by David Clough
Today has been an exciting new step forward for CreatureKind. We have recruited the University of Winchester as the first CreatureKind institution. That means that the University is committed to an annual cycle of setting targets to reduce its consumption of animal products and moving to sourcing them from higher welfare sources, and to engage the University community in the changes it is making. The University has over 7000 students, so the changes they are making will mean that many thousands of animals will be spared the cruelties of intensive farming. That’s real impact for real animals. With the rest of the CreatureKind team, I’m delighted.
The University of Winchester understood the relationship between its church foundation and concern for animals, so CreatureKind was an obvious partner for them. Our project is unique in making this Christian connection, and in combining commitments to reduce consumption and move to higher welfare sources of animal products, both of which have benefits for humans and the planet, as well as farmed animals. We’re now looking to make a similar case to other institutions and have meetings in the diary. We are confident that Winchester will be the first of many institutions to recognize the importance of the CreatureKind Commitment. If you know of institutions we should be talking to, please get in touch.
You don’t have to be Christian to recognize that what we are now doing to farmed animals is appalling, of course, and we’re happy to work with any institutions who share our goals. We believe, however, that Christians have particular faith-based reasons to recognize the urgency of this issue as abuse of good fellow creatures of God, and have therefore focused our efforts on making the case to fellow Christians. As I said in my talk at Winchester today, some Christians seem to have the impression that their faith is an obstacle to being concerned about animals, and we’re especially keen to make clear why we think that’s a big mistake.
Winchester’s signing up to partnership with CreatureKind in this way us confirmation that our approach has the potential to be an effective means of enabling institutional change. If you’d like to support our efforts to sign up other institutions and churches to the CreatureKind Commitment, and help expand the impact of our work, we’d be very grateful for your help. You can make a donation here.
