Animal Culture and Human-Animal Kinship within the Pacific

The workshop explored how Pacific Indigenous communities and specialists working on human and animal culture can enhance their own research and contribute to broader work on animal culture, for enhanced conservation and improved cross-cultural collaboration.

The field of non-human animal culture is expanding rapidly, with burgeoning evidence across a range of species. Work is well under-way to determine what animal culture means for conservation efforts.

Less well explored is how conservation and culture interface with human cultural perspectives of other species and how this relates to the intrinsic value of animal culture and the concept of human and animal kinship.

The workshop brought together participants from 16 different nations across the Pacific – both in person and virtually. New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO, Culture Commissioner, Dr Dan Hikuroa, opened the workshop with a key-note address.

The workshop was characterised by rich, trans-disciplinary, broad-ranging discussions that expanded participants’ consideration of animal culture and human kinship with animals.

A trans-disciplinary collaboration was developed, which highlighted the necessity of working together to address complex issues, such as conservation and human-animal relationships.

At the conclusion of the workshop a report was written capturing the workshop’s discussions. It has been shared widely in order to help stimulate similar dialogues in other regions.