Events
Discover events involving the Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience. This page includes information on upcoming hosted and co-hosted events, as well as recordings, write-ups and other contributions from past events where available.
To hear about future activities, follow us on LinkedIn and Bluesky or join our mailing list.
LSE Public event - free and open to all
23 November 2026
LSE campus and online
Registrations for in-person attendance open on Monday 19 October 2026.
David DeGrazia will present ideas from his new book, Investigating Moral Status, exploring what it means to have moral status and how this concept applies to animals, brain organoids and artificial intelligence. The talk will examine the role of sentience in ethical theory and consider implications for issues including meat-eating, animal research and emerging technologies. A panel discussion will follow.
Previous
Current academic year 2026-27
This public event introduces the Coller Dolittle Prize and its 2026 winner, Dr Julie Elie, who discusses her work decoding the language of zebra finches. We also hear from Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Dr Irene Pepperberg about her extensive research on parrots. The event includes the presentation of both awards by Jeremy Coller, followed by an audience Q&A.
"C-Tests" workshop of the Bamberg Mathematical Consciousness Science Initiative
Professor Jonathan Birch contributed a talk to this wider initiative, called "To Understand Consciousness, Study Insects". The talk explores consciousness science and argues that our best chance of discovering the nature of consciousness may lie in understanding the insect brain. The ability to map neural circuitry at the level of individual neurons makes it possible to investigate questions that would be far more difficult to address otherwise.
Previous academic year 2025-26
Cross-Cultural Dialogue on Animal Sentience
Organised by PrashantAdvait Foundation, this public event brought together Professor Jonathan Birch and Acharya Prashant, a philosopher and author from the Global South, for a cross-cultural dialogues on animal sentience. Hosted as part of London Climate Action Week, with discussion explored human-animal relations, animal sentience and the role of reflection, policy and law.
Common Ground on Animal Ethics - When Anthropology Meets Philosophy
This academic workshop built on the growing strengths in animal ethics research at LSE, including the Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience and the Anthropology Department’s work on ethics and human-animal relations. Supported by Professor Catherine Allerton, it brought together established philosophers and anthropologists alongside early career scholars, creating a platform for shared inquiry, debate, and future collaboration.
In this public lecture, Professor Nicolas Treich presented the main arguments of his book Animal Economics, which explores the complexity of human attitudes towards animals and demonstrates how economic theory can help incorporate animal welfare into decision-making. The lecture was followed by a panel discussion exploring the book's themes in greater depth.
How AI is helping - and harming - animals
This public event marked the launch of the Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience. Following introductory remarks from Roman Frigg, Larry Kramer, Jeremy Coller and Jonathan Birch, an expert panel discussed our Animals and AI research priority area. The discussion explored recent developments in artificial intelligence and their potential to both support and undermine animal welfare
LSE Festival 2026 - Food Futures
This public event, chaired by our Centre Director Professor Jonathan Birch, brought together experts to discuss the transition towards more sustainable and planet-friendly food systems, including the ethical, logistical and technical challenges involved. Dr Feiyang Wang, contributed insights from her research on the cultivated meat sector as one potential vision of a future food system.
LSE Festival 2026 - Poster exhibition
This exhibition featured a poster by Dr Steven McCulloch on Veterinary Power, exploring the role of the veterinary profession in shaping policies and practices concerning meat consumption.
Coller Dolittle Prize 2026
Hosted by the Jeremy Coller Foundation in partnership with Tel-Aviv University, the Coller Dolittle Prize celebrates outstanding research advancing the science of animal sentience. In 2026, the prize was awarded to Dr Julie Elie for research on zebra finch communication. Professor Jonathan Birch served as a scientific judge on the panel.
CARMA Conference 2026
Dr Feiyang Wang and Kristina Kiminiute presented a research poster at the CARMA Conference 2026, a multidisciplinary conference focused on cellular agriculture. Their presentation shared early findings from a mixed-methods study combining interviews and quantitative studies.
Read our write-up and access the poster.
Caring Vets Conference 2026
Dr Steven McCulloch delivered a keynote address exploring veterinary professional codes of conduct and their relationship to animal welfare and the public interest. The talk highlighted that institutional policy positions often align closely with existing production systems, and emphasised the importance of ensuring that values, policy, and practice are aligned.
The 4th International Online Conference on Animals (IOCAN) 2026
Dr Steven McCulloch delivered a keynote presentation entitled "Captured or Independent? Veterinary Institutions, Animal Welfare Science, and the Politics of Farmed Animal Welfare and Meat Reduction", exploring the relationship between veterinary institutions, animal welfare science and public policy.
Coller Animal Law Firm (CALF) 2026
This event focussed on shaping the future of UK animal welfare legislation following the launch of the UK Animal Welfare Strategy. Professor Jonathan Birch participated in a panel discussion exploring different approaches to influencing UK policy for improved outcomes for farmed animals.
The Oxford Real Farming Conference (ORFC) 2026
Dr Natasha Boyland participated in a panel discussion entitled "Sentient Beings: What science and AI reveal about farmed animals". The session explored how rapidly developing AI technologies could influence our understanding of animal sentience and shape future policy and practice.
Chaired by Professor Jonathan Birch, this public lecture explored the ethical challenges of conservation, including questions around intervention in nature, balancing biodiversity and animal welfare, and involving communities in conservation efforts.
The London Vet Show 2025
Professor Jonathan Birch participated in a panel discussion on "AI on farms - is it good for vets and animal welfare?". The session explored emerging technologies in farming and considered both the opportunities and challenges they may present for animal welfare and practices.