The Fabric of Zoodemocracy

Members of democratic communities generally do things that, together, sustain those democracies. Community members often cooperate, reciprocate, act according to some sense of justice, help their neighbours, and so on. These practices are framed by social norms and values that serve as reference points to coordinate our actions, resolve conflicts, etc. Together, these activities, social norms, and values constitute and sustain the fabric of our democracies; without them our poleis would fray. In this presentation, Pablo will explore what he calls the fabric of zoodemocracy, asking whether the kinds of activities, social norms, and values that are required to sustain a democracy can also be found in multispecies communities such as farmed animal sanctuaries. He will do this by providing a political reading of the data I gathered at VINE sanctuary, where he conducted a multispecies ethnography for two months.