Priority areas

Our team includes psychological and behavioural sciences experts, who are investigating how humans think, feel and act towards other animals.

Through behavioural science research, we seek to better understand which types of information have the power to change human attitudes and behaviour towards animals. For example, can animal sentience narratives lead to more pet owners choosing to buy plant-based or lab-grown pet foods? This research will help us identify effective behavioural nudges towards more ethically-informed choices in everyday decisions affecting animals.

Our aim is to help to move the public from indifference to more informed decision-making, making the world a better place for all sentient beings.

Our research builds upon earlier work led by Professor Jonathan Birch and his teams, which explore the debate over the nature of sentience and criterion for its attribution to non-human animals. Amongst this work is the Foundations of Animal Sentience (ASENT) project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC), and Birch’s Open Access book, The Edge of Sentience, which makes a case for extending welfare protections to a wide range of invertebrates – such as insects and crustaceans - on a precautionary basis.

This work has already informed policy change. Commissioned and funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the team produced a Review of the Evidence of Sentience in Cephalopod Molluscs and Decapod Crustaceans, which helped to shape the UK’s Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022, recognising octopuses, crabs, lobsters and shrimps as sentient beings. We seek to build on this momentum, continuing to inform ethical policy and practice for all sentient beings.

In addition, we are collaborating with insect expert Professor Lars Chittka at Queen Mary, University of London, who is leading experiments into the behaviour of black soldier flies. This research will assess whether the sophisticated behaviours seen in bees – which have persuaded many people of their sentience – are also present in these widely farmed insects. And, if so, what does this mean for policy, regulation and industry standards in insect farming?

As the use of artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly expands, we strive to ensure that nonhuman animals are not forgotten in discussions of AI governance, ethics and safety. Our Centre Director, Professor Birch, is already leading the conversation, having published an article highlighting the dangers of automated AI in farming operations, along with a set of guiding principles for regulation. Our ongoing work seeks to expand upon this, clarifying the ethical basis of the principles and broadening the range of animals considered, including wild, companion and farmed animals.

Key to developing meaningful guidance will be systematic consultations with a wide range of stakeholders including policymakers, tech developers, animal advocates and industry representatives. We aim to understand which principles these groups would endorse and develop a code of practice that reflects a shared commitment to the responsible use of AI in relation to animals.

Our goal is to make real-world impact. We aim to translate our research into user-friendly resources, including accessible guides to help regulators, industries and advocates apply ethical principles in everyday actions.

Supported by the Global School of Sustainability (GSoS) at LSE and Open Philanthropy, our research will map and analyse veterinary association policies on farmed animal welfare and sustainable agriculture. The work will focus on whether and how these organisations seek to address quantified meat‑reduction targets, such as the National Food Strategy.

This research will seek to understand barriers towards meeting such targets, build coalitions, and achieve positive impact on position and policy towards meat reduction and farmed animal welfare.