Talking Animals, Law & Philosophy event (Charlotte Blattner): 'On the Ubiquity of Human-Animal Conflict and What Transitional Justice Can Contribute to Its Resolution'

Despite growing societal concerns for non-human animals, incremental legal reforms, and new advances in moral and political philosophy, our relationships with non-human animals remain inherently hostile to this day. Be it large-scale domestication, control of reproduction, slaughter on the assembly line, habitat destruction, or refusal to grant standing in court, we keep non-human animals in conditions of systemic and ongoing injustice. In the case of inter-human relations, it is established knowledge that periods of conflict and repression, in which systematic human rights violations were committed, cannot adequately be addressed by the normal justice system. To end impunity, (re)build social trust, repair a fractured justice system, or build a democratic system of governance, a special set of legal and extra-legal measures is required, broadly referred to as principles of transitional justice. In this talk, I explore whether measures like an acknowledgment of wrong, apology, collective memory, trials, reparations, therapeutic services, programs for education, and memorials can similarly help reconcile human-animal communities. Specifically, I examine i) whether there is need for principles of transitional justice; ii) what those should look like for human-animal relationships and how they must be adapted to be meaningful to all parties; and iii) whether there is hope for transitional justice avant la lettre in case of ongoing human-animal conflict.

All our events in the Talking Animals, Law & Philosophy series are free and open to all. No registration required.

For further information, please contact Raffael Fasel (rnf22@cam.ac.uk) or see www.animalrightslaw.org.