We don’t mean your name, or even what you do for work or school – we mean “who are you”. The “who” that we are is the result of a combination of facets of our identity that are, in themselves, a combination of other things. Who we are today is not the same as who we were in the past, or who we will be in the future, interdependent on so many other things within and outside of ourselves. What is important to you in terms of your identity and who you are is different from who someone else will be and what is important to them. Of course, it is sometimes easy to fall into the trap of looking at the world through the narrow lens of our own experience; we see the world in a particular way, and we see identity in a particular way, which can mean it becomes a challenge to understand the perspectives of others who experience the world and navigate identity differently to us.

Identity is shaped by our life experiences – how we are brought up, where we are brought up, childhood experiences, ...

Animals and Social Media: Where are your clicks going?

Please note that while examples of different types of content are mentioned and alluded to within this post, we do not encourage actively seeking out content involving animals whose wellbeing may be compromised. We encourage all to be mindful of how their engagement with content can lead to that content receiving more attention, thus encouraging creators to continue sharing problematic videos, photos, and other content involving animals online.

Animals in the age of social media

In today’s increasingly digital world, animals have become common sights across social media platforms. Many zoos, aquariums, animal sanctuaries, and other facilities rely on social media as an important venue for marketing themselves and raising awareness about their work; videos and photos drive traffic to both their websites and their sites, leading to donations, human behaviour change, and other positive outcomes for the facility. Consider, for ex...

Compassionate zoo grounds for everyone: Care and regard for undesired animals

Written by Sabrina Brando and Max Norman

Who are undesired animals?

Zoos and aquariums are not only home to a myriad of species in human care, but also to a multitude of free-living wildlife species that call the facility grounds their home. Animal care facilities, thus, face the complex challenge of managing these so-termed ‘undesirable’ species that are not deliberately housed. These so-called "pest" species can include rodents, bird and insect populations that have the potential to damage property and infrastructure, spread disease, compromise animal wellbeing through injury, illness, or resource competition, and they may also pose risks to visitor and staff safety. Nonetheless, they have become reliant on our facilities as places of shelter, as a food source, and safe places from predation and other pressures of the outside world.

Compassion for all beings

While undesirable, these animals have an ...