Shows
The Animal HighlightS5E9: Red Kites - Conservation and The Ethical Dilemmas of Wildlife TranslocationVirginia explores how the recovery of red kites in Britain has been shaped by international efforts and cross-border collaborations between governments and NGOs. Thinking about these birds, Virginia raises questions and concerns about translocation, culture, and species conservation. Recorded: 14 December 2023 Featured: International Relations with Andrea Schapper on The Animal TurnNatural EnglandRoyal Society for Protection of Birds Animal Culture with Carl Safinaon The Animal TurnBears on Displayat Queen’s University Virginia Thomas is an environmental social scientist with a PhD in Sociology. She is...2025-07-2813 min
The Animal HighlightS5E8: Wolf Rewilding - Rethinking Risk and CoexistenceVirginia tells us how grey wolves are reclaiming territories across Europe and North America through a process known as auto-rewilding—autonomously returning to lands from which humans once drove them out. This powerful expression of nonhuman agency challenges our conventional approach to wildlife management and invites us to reconsider what coexistence means in the Anthropocene. Recorded: 22 November 2023 Featured: S6E8: Re-Animalization with Krithika Srinivasan on The Animal TurnRe-animalising wellbeing: Multispecies justice after development by Krithika SrinivasanRespecting Nature’s Autonomy in Relationship with Humanity by Ned Hettinger V...2025-07-2112 min
The Animal HighlightS5E7: Mink Concerns - The Cost of Fur Through a Photographer's LensIn this Animal Highlight, fellow Virginia Thomas uses one of Jo-Anne McArthur’s images as her inspiration. She compares and contrasts the lives of mink kept for fur with those of wild mink before reflecting on some of the ethical and environmental concerns that emerge from using mink for fur. Recorded: 12 October 2023 Featured: S6E7: Animal Photojournalism with Jo-Anne McArthur on The Animal Turn. We Animals MediaCovid Outbreaks On Mink Farms Stir Controversy Among Scientists on NBC News NOWAmerican Mink and the Cost of Fur by Virginia Thomas...2025-07-1410 min
The Animal HighlightS5E6: Brown Dog - The Forgotten Terrier Who Sparked a MovementIn this Animal Highlight, fellow Virginia Thomas talks about Brown Dog, a canine who in 1903 was subjected to vivisection at University College London. Two activists brought his plight to the attention of the International Antivivisection Society and what ensued was a series lengthy legal and social battles commonly referred to as "The Brown Dog Affair."Recorded: 26 October 2023 Featured: S6E6: Social Movement Mobilization and Feminism with Corey Lee Wrenn on The Animal Turn.S5E5: Animal Testing and its Alternatives with Thomas Hartung on The Animal Tur...2025-07-0716 min
The Animal HighlightS5E5: Honeybees - Exploited Labour and Sticky EthicsIn this Animal Highlight, fellow Virginia Thomas discusses honeybees and the ways in which they are exploited for their honey. She notes how much labour goes into making honey and the scale of the industry that relies on it. Because of the violence and exploitation in the industry vegans do not eat honey.Recorded: 26 October 2023 Featured: S6E5: Abolition with Gary Francione on The Animal Turn. The Bees of the World by Charles D Michener.World Bee Day by the FAO. Bees and the Politics of Honey by Virginia Thoma...2025-06-3010 min
The Animal HighlightS5E4: European Wildcat - Dilemmas of ConservationIn this Animal Highlight, fellow Virginia Thomas discusses the European Wild Cat and their entangled relationships with domesticated cats. She notes how the interbreeding between these two species has conservationists worried and has resulted in a range of, oftentimes, violent interventions into their animals’ lives.Recorded: 12 October 2023 Featured: S5E3: Feral and Invasive Species with Lauren van Patter on The Animal Turn.S6E4: Violence with Dinesh Wadiwel on The Animal Turn. Scottish ‘Highland Tiger’ wildcat more endangered than Asian cousin on the BBC.Giraffe Marius slaughtered in Copenhagen Zoo, fed t...2025-06-2314 min