Dr Heather Browning (Veit)
@zoophilosophy.bsky.social
Scientist & Philosopher | Former zookeeper, now Lecturer at University of Southampton, specialising in animal welfare, sentience, and ethics
Last week @walterveit.bsky.social and I found a little wood pigeon nestling who'd come out of his nest. We were able to care for him at home for a couple of days and he's now safely with a wildlife rescue for his rehabilitation and eventual release 🐦❤️
September 11, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Last week @walterveit.bsky.social and I found a little wood pigeon nestling who'd come out of his nest. We were able to care for him at home for a couple of days and he's now safely with a wildlife rescue for his rehabilitation and eventual release 🐦❤️
Auction of beautiful wildlife art, fundraising for an excellent cause (zoo welfare charity Wild Welfare)
www.jumblebee.co.uk/charityaucti...
www.jumblebee.co.uk/charityaucti...
August 1, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Auction of beautiful wildlife art, fundraising for an excellent cause (zoo welfare charity Wild Welfare)
www.jumblebee.co.uk/charityaucti...
www.jumblebee.co.uk/charityaucti...
Fantastic report from the Humane Slaughter Association on how to transition to humane slaughter for wild-caught fish (of which *trillions* are caught and killed annually)
www.hsa.org.uk/downloads/hs...
www.hsa.org.uk/downloads/hs...
June 20, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Fantastic report from the Humane Slaughter Association on how to transition to humane slaughter for wild-caught fish (of which *trillions* are caught and killed annually)
www.hsa.org.uk/downloads/hs...
www.hsa.org.uk/downloads/hs...
Exciting new research testing cognitive judgment bias as a welfare indicator for wild fish - hoping this marks the beginning of a broader shift toward more widespread inquiry into wild animal welfare
doi.org/10.1016/j.ge...
doi.org/10.1016/j.ge...
April 24, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Exciting new research testing cognitive judgment bias as a welfare indicator for wild fish - hoping this marks the beginning of a broader shift toward more widespread inquiry into wild animal welfare
doi.org/10.1016/j.ge...
doi.org/10.1016/j.ge...
We've just published a new paper, outlining some of the key welfare risks in commercial practices that use cephalopods and decapods, with some recommendations for change and future research directions
doi.org/10.1017/awf....
doi.org/10.1017/awf....
April 24, 2025 at 3:29 PM
We've just published a new paper, outlining some of the key welfare risks in commercial practices that use cephalopods and decapods, with some recommendations for change and future research directions
doi.org/10.1017/awf....
doi.org/10.1017/awf....
Excited to be speaking with Oscar Horta this coming Wednesday (19th) on wild animal welfare. There's still time to register here: nyu.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
March 17, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Excited to be speaking with Oscar Horta this coming Wednesday (19th) on wild animal welfare. There's still time to register here: nyu.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
If this is the difference in visual spectra between dichromats and trichromats, then tetrachromats would have additional new colours laid over the top
January 27, 2025 at 11:21 AM
If this is the difference in visual spectra between dichromats and trichromats, then tetrachromats would have additional new colours laid over the top
New RSPCA Animal Welfare Science Update: featuring work on playing with pet cats, preventing dog bites, harms of puppy farms, boredom in pigs, benefits of slow-growing chickens, behavioural needs of racing horses + using gut microbiota to monitor wild animal welfare
www.rspca.org.au/learn/animal...
www.rspca.org.au/learn/animal...
January 19, 2025 at 11:01 AM
New RSPCA Animal Welfare Science Update: featuring work on playing with pet cats, preventing dog bites, harms of puppy farms, boredom in pigs, benefits of slow-growing chickens, behavioural needs of racing horses + using gut microbiota to monitor wild animal welfare
www.rspca.org.au/learn/animal...
www.rspca.org.au/learn/animal...
Understanding the different perceptual worlds of other animals is a huge part of ensuring their welfare - this new proposal for 'smart glasses' that allow you to see the world as the animal (in this case: chickens) might is a very cool way of making these differences salient
doi.org/10.1016/j.at...
doi.org/10.1016/j.at...
January 19, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Understanding the different perceptual worlds of other animals is a huge part of ensuring their welfare - this new proposal for 'smart glasses' that allow you to see the world as the animal (in this case: chickens) might is a very cool way of making these differences salient
doi.org/10.1016/j.at...
doi.org/10.1016/j.at...
Excited to be here in Oxford for the @gpioxford.bsky.social workshop on global priorities research
December 9, 2024 at 3:19 PM
Excited to be here in Oxford for the @gpioxford.bsky.social workshop on global priorities research
Name a game with a 10/10 soundtrack
November 24, 2024 at 12:50 PM
Name a game with a 10/10 soundtrack
Reminds me of this little stripy football we were lucky enough to see at a UK wildlife park recently
November 11, 2024 at 10:38 AM
Reminds me of this little stripy football we were lucky enough to see at a UK wildlife park recently
Nothing quite as exciting as a new book haul from the library
November 9, 2024 at 4:33 PM
Nothing quite as exciting as a new book haul from the library
So excited to receive the advance copies of our forthcoming book 'What Are Zoos For?'. Available for preorder now: bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/trade/what-a...
November 1, 2024 at 2:36 PM
So excited to receive the advance copies of our forthcoming book 'What Are Zoos For?'. Available for preorder now: bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/trade/what-a...
Looks like the Game has been played for longer than we ever imagined
October 23, 2024 at 9:08 AM
Looks like the Game has been played for longer than we ever imagined
New RSPCA animal welfare science update, featuring research on rehoming stray cats, health of pet rabbits, alternatives to sow crates, the welfare benefits of slower-growing chickens, horse training methods, and social housing of crocodiles
rspca.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/public/Uploa...
rspca.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/public/Uploa...
October 4, 2024 at 9:35 AM
New RSPCA animal welfare science update, featuring research on rehoming stray cats, health of pet rabbits, alternatives to sow crates, the welfare benefits of slower-growing chickens, horse training methods, and social housing of crocodiles
rspca.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/public/Uploa...
rspca.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/public/Uploa...
Interesting preprint arguing that agency (even without sentience) is sufficient for moral status. My own (sentientist) view is that the value of agency can be best captured through its hedonic payoffs, but it's nice to see more emphasis on its importance
nicolasdelon.com/resources/Ag...
nicolasdelon.com/resources/Ag...
September 4, 2024 at 10:58 AM
Interesting preprint arguing that agency (even without sentience) is sufficient for moral status. My own (sentientist) view is that the value of agency can be best captured through its hedonic payoffs, but it's nice to see more emphasis on its importance
nicolasdelon.com/resources/Ag...
nicolasdelon.com/resources/Ag...
I'm not sure how I feel about this sort of work - on the one hand my emotional 'anti killing' response is still so strong, but on the other I do think that if animal farming is going to happen at all, this has to be the best model for it
doi.org/10.1016/j.jr...
doi.org/10.1016/j.jr...
July 20, 2024 at 12:45 PM
I'm not sure how I feel about this sort of work - on the one hand my emotional 'anti killing' response is still so strong, but on the other I do think that if animal farming is going to happen at all, this has to be the best model for it
doi.org/10.1016/j.jr...
doi.org/10.1016/j.jr...
"Free range" eggs can mean a lot of things - as this paper shows, the amount of vegetation cover on the range makes a huge difference to how much space the hens actually use
doi.org/10.1016/j.ap...
doi.org/10.1016/j.ap...
July 17, 2024 at 12:26 PM
"Free range" eggs can mean a lot of things - as this paper shows, the amount of vegetation cover on the range makes a huge difference to how much space the hens actually use
doi.org/10.1016/j.ap...
doi.org/10.1016/j.ap...
Great paper highlighting the importance of considering the impacts of perceptual environments on animal welfare, especially those aspects we don't ourselves perceive
doi.org/10.1016/j.an...
doi.org/10.1016/j.an...
July 13, 2024 at 9:25 PM
Great paper highlighting the importance of considering the impacts of perceptual environments on animal welfare, especially those aspects we don't ourselves perceive
doi.org/10.1016/j.an...
doi.org/10.1016/j.an...
New RSPCA Animal Welfare Science Update is out, covering (among others) positive reinforcement training for cattle, public opinion of greyhound racing, the ethics of animal tourism, alternatives to animal use in research and electrical stunning of fish
www.rspca.org.au/learn/animal...
www.rspca.org.au/learn/animal...
July 5, 2024 at 11:23 AM
New RSPCA Animal Welfare Science Update is out, covering (among others) positive reinforcement training for cattle, public opinion of greyhound racing, the ethics of animal tourism, alternatives to animal use in research and electrical stunning of fish
www.rspca.org.au/learn/animal...
www.rspca.org.au/learn/animal...
A huge problem in animal husbandry with use of high-nutrient feeds is maintaining weight while still providing a feeling of satiety. This paper on 'qualitative feed restriction' nicely shows the welfare benefits of maintaining feed volume with roughage.
doi.org/10.1016/j.ap...
doi.org/10.1016/j.ap...
July 1, 2024 at 1:12 PM
A huge problem in animal husbandry with use of high-nutrient feeds is maintaining weight while still providing a feeling of satiety. This paper on 'qualitative feed restriction' nicely shows the welfare benefits of maintaining feed volume with roughage.
doi.org/10.1016/j.ap...
doi.org/10.1016/j.ap...
Great review of the empirical literature on the welfare benefits of providing choice to animals - concluding primarily that more work is needed (only 13 studies actually found to be asking this question, though most showed positive results)
doi.org/10.1016/j.ap...
doi.org/10.1016/j.ap...
May 30, 2024 at 11:45 AM
Great review of the empirical literature on the welfare benefits of providing choice to animals - concluding primarily that more work is needed (only 13 studies actually found to be asking this question, though most showed positive results)
doi.org/10.1016/j.ap...
doi.org/10.1016/j.ap...
Pleased to have the chance to talk about positive welfare at the 2024 Wild Animal Welfare Committee conference
May 16, 2024 at 9:24 AM
Pleased to have the chance to talk about positive welfare at the 2024 Wild Animal Welfare Committee conference