Humanimal conference
In 2022, a herd of cows escaped a Québec farm to live in the wild for 6 months. They evaded many capture missions and thrived with the birth of many caves. Their compelling story brought Canadiens to think about livestock conditions and their desire for freedom.
Inspired by David Carr’s unpublished critic of biblical domestication, I will briefly describe how bovines are characterized as human and/or divine possessions in biblical texts. Deut. 22:1-4 clearly states what to do in cases of wandering cows: “You shall take them back to their owner.”
In contrast, two verses will be explored as voices for domesticated animal sentience in light of contemporary animal ethics (e.g., Singer 1975). Isaiah 32:20 is a beatitude expressed in an eschatological prophesy about justice, righteousness, and peace that evokes the sending out freely (מְשַׁלְּחֵ֥י) of an ox. Habakkuk 3:17 also express a joyous affect linked with the absence of cattle in the stables.
Bart Simpson’s catchphrase, the escaped cows from Québec and prophetic texts involving the possibility of free bovine invite us to reflect about our own relationships to cows.
Pour le programme complet de la conférence et les liens:
