51: Animal Rights with Esther Salomon (Co-Founder of Animal Think Tank)

Animal rights activism is at the heart of Esther’s work and life.
In this podcast, Esther shares her thinking on the entanglements
between the way we treat animals and how we live in consumer
capitalist cultures. Esther discusses the economic structures
behind our mistreatment of animals and the ways in which they are
commodified and treated as resources that mirror slavery. She
then also offers ideas about what a future world could look like;
where animals and human beings have a healthy relationship with
one another  

Simon and Esther discuss what facing animal rights issues bring
up in others, often disassociation and guilt.  To live with
the awareness of how we treat animals is to live with a
burden.  We all like to protect the idea of our ‘good-self’;
therefore, to acknowledge the animal suffering we collude with is
a direct challenge to our 'good-selves', hence our
defensiveness.  Esther and Simon discuss whether animals are
'individuals', and what rights they have in relation to
individual humans.  Esther discusses broader social
movements, direct action and mass mobilisations in this
fascinating podcast. 

Bio
Esther delved into full-time Animal Justice work early in life.
She dedicates her time towards understanding and building
people-powered organisations capable of creating transformative
change. She helped to kick-start Animal Rebellion as a full-time
member in 2019 and supported it through its first wave of
resistance. Esther is the co-founder and Strategic Lead of Animal
Think Tank, where she works to promote nonviolence, mass direct
action, civil resistance and grassroots activism.

Follow Esther

Websites:

https://animalthinktank.org.uk
https://www.plantbasedfuture.animalrebellion.org

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/esther-salomon-0a89a11b9/