Animal rights and indigenous traditions in the century of anthropocentrism

Mari-Ann Susi

Chapter 20 in Research Handbook on Animal Law and Animal Rights, 2025, pp 391-408 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This article focuses on the impasse between dominant society and indigenous understandings of humans’ place in the world and places this impasse in the framework of anthropocentrism versus biocentrism. Indigenous approaches to the human‒animal relationship are fundamentally different in comparison with the normative and policy approaches of contemporary societies. Indigenous people regard animals as equal to humans, and in their biocentric worldview, respect for animals occupies a central place. In contrast, contemporary animal welfare legislation in the world is cementing the perception of a watershed between human and non-human animals. Yet, animal rights discourse in industrialised societies is increasingly moving closer to the indigenous perception, where ethical expectations are channelled into foundational legislative descriptive norms.

Keywords: Anthropocentrism; Equality; Indigenous people; Industrial paradigms; Indigenous approaches to animals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035324873
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