Conservation photography still excludes a number of animals, namely domestic animal and the billions of animals in labs and factory farms. That’s why we call them the ‘hidden’ animals – they’re hidden from the public conscience, hidden from the media.
GRAEME GREEN: “Animal Photojournalism is extremely urgent and relevant
to the issues of today,” says Jo-Anne McArthur [We
Animals Media], an award-winning Canadian
photographer, journalist and campaigner. She has coined the term Animal
Photojournalism (APJ) for an emerging genre of photography that focuses on
people’s relationship with nature and highlights the suffering of billions
of animals on the planet from human activities, including factory farms,
breeding facilities and animal experimentation.
The abuse of nature isn’t just bad for animals; it’s impacting all of our
lives, from climate change to the global pandemic (said to have come from
bats or pangolins in China’s wildlife markets). McArthur is also the author
of HIDDEN: Animals in the Anthropocene and the founder of We Animals Media.
We sat down with her to discuss animal photojournalism, and why it is so
important…
Graeme: How do you define Animal Photojournalism?
Jo-Anne: I call it an emerging genre, coming out of a number of different kinds
of photography. Wildlife photography became a lot more about conservation
photography, but conservation photography still excludes a number of
animals, namely domestic animal and the billions of animals in labs and
factory farms.
Because these animals are sentient and relevant, Animal Photojournalism
likes to include all of them. That’s why we call them the ‘hidden’ animals,
– they’re hidden from the public conscience, hidden from the media. We’re
trying to bring those animals and stories forward.
Images from
WeAnimalsMedia.org
Return to: Animal Rights/Vegan Activist Strategies