MINI SERIES - Part 2 of 3: Can Animals Give Consent?

Welcome back to Part 2 on our series of exploring the concepts of consent! 

In this installment, we explore the ideas and felt sense of consent in other types of beings. To really be able and explore this deeply, we have to bring in another concept as well – sentience. 

What is sentience?

While the definitions vary depending on what being you are trying to find a definition for, I thought I would bring forward one possible definition that is accepted within the animal welfare field: This is an excerpt from an article, Sentience: What It Means and Why It’s Important, By Jane Kotzmann (April 8, 2020; https://sentientmedia.org/). 

“Dr. James Kirkwood, veterinarian and former director of the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare, and David DeGrazia, Elton Professor of Philosophy at George Washington University, consider sentience as the capacity to have feelings. Daniel Boone, Emeritus Professor of Animal Welfare at Cambridge University a sentient being is able to ‘evaluate the actions of others in relation to itself and third parties, to remember some of its own actions and their consequences, to assess risks and benefits, to have some feelings, and to have some degree of awareness.’” 

This working definition also invites you to explore another question:  

• What beings do you consider having the ability to have feelings and the ability to express those in and through interacts with others in a state of awareness of self and others?

In this video, I offer a guided meditation and imagery activity that allows you to explore these questions with a “being” of your choice. I also share a reflection practice you can experience throughout the week to bring in and open the door for awareness of how and where the concepts of consent, compliance, and submission might be present within your connections right now. 

Up next week – Part  3!

In the last installment of this series, one of the many questions we will dive into is how do we allow this expanded awareness to inform our interactions with others so that we can match our actions to our values of sentience and consent?

Stay tuned!