In five lectures, VGT Chairman Dr. Martin Balluch will discuss the philosophical basis of the animal rights movement, a topic that was hotly debated in the 1980s and 2000s, but is currently less prominent. That these issues are far from being fully discussed will be evident at our ANIMAL RIGHTS LECTURES – after each one-hour lecture, there will be a short break to refresh oneself before the subsequent discussion. Find more details on the VGT website: https://vgt.at/de/aktuell

Monthly Newsletter Read about our news and latest updates. Hi there, One of the hottest summers on record is officially behind us, although Vienna is still enjoying plenty of sunshine and mild temperatures. As we prepare for the beginning of another busy semester, we’d like to take this opportunity to share some news, welcome new members to our team, and tell you about upcoming activities and events. We’re delighted to welcome two new members to the VAS team: Astou Marasz

We are proud to announce the speakers for our 2026 Winter Lecture Series including lectures by scholars based in Vienna who are working in the field of animal studies: 5 November 2026, “Animated Wor(l)ds” by Eva Spiegelhofer and Dr. Elizabeth Tavella (WU, 17:30-19:30). 25 November 2026, “Designing Cities with Animals: The Promise and Challenges of Animal-Aided Design” by Prof. Dr. Thomas E. Hauck (TU, 17:30-19:30). 16 December 2026, VAS End of Year Social (TBA) 27 January 202

In June, Dr. Neha Vora, Professor of Anthropology in the Department of International Studies at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, gave the last talk of VAS’s summer lecture series 2026. In her fascinating talk, she explored the interconnections between multispecies communities, migration, and homemaking using an unusual and inspiring methodology: observing and analysing “cat walks". The starting point for her work was the idea that states in gene

As of September 2026 VAS Founding Member Arianna Ferrari will be coordinating the EU-funded ALT-PROACT - ALTernative PROteins: Awareness, Co-creation, Transformation. The project is investigating what citizens understand about alternative proteins as well as how they can be better informed about them and involved in public dialogue and education on the matter. This will be achieved through conducting multi-lingual surveys; engaging in a range of workshops, forums, and storyte

In April 2026, Serrin Routledge-Prior gave a highly informative and engaging talk exploring the joint subjugation women and other animals in society, and the absence of women thinkers the history of political thought, including contemporary political thought on animals. Her thought-provoking presentation was part of a larger project she is working on in which she aims to “think with” historical and contemporary women theorists, especially those whose reflections on the status

Several members of VAS made their way to Utrecht from 14–17 April for the 11th Biennial EASLCE Conference – an event whose title, Join the Orca Uprising! – Nonhuman Resistance and Multispecies (In)Justice, managed to be at once tongue-in-cheek and quietly radical. Beneath the splashy aquatic imagery, the gathering offered a genuinely serious and intellectually rich exploration of how humans relate to, think about, and live alongside other species. The result was a program ful

On March 2 nd , Spanish philosopher Susana Monsó gave a fascinating talk at the Vetmeduni about her book “ Playing Possum: How Animals Understand Death ,” whose German translation “ Das Schweigen der Schimpansen: Wie Tiere den Tod verstehen ” was recently awarded Austria's 2026 “Science Book of the Year ” in the category of science/technology by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Women, Science and Research. [1] Drawing on the fields of comparative thanatology and the philos

In her recent talk ‘ Animal Futures in an Economy of Cultivated Meat ,’ Dr. Arianna Ferrari, ethicist and philosopher of science and technology from the Centre for Innovation Systems and Policy, laid bare the complexities and challenges surrounding the development, production, and sale of cultivated meat (also known as ‘cellular meat’ or ‘lab-grown meat’). With a published monograph and numerous articles on the topic, Vienna Animal Studies could not have asked for a more qua

On February 26th, John Sanbonmatsu, Professor of Philosophy at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, gave an inspiring online talk on his most recent book The Omnivore’s Deception: What We Get Wrong about Meat, Animals, and Ourselves, published in 2025 by NYU Press. In his book, Sanbonmatsu, draws on a wide range of thinkers to analyze the existential dimensions of speciesism and to deconstruct how the hegemonic system reproduces itself. Borrowing Marx’ concept

On January 27 th , Svea Jörgensen gave an interesting talk at the Messerli Research Institute entitled “ Struggling to Balance the Scales: Empirical Insights from the Ethical Review of Animal Research in Sweden .” Svea outlined details of her PhD project, which investigates the ethical review process of applications for animal research in Sweden. There are six regional Animal Ethics Committees (AECs) in Sweden that are tasked with the transparent ethical reviews of animal res

Have you ever thought about whether animals understand death? Well, they might very well do. This year's “ Science Book of the Year ” award in the science/technology category has been awarded to Spanish philosopher Susana Monsó, who argues in favor of a concept of death in animals by combining philosophical conceptualization with empirical evidence from animal behavior. The prize is awarded annually by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Women, Science, and Research. Susana wr

We are proud to announce the speakers for our 2026 Summer Lecture Series including lectures by scholars based in Vienna who are working in the field of animal studies: 12 March 2026, “Animal Futures in an Economy of Cultivated Meat” by Dr. Arianna Ferrari (WU, 18:00-20:00). 9 April 2026, “From Refugees to Residents and Beyond: The Legal Status of Animals in Sanctuaries” by Dr. Zipporah Weisberg and Sona Kalafusova (WU, 18:00-20:00). 26 May 2026, “Do Organoids Matter in Their

In late November 2025, the 9th Austrian Animal Rights Congress ( Tierrechtskongress ) convened in Vienna, bringing together activists, scholars, and advocates from across the German-speaking world to share their campaigns, strategies, and theoretical reflections. The congress serves as a vital gathering point for those working daily on behalf of animals - offering a view of the broader movement landscape and fostering connections between diverse projects and initiatives. This

Am Freitag, 12.12.25, haben die drei Autoren Univ.-Prof. Dr. Michael Rosenberger von der Katholischen Privatuniversität Linz sowie Dr. Konstantin Deininger und Univ.-Prof. Dr. Herwig Grimm von der Veterinärmedizinischen Universität Wien ein gemeinsam erarbeitetes Lehr- und Studienbuch zur Tierethik vorgestellt. Das Lehrbuch, das im Nomos-Verlag in Baden-Baden erschienen ist, gibt einen Überblick über wichtige Ansätze der Tierethik in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Seine Leitfrage

A few years ago, animals crept into the Nuremberg University of Music, settled in, and became an integral part of the university landscape, as they have elsewhere in international academic life. We owe this to Human-Animal Studies, the scientific field of research that examines animals as subjects, but also as active, feeling, and thinking co-creators of a shared world. A whole range of disciplines, from philosophy and animal ethics to biology, from cultural studies to veteri

Leon Borgdorf at the Messerli Research Institute (Photo Credit: Thomas Kainberger) On December 1st, Leon Borgdorf gave a talk at the Messerli Research Institute on mercy as a fundamental virtue in animal ethics. Leon, a PhD candidate at Utrecht University, works on the ethics of emerging technologies in animal agriculture — especially genome editing — and looks at these issues through the lens of virtue ethics. Instead of focusing only on rules or consequences, virtue ethics

Dr. Zipporah Weisberg gives a lecture on humanism at the University of Vienna (Photo Credit: Oliver Hirtenfelder) On November 11, 2025, Dr. Zipporah Weisberg – who teaches at the University of Ottawa and is a guest researcher at the Messerli Research Institute in Vienna – gave a compelling talk at the University of Vienna’s Department of Philosophy. Her central message was both surprising and refreshing: despite decades of critique, the humanist tradition still contains valu

A poster I designed for the event. On Halloween, I attended the Multi-Species Poetry Event at the Fledermaus Station Österreich (Vienna Bat Station), as part of a larger international public philosophy project organized by Mara-Daria Cojocaru, philosopher and poet. Notes from a Biscuit Tin brings together researchers, philosophers, animal caretakers, and artists from around the world to explore different animal species through research, storytelling, and poetry. While other g

Dr. Judith Benz-Schwarzburg gives a lecture on virtual animals at the Immersium in Vienna (Photo Credit: Oliver Hirtenfelder) On the 8th of October 2025 the Vienna Animal Studies group hosted its largest lecture yet. Held within the impressive in Immersium in Vienna Dr. Judith Benz-Schwarzburg, a Senior Researcher in Animal Ethics and Animal Cognition at the Messerli Research Institute, talked to us about the ethics of digitally representing animals. The event started with a