Research
Research programme
We are committed to delivering on three initial priority areas, which guide our direction:
- Priority one: to develop socially impactful ways of communicating information about animal sentience that significantly shift public attitudes and behaviour.
- Priority two: to produce new evidence, arguments and proposals that drive debate around the ethics of farming invertebrates.
- Priority three: to produce evidence, arguments and proposals to ensure the AI sector respects all sentient beings.
We also host a Research Fellow working on Veterinary Policy and farmed animal welfare.
We are also collaborating with New York University (NYU) on a Seed Fund Project, aimed at investigating site-level climate hazards to industrial animal agriculture.
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Dr Feiyang Wang, Kristina Kiminiute and Dr Frederic Basso are investigating how humans think, feel and act towards other animals. Their current project combines quantitative behavioural experiments with qualitative interviews, involving key stakeholders across the cultivated meat industry. Their mixed‑methods approach aims to build a picture of attitudes across the cultivated meat landscape, and identify which types of information and messages have the power to shift public attitudes and consumer choices.
A central question guiding the project is whether narratives about animal sentience can encourage more ethical everyday decisions - for example, whether framing pet‑food choices through the lens of sentience might lead more owners to consider cultivated meat.
The findings will advance existing literature and aim to inform industry on evidence‑based communication strategies to promote more ethically informed choices.
Ultimately, the aim for this priority area is to help move the public from indifference to informed, compassionate decision‑making - contributing to a better world for all sentient beings.
This priority area builds upon earlier work led by Professor Jonathan Birch through the Foundations of Animal Sentience (ASENT) project. This work led to Birch’s award-winning 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.
ASENT has already contributed to significant 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. Most recently, the UK government has banned the live boiling of lobsters. The same evidence base has also influenced international debates on cephalopod welfare, including the arguments underpinning California’s decision to ban octopus farming - legislation that draws heavily on the consensus around octopus intelligence, sentience and welfare risks.
Professor Jonathan Birch and PhD student Eva Read are currently working on an academic book on invertebrate sentience, aimed at scientists, policymakers, and animal advocates to provide a robust and accessible resource.
Additional ongoing collaborations include work with insect expert Professor Lars Chittka (Queen Mary, University of London), who is assessing whether complex behaviours seen in bees also appear in widely farmed insects such as black soldier flies. These findings are expected to inform ethical standards in insect farming.
The aim for this priority is to ensure that emerging evidence is meaningfully communicated so that it can inform policy practice - translating research into real-world change for invertebrate species.
As the use of AI rapidly expands, we strive to ensure that nonhuman animals are not forgotten in discussions of AI governance, ethics and safety. Professor Jonathan Birch, is advancing the conversation, having published an article highlighting the dangers of automated AI in farming operations, along with a set of guiding principles for regulation.
Initial work in this area involved mapping the emerging animals and AI sector, including identifying over 500 startups operating within the space. Professor Jonathan Birch and Research Assistants, Isabella Logothetis and Spencer Jury subsequently published the LSE Blog article, "Should you let AI train your dog? The lawless world of AI and animals".
The centre's launch event on 30 September 2025 brought together key stakeholders for a workshop focussed on the use of AI within aquaculture. This was followed by a public lecture on the topic, "How AI is helping - and harming - animals", footage of which is now available.
Dr Natasha Boyland, a zoologist with experience of animal advocacy from NGO Compassion in World Farming, is advancing this priority area. Together with Professor Jonathan Birch, Bob Fischer (Rethink Priorities, Texas State University), Jeff Sebo (Center for Mind, Ethics and Policy, New York University) and Toni Sims (Center for Mind, Ethics and Policy, New York University), Dr Natasha Boyland is working on the an independent report examining how AI affects non-human animals across sectors, with particular attention to farmed animals, wild animals, urban animals, and other large and neglected populations.
Additionally, we are working on a targeted intervention in the aquaculture sector, where upcoming research will examine existing certification schemes in partnership with an NGO operating in this space. This work aims to develop templates for the responsible use of AI in aquaculture - templates that prioritise animal welfare over economic imperatives.
The overall goal for this area is to produce include evidence-based recommendations to inform both research, policy and practice.
Supported by the Global School of Sustainability (GSoS) at LSE and Open Philanthropy, this priority area is led by Dr Steven McCulloch.
Current work focuses on veterinary associations and their policies on farmed animal welfare and sustainable agriculture. This includes examining how these organisations address - or fail to address - quantified meat‑reduction targets, such as those outlined in the National Food Strategy. In January 2026, Dr Steven McCulloch published an article in veterinary journal Vet Record, "Vets must support meat reduction for the benefit of people, the planet and animals”.
Ongoing work includes a comprehensive scoping study and a case study focusing on British pigs, alongside engagement and dissemination activities across the sector. This research programme is expected to contribute significantly to debates around veterinary professional attitudes, policy, and engagement.
Through the appointment of Dr Steven McCulloch, we aim to identify barriers, build coalitions, and support positive changes in policy positions and organisational practice relating to meat reduction and farmed animal welfare.
The LSE-NYU research seed funding aims to strengthen ties between the two institutions by supporting research projects rooted in a shared commitment to addressing key global challenges.
Together with Sonali McDermid, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at New York University, we are investigating sites of industrialised animal agriculture and their exposure to climate hazards such as extreme weather events.
Our aim is to assess the environmental impacts of industrialised animal agriculture and develop an evidence base that can inform future decision‑makers, policymakers, and investors working in the food‑systems space.