human-animal

Language and communication are one of the primary means through which popular ideas are generated and shared. Those with institutional power and influence (e.g. the media, government) shape public discourse and reinforce collective attitudes and action (Stibbe, 2001, 2012). Studies have shown that the perception and treatment of animals is heavily influenced by language (Goatly, 2006; Stibbe, 2012; Cook & Sealey, 2017; Franklin, 2020). In this paper, we explore the use of participatory practices to co-produce discursive understandings of donkeys and donkey welfare. By incorporating knowledge exchange practices into the research design, researchers can communicate findings, gather feedback the research, and elicit reactions on specific themes and topics to develop the analysis in an iterative way.

We carried out a corpus-assisted discourse analysis of a 1m-word corpus (digitised body texts) of language from social media and mainstream news about donkeys (McClaughlin et al., under review). . In the statistically salient findings from this analysis, we identified key topics and stories to use as stimulus material (tweets, texts, images, and videos) to generate comment, debate and group discussion through a series of focus groups. This unique participatory methodology revealed that popular discourses often ‘invisibilise’ or obscure the real animal. Popular representations of donkeys can overlook their behavioural and psychological needs and perpetuate negative stereotypes. By identifying common misconceptions and stereotypes of donkeys, our research contributed to the work of The Donkey Sanctuary – to transform the lives of donkeys in need worldwide by fostering greater understanding, collaboration and support. Finally, we offer recommendations for how research, communication and education can be brought together to improve animal welfare.