17/04/2026
Last summer, I gave a talk at Oxford University for the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics and my presentation was titled “Re-evaluating Equine Welfare: The Effects of Prolonged Stabling and the Need for Welfare-Centred Alternatives”. The theme was “Animals in Captivity” which was very fitting…and made me very motivated to introduce the frame of prolonged stabling as captivity.
I was the only one out of 70 speaking from a behavioural perspective, which made it even more special. There was so much interest in my talk from people in completely different fields…from lawyers tackling welfare cases to economists exploring how animals are valued.
Many lawyers mentioned how often behavioural issues are central in their in welfare cases, but one lawyer lost a case due to a lack of expert input on behavioural issues with elephants. I suggested bringing in expert witnesses when behaviour plays a key role in their arguments. These details really matter and can change the outcome. It just showed how much we need to work across disciplines if we want to make real progress in animal welfare.
It wasn’t a conference I’d have thought to go to, but I’m so glad I did. The conversations that followed were inspiring and reminded me how valuable it is to share behavioural perspectives beyond our usual circles.
I’m also really looking forward to seeing my paper on this topic published soon. Animal ethics already engages with behaviour, but often not in such detail, so it’s exciting to add that depth to the discussion 🐴✨
