Sune Borkfelt
@suneborkfelt.bsky.social
PhD, researcher. Animal studies, literary studies, ecocriticism, human-animal relations, green postcolonial studies, posthumanism etc.
Author of Reading Slaughter: Abattoir Fictions, Space, and Empathy in Late Modernity.
Board member @mindinganimals.dk
Author of Reading Slaughter: Abattoir Fictions, Space, and Empathy in Late Modernity.
Board member @mindinganimals.dk
Fun fact:
Scherfig's gravesite doesn't have any name or inscription.
The tombstone is, however, an animal statue (not an okapi, though).
Anyone can go to Assistens Kirkegård in Copenhagen to see if they can find it 🙂🐢
Scherfig's gravesite doesn't have any name or inscription.
The tombstone is, however, an animal statue (not an okapi, though).
Anyone can go to Assistens Kirkegård in Copenhagen to see if they can find it 🙂🐢
#WorldOkapiDay :
Hans Christian Scherfig (Danish, 1905-1979)
2. #Okapi, 1976
Lithograph in colors, 46×62 cm
www.mutualart.com/Artwork/Okap...
2. Jungle Scene with an Okapi, 1956
Tempera on board, 31 x 36 cm
www.mutualart.com/Artwork/Jung...
Hans Christian Scherfig (Danish, 1905-1979)
2. #Okapi, 1976
Lithograph in colors, 46×62 cm
www.mutualart.com/Artwork/Okap...
2. Jungle Scene with an Okapi, 1956
Tempera on board, 31 x 36 cm
www.mutualart.com/Artwork/Jung...
October 18, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Fun fact:
Scherfig's gravesite doesn't have any name or inscription.
The tombstone is, however, an animal statue (not an okapi, though).
Anyone can go to Assistens Kirkegård in Copenhagen to see if they can find it 🙂🐢
Scherfig's gravesite doesn't have any name or inscription.
The tombstone is, however, an animal statue (not an okapi, though).
Anyone can go to Assistens Kirkegård in Copenhagen to see if they can find it 🙂🐢
Reposted by Sune Borkfelt
“But you are making plans / without a future and my now / is twisted into your crying.” Read “Entanglements,” a poem by Ursula K. Le Guin about cats.
A Poem by Ursula K. Le Guin About Cats
“Entanglements” March 28 Black cat, amiable visitor, let’s give each other all the pleasure we can, quick, yes, sitting on each other in the sunlight and stroking each other with our hands and face…
buff.ly
October 15, 2025 at 2:30 PM
“But you are making plans / without a future and my now / is twisted into your crying.” Read “Entanglements,” a poem by Ursula K. Le Guin about cats.
Reposted by Sune Borkfelt
And he proposed farther, that by employing Spiders, the Charge of dying Silks would be wholly saved; whereof I was fully convinced when he shewed me a vast Number of Flies most beautifully coloured, wherewith he fed his Spiders;
Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels (1735)
Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels (1735)
October 14, 2025 at 8:28 AM
And he proposed farther, that by employing Spiders, the Charge of dying Silks would be wholly saved; whereof I was fully convinced when he shewed me a vast Number of Flies most beautifully coloured, wherewith he fed his Spiders;
Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels (1735)
Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels (1735)
And so f*cking what?
When did we decide that having a business model that relies on theft is okay?
When did we decide that having a business model that relies on theft is okay?
Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry
Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry
Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.
buff.ly
October 8, 2025 at 1:01 PM
And so f*cking what?
When did we decide that having a business model that relies on theft is okay?
When did we decide that having a business model that relies on theft is okay?
Jeg har spist sojapølser siden 80erne. Dengang var ingen forbrugere i tvivl, og det er de heller ikke nu.
Det her er et resultat af lobbyisme, fordi plantebaserede produkter har vind i sejlene og den animalske industri vil lave benspænd for de virksomheder, der laver dem. Klimafodslæb. #suk
Det her er et resultat af lobbyisme, fordi plantebaserede produkter har vind i sejlene og den animalske industri vil lave benspænd for de virksomheder, der laver dem. Klimafodslæb. #suk
Parlamentet og den store højrefløj vedtager, at ord som plantepølse og veggieburger skal være forbudte. De siger altid at de vil have færre regler - hvorfor skal de så lege sprogpoliti? Den sunde fornuft og reel klimalovhandling har tabt i dag.
October 8, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Jeg har spist sojapølser siden 80erne. Dengang var ingen forbrugere i tvivl, og det er de heller ikke nu.
Det her er et resultat af lobbyisme, fordi plantebaserede produkter har vind i sejlene og den animalske industri vil lave benspænd for de virksomheder, der laver dem. Klimafodslæb. #suk
Det her er et resultat af lobbyisme, fordi plantebaserede produkter har vind i sejlene og den animalske industri vil lave benspænd for de virksomheder, der laver dem. Klimafodslæb. #suk
I suspect a double-edged sword here. At least, I remember when one of the most racist politicians in Danish history cited liking hummus as proof that his political views were not motivated by racism.
October 7, 2025 at 6:32 AM
I suspect a double-edged sword here. At least, I remember when one of the most racist politicians in Danish history cited liking hummus as proof that his political views were not motivated by racism.
Reposted by Sune Borkfelt
Jane Goodall's work insisting, with evidence from her brilliant and tenacious fieldwork, that we were not so separate from animals, and they were much more like us than the Eurocentric theorists asserted, was so important.
October 1, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Jane Goodall's work insisting, with evidence from her brilliant and tenacious fieldwork, that we were not so separate from animals, and they were much more like us than the Eurocentric theorists asserted, was so important.
Reposted by Sune Borkfelt
Jeg havde for et stykke tid siden en god snak om dyr og fortællinger med @sofiegraarup.bsky.social.
Det var sjovt, og det er der nu kommet et podcastafsnit ud af, som du kan lytte til når og hvor du vil :-)
Det var sjovt, og det er der nu kommet et podcastafsnit ud af, som du kan lytte til når og hvor du vil :-)
Jeg havde i sommers den udsøgte fornøjelse at snakke med @suneborkfelt.bsky.social om nogle af de fortællinger vi har om de andre dyr og - ikke mindst - hvordan vi fortæller dem. Jeg synes det var en vildt spændende snak og håber, I vil synes det samme.
Find den hvor du lytter til podcast
Find den hvor du lytter til podcast
September 5, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Jeg havde for et stykke tid siden en god snak om dyr og fortællinger med @sofiegraarup.bsky.social.
Det var sjovt, og det er der nu kommet et podcastafsnit ud af, som du kan lytte til når og hvor du vil :-)
Det var sjovt, og det er der nu kommet et podcastafsnit ud af, som du kan lytte til når og hvor du vil :-)
Reposted by Sune Borkfelt
Soon all the pigs were calm and quiet, as they had never been in life. But that did not excuse the crime. Their betrayal.
Neil Astley, The End of My Tether (2002) #Animals #Literature #Novels #Slaughterhouse
Neil Astley, The End of My Tether (2002) #Animals #Literature #Novels #Slaughterhouse
August 26, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Soon all the pigs were calm and quiet, as they had never been in life. But that did not excuse the crime. Their betrayal.
Neil Astley, The End of My Tether (2002) #Animals #Literature #Novels #Slaughterhouse
Neil Astley, The End of My Tether (2002) #Animals #Literature #Novels #Slaughterhouse
Reposted by Sune Borkfelt
“Horses were a part of the daily fabric of life for many enslaved Black people.” On the importance of the horse in escaping slavery.
Riding to Freedom: On the Importance of the Horse in Escaping Slavery
The first time I met the horses and the fugitives, I wanted to speak with them directly. I wanted to know them better, to hear how they planned their escapes, what the moon looked like on the night…
buff.ly
August 19, 2025 at 7:30 PM
“Horses were a part of the daily fabric of life for many enslaved Black people.” On the importance of the horse in escaping slavery.
Reposted by Sune Borkfelt
What about the caged half-crazed
orang-utan who vomits because
he has nothing else to do?
Miroslav Holub, From "Collision" #InternationalOrangutanDay #Zoos #Animals #Poetry
orang-utan who vomits because
he has nothing else to do?
Miroslav Holub, From "Collision" #InternationalOrangutanDay #Zoos #Animals #Poetry
August 19, 2025 at 9:08 AM
What about the caged half-crazed
orang-utan who vomits because
he has nothing else to do?
Miroslav Holub, From "Collision" #InternationalOrangutanDay #Zoos #Animals #Poetry
orang-utan who vomits because
he has nothing else to do?
Miroslav Holub, From "Collision" #InternationalOrangutanDay #Zoos #Animals #Poetry
Reposted by Sune Borkfelt
The collared lizards cry at night
because El Paso is too hot
for their detachable blue tails.
The desert turtle stops and
waits as a cartel truck drives by
and dark houses illuminate
what is hidden there.
Ray Gonzales, From "El Paso" (2023) #WorldLizardDay
because El Paso is too hot
for their detachable blue tails.
The desert turtle stops and
waits as a cartel truck drives by
and dark houses illuminate
what is hidden there.
Ray Gonzales, From "El Paso" (2023) #WorldLizardDay
August 14, 2025 at 9:52 AM
The collared lizards cry at night
because El Paso is too hot
for their detachable blue tails.
The desert turtle stops and
waits as a cartel truck drives by
and dark houses illuminate
what is hidden there.
Ray Gonzales, From "El Paso" (2023) #WorldLizardDay
because El Paso is too hot
for their detachable blue tails.
The desert turtle stops and
waits as a cartel truck drives by
and dark houses illuminate
what is hidden there.
Ray Gonzales, From "El Paso" (2023) #WorldLizardDay
Reposted by Sune Borkfelt
What makes a dog run away, then?
The desire to live.
You’ve never seen a dog trembling?
A dog trembles when he doesn’t know what to do.
Like us!
No, you tremble when you know what to do as much as when you don’t.
Fart off, dog.
John Berger, King: A Street Story (1999) #dogs #literature
The desire to live.
You’ve never seen a dog trembling?
A dog trembles when he doesn’t know what to do.
Like us!
No, you tremble when you know what to do as much as when you don’t.
Fart off, dog.
John Berger, King: A Street Story (1999) #dogs #literature
August 8, 2025 at 9:52 AM
What makes a dog run away, then?
The desire to live.
You’ve never seen a dog trembling?
A dog trembles when he doesn’t know what to do.
Like us!
No, you tremble when you know what to do as much as when you don’t.
Fart off, dog.
John Berger, King: A Street Story (1999) #dogs #literature
The desire to live.
You’ve never seen a dog trembling?
A dog trembles when he doesn’t know what to do.
Like us!
No, you tremble when you know what to do as much as when you don’t.
Fart off, dog.
John Berger, King: A Street Story (1999) #dogs #literature
Reposted by Sune Borkfelt
"I refuse to bend the knee to those environmental alarmist Thoreau-lovers—and not just because I’m missing a leg."
"Reducing our dependence on whales as an energy source will send us sliding down the slippery, spermaceti-lubricated slope to socialism. If we give up whaling, what will those lackwits come for next? Will I have to surrender my peg leg for a titanium prosthetic?"
I’m Captain Ahab and I Say We Must Never Transition Away from a Whale-Based Energy Industry
When I heard that the globalist oligarchs and fat cats in the Washington marshland were conspiring to invest in alternative, non-whale-based energy...
buff.ly
August 7, 2025 at 4:50 AM
"I refuse to bend the knee to those environmental alarmist Thoreau-lovers—and not just because I’m missing a leg."
August 5, 2025 at 10:11 AM
The way to all modern assembly lines started here, with disassembly lines.
Sinclair's novel has its issues, but remains an absolute classic and the first modern #slaughterhouse fiction. #animals #pigs
Sinclair's novel has its issues, but remains an absolute classic and the first modern #slaughterhouse fiction. #animals #pigs
They had chains which they fastened about the leg of the nearest hog, and the other end of the chain they hooked into one of the rings on the wheel. So, as the wheel turned, a hog was suddenly jerked off his feet and borne aloft.
Upton Sinclair, The Jungle (1906)
Upton Sinclair, The Jungle (1906)
August 1, 2025 at 11:53 AM
The way to all modern assembly lines started here, with disassembly lines.
Sinclair's novel has its issues, but remains an absolute classic and the first modern #slaughterhouse fiction. #animals #pigs
Sinclair's novel has its issues, but remains an absolute classic and the first modern #slaughterhouse fiction. #animals #pigs
Fascinating results here. I wonder what it would look like with a more complex study that holds gendering up against the degree of anthropomorphization. #animalstudies #literature
“Which #animals do we gender, and why?
A data analysis of animal gender in children’s books”
https://pudding.cool/2025/07/kids-books/
A data analysis of animal gender in children’s books”
https://pudding.cool/2025/07/kids-books/
July 31, 2025 at 7:35 AM
Fascinating results here. I wonder what it would look like with a more complex study that holds gendering up against the degree of anthropomorphization. #animalstudies #literature
Still one of the best animal novels ever written, even though one could argue #animals never take center stage.
I guzzle my food like a dog. A bestial life is turning me into a beast.
J.M. Coetzee, Waiting for the Barbarians (1980)
J.M. Coetzee, Waiting for the Barbarians (1980)
July 31, 2025 at 7:19 AM
Still one of the best animal novels ever written, even though one could argue #animals never take center stage.
Reposted by Sune Borkfelt
A lovely little bronze #Roman mouse figurine, shown holding a morsel of food in his little front paws (a nut or seed maybe?), perhaps about to take a little nibble from it. It is about 1900-2000 years old 🐭
(📷 Christie's) 🏺 AncientBlueSky #Archaeology #RomanArchaeology
(📷 Christie's) 🏺 AncientBlueSky #Archaeology #RomanArchaeology
July 23, 2025 at 6:02 PM
A lovely little bronze #Roman mouse figurine, shown holding a morsel of food in his little front paws (a nut or seed maybe?), perhaps about to take a little nibble from it. It is about 1900-2000 years old 🐭
(📷 Christie's) 🏺 AncientBlueSky #Archaeology #RomanArchaeology
(📷 Christie's) 🏺 AncientBlueSky #Archaeology #RomanArchaeology
Reposted by Sune Borkfelt
‘Good morning,’ the pig replied. ‘I wasn’t sure if you could see me.’
‘It’s a new ability.’
‘Ah,’ said the pig.
‘Tell me, pig, how did you die?’ I asked.
‘That’s a personal question,’ the pig said.
Ceridwen Dovey, ‘Hundstage’ (Only the Animals) (2014) #animals #pigs #literature #BookSky
‘It’s a new ability.’
‘Ah,’ said the pig.
‘Tell me, pig, how did you die?’ I asked.
‘That’s a personal question,’ the pig said.
Ceridwen Dovey, ‘Hundstage’ (Only the Animals) (2014) #animals #pigs #literature #BookSky
July 24, 2025 at 9:01 AM
‘Good morning,’ the pig replied. ‘I wasn’t sure if you could see me.’
‘It’s a new ability.’
‘Ah,’ said the pig.
‘Tell me, pig, how did you die?’ I asked.
‘That’s a personal question,’ the pig said.
Ceridwen Dovey, ‘Hundstage’ (Only the Animals) (2014) #animals #pigs #literature #BookSky
‘It’s a new ability.’
‘Ah,’ said the pig.
‘Tell me, pig, how did you die?’ I asked.
‘That’s a personal question,’ the pig said.
Ceridwen Dovey, ‘Hundstage’ (Only the Animals) (2014) #animals #pigs #literature #BookSky
Reposted by Sune Borkfelt
The swirl of fur and dust and the smell of cat shit both acrid and sweet—the smell of life, for us. The felines appeal through the bars as I waddle through the caged aisles.
@laurajeanmckay.bsky.social, ‘Cats at the Fire Front’ (newsroom.co.nz/2023/02/24/s... )
@laurajeanmckay.bsky.social, ‘Cats at the Fire Front’ (newsroom.co.nz/2023/02/24/s... )
Short story: Cats at the Fire Front, by Laura Jean McKay
The first of four consecutive weekly short stories about cats
newsroom.co.nz
July 22, 2025 at 2:15 PM
The swirl of fur and dust and the smell of cat shit both acrid and sweet—the smell of life, for us. The felines appeal through the bars as I waddle through the caged aisles.
@laurajeanmckay.bsky.social, ‘Cats at the Fire Front’ (newsroom.co.nz/2023/02/24/s... )
@laurajeanmckay.bsky.social, ‘Cats at the Fire Front’ (newsroom.co.nz/2023/02/24/s... )
Reposted by Sune Borkfelt
There we no physical barriers to his freedom, but the lions of the plains do not accept into their respected fraternity an individual bearing in his coat the smell of men.
Beryl Markham, ‘He Was A Good Lion’ (1942)
Beryl Markham, ‘He Was A Good Lion’ (1942)
July 21, 2025 at 12:58 PM
There we no physical barriers to his freedom, but the lions of the plains do not accept into their respected fraternity an individual bearing in his coat the smell of men.
Beryl Markham, ‘He Was A Good Lion’ (1942)
Beryl Markham, ‘He Was A Good Lion’ (1942)
Reposted by Sune Borkfelt
She could tell him to fetch his toys from the upstairs landing and he would. But he walked on all fours, always grunted before he ate, and idly put his finger in his anus and smelled his finger, sometimes licked it.
Colin McAdam, A Beautiful Truth #WorldChimpanzeeDay
Colin McAdam, A Beautiful Truth #WorldChimpanzeeDay
July 14, 2025 at 4:00 PM
She could tell him to fetch his toys from the upstairs landing and he would. But he walked on all fours, always grunted before he ate, and idly put his finger in his anus and smelled his finger, sometimes licked it.
Colin McAdam, A Beautiful Truth #WorldChimpanzeeDay
Colin McAdam, A Beautiful Truth #WorldChimpanzeeDay
Reposted by Sune Borkfelt
‘Do you ever see horses walking up and down the sides of rooms in reality – in fact? Do you?’
Charles Dickens, Hard Times (1854)
Charles Dickens, Hard Times (1854)
July 18, 2025 at 7:15 AM
‘Do you ever see horses walking up and down the sides of rooms in reality – in fact? Do you?’
Charles Dickens, Hard Times (1854)
Charles Dickens, Hard Times (1854)