Philosophy and Animal Welfare Studies (PAWS) Group

Vision

To advance ethical understanding of, and practical solutions for, the treatment of non-human animals in science, society, and policy through rigorous, interdisciplinary research.

Mission

We are a collaborative research group committed to examining the moral status of animals and improving their welfare through bioethics, philosophy, empirical science, and public reasoning. Our work integrates conceptual analysis with applied focus on real-world challenges.

Purpose

To foster a vibrant intellectual community that explores the ethical dimensions of human–animal relations, supports high-impact scholarship, and informs responsible decision-making across domains such as food systems, biomedical research, environmental policy, and animal welfare.

We work to

Critically analyse the ethical dimensions of emerging technologies affecting animals (e.g., artificial intelligence, gene editing, cultured meat, space exploration, human-animal chimeras, and moral enhancement understood as the impact of human moral enhancement on the welfare of animals)
Investigate institutional and policy frameworks involving farmed animals, wild animals, and animals used in research
Advance reform-oriented bioethics that is both conceptually rigorous and responsive to real-world constraints
Contribute to international and regional debates on animal welfare, including underexplored contexts in East and Southeast Asia, and novel contexts such as interspecies communication and space-based animal agriculture
Support early-career scholars and mid-career scholars looking to switch to animal ethics research
Encourage cross-disciplinary, high-impact collaborations