ANIMALISTAS is a series of short social media episodes in which two high school friends, Nuria and Ana Luna, discuss veganism and speciesism. Nuria argues from a speciesist perspective, while Ana Luna uses antispeciesist arguments.
Nuria argues that human beings deserve more respect than other animals because we are more intelligent. But if the respect someone deserves is determined by their intelligence, what would it imply if some human beings were less intelligent than other animals?
Nuria presents one of the most common arguments used to defend speciesism: the idea that human beings deserve more respect because we have dignity. But what is dignity? Are human beings the only ones who have dignity?
Nuria accuses Ana Luna of taking a radical and extremist position. But “radical” means going to the root of a problem. Is it bad to be radical against a form of discrimination? What does the word “radical” really mean?
From a scientific perspective, Ana Luna challenges the idea that eating animals is necessary for good health. She also explains why plants do not feel and explores the difference between feeling and interacting.
Acaba el curso y Ana Luna le regala a Nuria el libro de Óscar Horta Un paso adelante en defensa de los animales. Nuria se muestra abierta a leerlo y a reflexionar sobre sus argumentos con pensamiento crítico.If animals eat each other in nature, why can’t we do the same? Would you eat animals if you were on a desert island?
Do all lives have the same value? What does the value of a life depend on? Ana Luna argues that it does not depend on sex, skin color, sexual orientation, or species, but on criteria related to the capacity to feel.
Ana Luna points out to Nuria that animals on farms are treated as mere resources and that, therefore, mistreatment is inherent to the production system. But she goes further, arguing that even if their suffering could be avoided, it would still be wrong to consume them.
Aimed at teenagers and with an educational purpose, the book The Voice of Animals invites reflection through critical thinking on different issues of animal ethics that arise when we think about the lives of animals, both in freedom and in captivity.
You can download it for free by signing up using our form.
Aula Animal is an anti-speciesist educational project that began its activity in 2011. After more than a decade of activism, a small group of secondary school teachers started this project with the aim of introducing education based on respect for animals in schools and institutes..
Throughout these years our activities have reached hundreds of students and teachers in Spain and Latin America, and we have been fortunate to collaborate and work together with other teachers interested in animal issues, as well as with other animal welfare organizations..
Aula Animal is a non-profit organization based in Spain. However, we also conduct online activities, primarily talks and reading workshops on “The Voice of Animals” for students ranging from age 10 to university level. Please feel free to contact us if you are interested in us organizing any of your activities..
In our educational activities we use three fundamental pillars:
Our website features educational videos on how to approach issues related to animal ethics at different school levels..
In addition, we regularly organize online teacher training workshops, as well as in-person sessions and courses. If you would like to receive information about our activities, please subscribe to our mailing list.
At Aula Animal, it will be a pleasure to support you and share our resources and experience so that more and more people become involved in education based on respect for animals..
All resources are completely free and freely available; most are my own, and others have been contributed selflessly by other anti-speciesist educators. The book “The Voice of the Animals”It can be downloaded for free..
We also conduct awareness workshops with other organizations interested in animal welfare and anti-speciesism. Over the years, we have carried out activities in numerous associations, including prisons, family groups, private companies, and a variety of other organizations..