What would change if forests, waterways and wildlife were recognised as more than just resources? The idea has been debated ever since Prof Christopher Stone posited in a 1972 issue of the Southern California Law Review that trees should have legal rights. The concept is now gathering pace, with advocates calling for the more-than-human world to be granted legal protection, a voice in decision-making and even recognition for its creativity. Is this slow revolution finally coming of age?
In this mini series, we highlight five initiatives that are igniting action across the globe. Here, we focus on Animals in the Room
How might animals have a stake in democratic processes? How do we truly hear what they want?
While philosophy plays a big role in attempting to answer these out-there questions, Animals in the Room (AITR) is grounding its work in reality by studying and gathering data on non-human animals to explore how they can be part of the political and environmental decisions that impact them.
“Other living beings are subjects of justice that can communicate their interests to us: we just haven’t experimented with democracy to figure out how to include them and to understand how to do it well,” says founding AITR member Melanie Challenger.
