The Individual Personhood of Animals

 In my observations and interactions with animals throughout my life, I have learned that the best way to approach and interact with an animal is to respect their "personhood." That is, to treat each animal as an individual person with their own individual personality, mind, will, emotions, desires, and so on. 

     Animals are not human beings. You cannot "anthropomorphize" animals and project onto them the emotions, intentions, or pathos of a human being. This being said, animals are however "people." But they are a different kind of "people" from human beings. Each species of animal has its own kind of emotions and feelings which are similar to, but also alien to a human beings. They have their own kinds of intentions, their own kinds of thoughts that might be akin to a human's, but are nevertheless alien in that they are not identical to a human's. They are their own, and this fact must be respected.

     Right now, I live on a farm with over two hundred animals: Goats, Chickens, Ducks, Guinea Fowl, Dogs, Cats, a Rabbit, Gerbils, and Parakeets. No two chickens have the same personality. Some are homebodies and prefer to stay close to the coop. Some are more adventurous and venture outside the fence. Some don't like to be touched. Others walk right up to you expecting to be picked up, and at least one rooster will launch himself up to your shoulder and expect to be carried around. 

     There was one Buff Brahma hen the other evening as I was heading out to close the barn coops and put the chickens out there to bed. All the other chickens had gone to the coop. But as I entered the pasture on the way to the barn, this one hen comes running up to me looking for all the world like she was lost and confused because she couldn't find her flock. I talked to her and asked her, "Are you lost? Do you want me to take you back to the coop?" She came closer as if to confirm it. I tell her, "Okay, sweetie, let's go. I'll lead you back." And as I start for the coop again, the hen saddles up right next to me and doesn't leave my side until she sees her coop with her flock, and only then does she head straight for it.

     In the mornings, we've been training our LGD Great Pyrenees with our barn flock. Getting a dog to watch out for chickens and not try to play with them or eat them is a challenge depending on the breed, but they've been doing well just watching and doing their own thing in the mornings while the chickens are being fed. A little while ago, we introduced a new rooster that was having trouble adjusting to the flock. It kept getting into fights with the other roosters, especially Aero. One morning, we had the dogs out and the new rooster was also out. The dogs were doing their own thing just watching and wanting to be petted. Lexie I think was eating some pecans that had fallen on the ground from a nearby tree. All of a sudden a knock down drag out fight began between the new rooster, Jake, and the other roosters. Lexie calm but alert, observed the new goings on and discerned that the fight wasn't what we wanted and it was causing problems among the flock. She calmly walks over and tries to help us by gently taking Jake by his tail and starting to pull him away from the fight, knowing he was the new element and was the one causing problems. She didn't try to actually harm him, she was just trying to separate him from the other roosters. It's not the first time she's tried to help us with the other animals, especially getting the goats back into their own pens.

     There are numerous accounts and even videos of animals displaying their own individuality and personality. I remember watching one of a squirrel on a hot day who came up and asked in his own way for some water from a guest at the park he was at. When the human understood what was happening, he bent down with his water bottle to where the squirrel could reach the water, and it drank long and deep before making a gesture that almost appeared to be gratitude and then scampering off. Other animals, wild animals no less, remember the humans who helped them and even return with their families to visit, appearing to show gratitude. The Grear Apes are well understood to be able to learn to communicate their wants, needs, and even "thoughts" using sign language with human beings. I remember watching a documentary about an Orangutan who literally asked and received advice on how to court a female Orangutan from the woman who raised him using sign language because he didn't know, having been raised in captivity. Elephants are also well known for their intelligence and empathy, as are dolphins. I remember even a story about two male lions who, when a little girl had been attacked and kidnappes, came to this girl's rescue, drove off her attackers, and waited with her, protecting her, until the authorities arrived. Then they wandered off into the forest peacefully, leaving the girl to the police. 

     There is so much observational and anecdotal evidence about the individual personhood of other species of animal that it is overwhelming, and it is what I see every day here on the farm in Kentucky too from the goat kids that just arrived to our six housecats, four dogs, and every animal in between. Even our "gimpy" rooster Penguin went into depression and his own kind of mourning after the guinea that he had bonded with and protected passed away.

      But their thoughts and emotions are not human, they are alien to us even as much as they can be similar or familiar. Not the least reason for this is the fact that every other species of animal is innocent, from the most dangerous predators to the least dangerous herbivore. They simpliy have no concept of moral "good" or "bad" like human beings do. They can feel when someone is angry or upset with them, they will take action when something appears to be a threat to them or theirs, but an action being "good" or "bad" morally speaking is as alien to them as innocence really is to us. But their innocence does not negate their personhood.

     The Native Americans, some tribes at least, in their traditional cultures referred to the animals around them as "brother" or "sister." They understood and respected that personhood of these other creatures, even when they had to hunt them for food, clothing, and materials. It was never done for sport, or just for fun. They understood the life, the personhood, they were ending was sacred and they meant to honor that.

     It is then my opinion that the best way to interact with an animal is to recognize that individuality, that personhood, in the other species around us, and to treat them also as I myself would want to be treated, with respect, compassion, and understanding.