Hidden lives: the animals behind the products we consume – photo essay
Hidden: Animals in the Anthropocene is a set of labor by 40 photojournalists from round the world, documenting the lives of animals used for analysis, leisure and meals. “The animals we use most in our daily lives are hidden. They’re hidden away in factory farms, fur farms, and in labs that use them in research and testing,” says photographer Jo-Anne McArthur, who co-edited the collection. “They are also hidden euphemistically; we don’t say we’re eating a calf, for example. We say we’re eating veal.”
“As animal rights activists, our battle is in opposition to the highly effective enterprises which have normalised the torment and killing of billions of animals for meals, clothes, leisure and experimentation every year. Like battle photographers documenting warfare and different humanitarian crises, the courageous photojournalists featured on this guide deserve our acclaim.
Their work has made it inconceivable for exploitative industries to plausibly deny the agony and struggling going down behind closed doorways, intentionally saved out of the public consciousness,” write McArthur and her co-editor Keith Wilson in the guide published at the finish of final yr.
Photographs of farmed and captive animals are topic to many authorized restrictions and are principally at the discretion of the firm proprietor. Animal photojournalism is an rising style of images that “captures, exposes and memorialises the experiences of these animals who we never see”, the guide says. “It is certainly dangerous, not so much from stray bullets or IEDs, but from the emotional and mental impact caused by witnessing animal death on a scale that is far greater than from any human conflict,” says Wilson.
“Animal industries should be transparent because they serve the public, but they are just the opposite, with multimillion dollar lobbying efforts keeping their exploits concealed,” says McArthur. “Concentrated animal feeding operations and other industries that use animals do not want cameras around.”
“From public and environmental health crises to zoonotic viruses, animals are inextricably linked to many areas of current global concern, and rightfully so. Our existence is intertwined, and the ethics of how we treat the other sentient beings with whom we share this planet are being called into question,” says McArthur.
“We are always hiding animals from ourselves. We build walls and euphemisms to cover any discomfort we might have. If we were to face the animals we keep in crates and cages, and spend some time examining their lives there, and why they are there, we may not be able to enjoy ham or foie gras,” says McArthur.
Sign up for the Animals farmed monthly update to get a roundup of the greatest farming and meals tales throughout the world and sustain with our investigations. You can ship us your tales and ideas at [email protected]
