Impediments to and possibilities for respectful human-animal relationships in agriculture

Despite advancements in understanding the experiences of farmed animals, harmful practices continue. This thesis explores the complexity of understanding and achieving mutually beneficial human-animal relationships in agriculture, investigating the spectrum of possible relational states between humans and animals and the importance of understanding and considering perspectives on the human-animal relationship in ethical decision-making. Chapter 2 reviews various disciplinary literature that illustrate ways of expanding conceptions of human-animal relationships, beyond what is typically considered in animal welfare science. This literature points to approaches for transitioning from an instrumental perspective to a more relational understanding, providing more agency to animals such that they are better able to express and realize their interests, and seeking better ways of comprehending and relating to animals. Engaging the public is crucial for transforming practices, for example, in helping animal welfare scientists understand public perceptions of social obligations towards animals. Technological interventions are often proposed as a solutions to animal suffering on farms, as discussed in Chapter 3. However, these interventions may also be seen as ‘band-aids’ to problems inherent to the system. Participant responses indicate the importance of factors such as respect for dignity that go beyond traditional scholarship within animal welfare. Chapter 3 results also suggest a need to avoid framing questions as dichotomous (i.e. as either accepting a new technology, or the status quo), and instead provide participants the opportunity to suggest options that more closely align with their values. Chapter 4 investigates how people vary in their willingness to adopt animals’ perspectives in decision-making by prompting study participants to adopt these perspectives. Results indicate that providing people with the opportunity to share the experiences of animals can facilitate recognition of harms, foster empathy, and encourage more a consideration of the animals' perspectives. Results also describe barriers to perspective taking, including difficulties in understanding the animal’s perspective. This thesis ends with Chapter 5, highlighting contributions and limitations of this work on understanding human-animal relationships, and pointing to new research areas. Combining an understanding of animals’ interests, with concern for enabling those interests, could provide a basis for transforming relationships between humans and agricultural animals.