Animals, War, and Multispecies Transitional Justice

Transitional justice has traditionally focused on human suffering, thereby overlooking the impact of war and conflict on nonhuman animals. This chapter interrogates this anthropocentric bias by exploring how speciesism—deeply embedded in legal, philosophical, and institutional frameworks—excludes animals from justice considerations. Drawing on concepts from animal ethics and critical transitional justice scholarship, this chapter examines how animals experience war as victims, agents, and collateral damage, yet remain absent from efforts to address legacies of conflict-related harm. The chapter considers some of the key questions that might underpin and inform a shift toward a multispecies approach to transitional justice, for example through the recognition of animals as victims with procedural and substantive rights, the expansion of reparative measures, and forward-looking policies to prevent future harm.