The interview with Eva Meijer that Dariusz Gzyra and Patryk Szaj conducted considers the political aspects of relationships between humans and non-human animals. It aims at reconsidering “the political” along with other animals (in contrast to speaking simply “about” animal politics.) In the course of the interview, the following issues are raised: the political turn in animal studies, the progressive development of animal studies over the years, non-human languages and their role in political participation, the advantages and disadvantages of liberal democracy when it comes to interspecies politics, the “from the ground up” method in political theory, the political task of literature, the role of political parties and other institutions in a systemic change, animals as working-class members, the entangled empathy that, perhaps, involves not only sentient animals but also non-sentient beings.

This article is dedicated to the inter-species aspect of armed conflicts on the example of the war in Ukraine. Its aim is to present the forms of assistance provided to Ukrainian animals by the Polish public administration and third-sector organizations, as well as to outline the administrative and legal conditions of this assistance. The actions were aimed predominantly at companion animals arriving in Poland with families of Ukrainian war refugees, as well as homeless animals in Ukraine. The study utilized the desk research method (analysis of press reports, ana­ly­-
sis of the content of third-sector organization websites and public administration websites), as well as qualitative research in the form of 12 partially structured interviews with representatives of organizations involved in aiding Ukrainian animals. The authors focus on the first months of Russian aggression in 2022, when both the refugee wave and the aid spurt were at their peak.

This article explores how other-than-human animals are depicted in audiovisual materials related to the war in Ukraine, drawing from film studies and animal studies literature. It investigates the historical link between cinema and warfare, tracing animals’ roles in armed conflicts. Through film analysis, it examines how animals are used by filmmakers to convey messages about the war. The article highlights shifts in animal cinematic portrayal. Animals are both background and protagonists, shaping viewers’ perceptions of the war. Additionally, it explores how the war influences the portrayal of animals in film, touching on themes like animal refugees, occupation, and nationality. The article discusses animals’ role in portraying war narratives and examines empowering them within Ukrainian war-related audiovisual content.

The present text is an attempt to include the recent institutionalization of human-animal relationships in the domain of the Greek state, in the broader systems of power and the technologies of contemporary war that are restructuring the urban public space of Athens. By focusing on three social rituals of a cat community in the grove of Nea Philadelphia, I look into the ethics of affirmative collaboration that has not been taken into account by the humanist categorizations of companion animals or definitions of welfare promoted by the law 4830/2019. The focus on the heterogeneous assemblage of the carer and the cats, and the social life of cats can contribute to the understanding of relational agency, a post-humanist conceptualization of subjects and the designation of the animal public that can inform policy making and help the formation of new politics beyond binaries and the hierarchization of life forms.

The text presents a comparative analysis of the situation of homeless dogs in three selected countries: Poland, Italy and the Netherlands. The aim of the article is to analyze the situation of the homeless in relation to the cultural specificity of a given country. Such an analysis is intended to enable the identification of factors that may help reduce animal homelessness, which is a problem not only for animal welfare, but also for human well-being. Homeless animals are exposed to diseases, death in traffic accidents, lack of food, and unfriendly attitudes from people. In turn, for people, stray dogs pose a risk of bites, the spread of zoonoses, and the need to implement programs financed from public funds and aimed at reducing animal homelessness. The biggest challenge in this situation is ensuring the well-being of animals – is staying in a shelter all their life better than being homeless? In the Netherlands the problem of homeless animals does not exist (they are all caught, placed in shelters and given to adoption) while in Poland there are few free-roaming animals, but there is a huge problem of overcrowded shelters where animals are locked up for life. Italy has free-roaming strays and shelter animals. Comparing the situation of these three countries makes it possible to replicate good practices in preventing animal homelessness.

This study aims to investigate the relationships and interactions within French military human–canine teams conducting olfactory searches. A thematic content analysis has been carried out based on 16 interviews with handlers from the French Army. Three themes are presented, focusing on 1) canine handler, a distinct specialty; 2) missions, as the real-world for the military canine team; 3) training dogs. The relationships and interactions between humans and dogs within canine teams are partly shaped by the context of the missions, by the military institution, as well as by the particularities of dyad members. Degraded environments, risks, and death are essential determinants in the preparation and implementation of canine teams, as well as in the relationships established within the partnership.

This article attempts a preliminary exploration of the relationship between a broadly understood leftist and progressive thought and the ideas of animal rights, along with the demands of pro-animal abolitionism. It presents and analyzes a range of perspectives from scholars and intellectuals critically examining the state of human-animal relations. The ideological foundations of dominant forms of leftist thought are discussed, as well as the current social norm and the status of animals resulting from it, and their impact on the ability of a political class to adopt radical positions. The article also examines a social change strategy known as pragmatic abolitionism, which accepts certain interim solutions as steps toward an ultimate goal. Finally, it addresses and ana­lyzes the scope of policy demands within the Polish left-wing circles.

Politicians in their media speeches often refer to animal terms, comparisons or idiomatic expressions containing animal names. Animalizations serve to justify unfavorable phenomena in the human world, reinforcing stereotypes accrued around animals, judged from an anthropocentric perspective. Hence, all pig-related terms refer to greed, dishonesty and manipulation while cat related ones to falseness, cunning; fat cats are synonymous with laziness, nepotism. Once used in the language of politics, animal terms happen to enter the language as ‘winged words’, phraseological units, and become the source of memes. Often associated with a  particular phenomenon or politician, such as the author of the following statement: tłuste partyjne koty, pakujcie swoje kuwety [fat party cats are about to pack their litter boxes], zatoka czerwonych świń [a bay of red pigs] or jastrząb na czele jastrzębi [a hawk as a leader of other hawks]. The aim of the article is to reflect on the function of animalisms in the language of politics, used to metaphorically express emotions and describe phenomena related to the human sphere of activity, namely, politics.

Victims of domestic violence are not only human beings, but also companion animals, and research confirms a close relationship between violence experienced by women and children, who constitute the majority of victims of domestic violence by a partner or other family member, and violence against companion animals. Violence against animals can be a tool of psychological violence against human victims, and, at the same time, can be an important estimated risk indicator against a human victim. The article presents particular de lege ferenda conclusions, namely, legislative postulates showing how the Polish legal system should be supplemented with the protection of animal victims, as well as the position of the Polish government on these postulates. An attempt will also be presented to include the problem of violence against companion animals and the rights of those affected by domestic violence – caregivers or guardians of animals, in the regulations created at the EU level, within the framework of the draft directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, which is being processed during the term of office of 2019–2024 EU bodies.

The article deals with the activities of the Polish legislator within the scope of protecting animals against selected crimes committed against them. It presents the results of the analysis of legislative policy, which apart from penal and executive policies, constitutes a component of the state’s criminal policy. Legislative policy categorizes behaviors to be combated with criminal punishment and other instruments of criminal-legal response after a prior analysis of the crime and an exhaustive study of the effectiveness of specific crime prevention measures. The study presents the evolution of legislative policy that has taken place over the years, beginning with the first piece of legislation that laid the cornerstone for systemic animal protection in Poland. It also discusses the most important measures taken under the current applicable Law on Animal Protection, which led to the current shape of legal protection of animals against crimes. The very analyses also take into account the complexity of interactions between changes that have occurred over the years not only in legislation, but also in philosophy, social movements and society’s awareness of the status of animal protection.

The text presents a qualitative study conducted using the multiple case study method in which, using undisclosed interviews, an attempt was made to show the occurrence of illegal practices related to the sale of dogs via the Internet. In order to illustrate the phenomenon, the provisions contained in the Animal Protection Act of August 21, 1997 regulating the legal aspects of the sale of animals were used. In addition, the reference was made to the phenomenon of treating animals as objects and the place of the dog in the dog-human relationship. The concept of pseudo-breeding has been defined as a place of illegal and/or unethical sale and breeding of animals. The research revealed the practices of selling dogs online: characteristic behaviors, features of advertisements and the level of understanding the needs of dogs as species by advertisers.

Zoos are often promoted as centres of education, conservation and research. Nevertheless, non-humans of many species kept in zoos often engage in abnormal behaviours and show signs of reduced welfare. Biopolitical considerations ultimately shape the lives of all zoo-housed animals, but our close cousins, the chimpanzees, evoke particularly high levels of controversy. Zoos focus on three most prominent objectives: conservation, education and research, which often are used to legitimize keeping non-humans in captivity. The article raises difficult issues connected with keeping chimpanzees in zoological gardens, including the urgent question as to whether they should be kept in zoos at all.

As the topic of animal welfare in zoos rises, so does the question of the importance of zoo-kept animals for species conservation. This article brings up the issue of African wild dogs. Author combines data from various studies into these sections - biopolitics of species endangerment, conservation efforts and issues of zoo-kept dogs. With that perspective this paper argues that species with great environmental needs should not be kept captive. In the context of conservation biopolitics, author brings up studies that serve as proof that zoo-kept wild dogs are not useful enough in the reintroduction to excuse their poor well-being.

Zoos are spaces for human–animal engagement; they are believed to provide people with limited exposure to the wilderness, a glimpse of the innate splendour of the animal kingdom. However, questions arise regarding the degree to which animals are actually visible in these environments. This prompts us to reflect on a crucial query: can a confined urban animal, separated from its natural environment, truly provide an understanding of a species’ natural state while preserving their subjectivity? Randy Malamud, Bob Mullan, and Garry Marvin provide critical evaluations of how captive animals are portrayed in zoos and also examine the presence of zoo culture in urban societies. Observing animals passively in a zoo reduces them to mere exhibits for entertainment purposes, rather than allowing us to truly appreciate them for what they are. This paper uses Foucault’s concept of biopower to interpret Diane Hammond’s novel Hannah’s Dream as a zoo narrative, wherein Hannah is positioned as a recipient of biopower that shapes her sense of self in dual roles: that of a companion animal and a zoo animal. The central inquiry revolves around exploring how Hannah’s identity is constructed by the anthropocentric discourse of dominance and control over animals.

The article deals with the „animalization of man” as a form of power and violence in Marieke Lukas Rijneveld’s novels The Discomfort of Evening (2021) and My Heavenly Favorite (2022). Rijneveld uses animal metaphors to depict hierarchical relationships between species that legitimize violence and domination in society. The narratives of the characters, especially a pedophile veterinarian, show how discourses of animal oppression permeate into human relationships, leading to the dehumanization and exploitation of the most vulnerable, such as children. Rijneveld exposes the illusory nature of interspecies boundaries, suggesting that violence against animals and humans is based on the same mechanisms. Using a zoocritical perspective, the author of the article shows how language and culture in Rijneveld’s novels shape social approval of violence, linking the fates of humans and animals in the context of domination and subordination.

In the second instalment of the Of Rats and Men triptych, the foundations of agency are reconstructed as a positive follow-up to the previous paper’s conclusions. For this task, the article draws on pragmatic insights and interpretations of fundamental physical principles – derived from unorthodox contemporary theoretical approaches such as process metaphysics, the extended evolutionary synthesis, and frameworks associated with ‘the pragmatic turn’ in the cognitive sciences – namely the free-energy principle (FEP) and its operationalisation in predictive processing theory (PP). The aim is to defend the thesis that agency, understood as a capacity to act for reasons, is not a hallmark of human meta­physical exceptionalism but rather an inherent property of life itself, anchored in the organism’s internally generated existential imperative to maintain temporal homeodynamics against the entropic tendency towards dispersal. The author defends the use of intentional terminology in explaining animal behaviour, arguing that FEP and PP enable such an approach. This perspective is also consistent with the pluralistic stance of pragmatism and the anti-reductionist direction of processual metaphysics in the philosophy of biology. The article lays the groundwork for further analysis of advanced forms of agency, which will be explored in the final part of the triptych.

The final part of the triptych (Of Rats and Men) synthesises the entire series, which aims to (1) challenge selected foundational assumptions of traditional philosophical discourse on human and nonhuman minds, (2) demonstrate how the tools of “the pragmatic turn” can deepen our understanding of animal agency, and (3) provide a posteriori support for gradualist categories of moral agency, such as Mark Rowlands’s concept of “the moral subject.” We pursue these goals by exploring the characteristic features of an advanced form of agency. Building on the themes introduced in Of Rats and Men II, we employ the theory of active inference (AIN) to determine how the processes of counterfactual inferencing and self-evidencing foster its emergence. In this context, Jakob Hohwy’s theoretical analysis is juxtaposed with experimental results on rodents, suggesting that the capacity for experiencing self-evidencing at a psychophysical level falls within the scope of the sense of agency (SoA) and may extend beyond our species.
To investigate this phenomenon, we propose an AIN-based interpretation of Antonella Tramacere and Colin Allen’s “temporal binding” experiment. Finally, we position the concept of rats as beings capable of achieving a cognitively sophisticated level of agency within Michael Levin’s “cognitive light cones” framework to illustrate its ontological coherence.

Constant disputes concerning the concept of sentience result from an extremely difficult topic of considerations, which is the comparative approach to the experiences, conscious states and cognitive processes of humans and non-human animals. There is a lack of interdisciplinary agreed positions on which cognitive systems we consider to be already sentient and which not yet. As a result, significant differences appear in the analyses and definitions of the sentience phenomenon. Scientists and experimenters have not developed a single, common explanation of the phenomenon of sentience which would include philosophical reflection, neurobiological experiments and psychological observations. A brilliant answer to all the above problems is Jonathan Birch’s book. It contains not only in-depth ana­lyses of various positions on sentience, but also references to real political actions and everyday consumer practices.