively as possible. Results and analyses show that the interaction between cognitive devices and environmental factors results in various attitudinal meanings of Chinese vernacular names of ladybugs and cockroaches. Ladybug names tend to evoke positive and neutral connotations while cockroach names evoke negative and neutral values. Their underlying stories manifest as reductionism under the influence of natural factors, speciesism, and biased empiricism under cultural factors and pragmatism under social ones. This article presents introspection into human-insect relations in the Chinese context.
Youth sex trafficking is a significant issue in the United States and appropriate care for trafficked victims can be complex. The psychological benefits of an emotional support dog for youth at a 24-hour drop-in center for sex-trafficking victims was explored. Thirty-four youth were surveyed about their experiences and feelings toward the dog while eight staff members of the drop-in center were surveyed about their perceptions of the youth and dog interactions. Structural coding and qualitative content analysis was conducted to determine key responses and to generate salient themes. Interacting with the dog elicited feelings of happiness, love, comfort, ease, safety, and support among the youth. Staff responses supported those of the youth. An emotional support dog is a promising addition to centers for youth who have escaped sex trafficking. Future research is warranted to assess the optimal dose-response relationship of time for survivors of trafficking to spend with a dog.
Although research on environmental and social issues in marketing literature has risen significantly in recent years, marketing literature stayed silent on the problem of stray animals. This study reviews previous findings in traditional, social, and nonprofit marketing to create insights that can be beneficial regarding the problem of stray dogs. It aims to illustrate the potential contribution of marketing in managing dog populations. How stray dogs and society may benefit from marketing practices is discussed using measures suggested by the World Organization for Animal Health. After discussing each proposed measure separately, findings were organized using the DOGS framework (demarketing, orientation, gamification, sensations). This study is an open letter to nonprofit and voluntary organizations that serve stray dogs who may benefit from advanced marketing techniques. It also calls on global marketers to break their silence on stray dogs and other animals.
