Close

“I’m positive about our future… I experienced the rapid change in my own views” – Lu Shegay – Institute of Animal Law of Asia – Sentientist Conversation

Find our conversation here on YouTube or here on Podcast.

Lu (@LuShegay) is an animal law attorney from Kazakhstan, now based in the USA. She is the co-founder and Managing Director of the Institute of Animal Law of Asia (ialasia.org and @ianimallawasia).

In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?” Sentientism is “evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” In addition to the video linked above, the audio is on our Podcast here on Apple and here on the other platforms​​​​​​.

We discuss:
0:00 Welcome

1:15 Lu’s Intro – Animal law from Kazakhstan to the USA

2:07 What’s Real?

  • Kazakhstan as a secular country, with Islam and Christianity the main religions
  • Being brought to Christianity by Lu’s mother
  • Learning about religion and realising “it’s not real – god is not real”
  • Believing “there’s somebody above us but they’re not like us”
  • “I believe in the universe and I believe in science”
  • Believing using facts and reason, but also believing there are some things that can’t be explained

6:52 What Matters Morally?

  • Morality can come from the heart. Listening to ourselves re: what feels right or wrong
  • Having compassion & putting yourself in someone else’s shoes
  • As a child: loving animals but still eating animals
  • Re-considering animal ethics while exploring animal law in Kazakhstan
  • “The legal system doesn’t work well in Kazakhstan even for humans” so many aren’t ready for the animal law field
  • Studying animal law in the USA and learning about animal suffering
  • Dr Raj Reddy’s class “changed my world” https://law.lclark.edu/live/profiles/7148-rajesh-reddy
  • Going vegetarian
  • Learning about what happens to male chicks in the egg industry. Giving up eggs
  • Going vegan. “It came to me naturally that I was doing something wrong”
  • Eating meat is central to culture in Kazakhstan but there are meat and dairy alternatives
  • Family not understanding veganism. Questioning health and ethics
  • “I’ve only met one other vegan in Kazakhstan”
  • Biocentrism, ecocentrism and the interdependencies for sentients
  • Loving space, but not understanding why governments spend so much more on exploring other planets rather than caring for ours and exploring our oceans
  • Long-termism. Space colonisation

21:54 The Future

  • Being realistic about moral scope expansion
  • Raising awareness and educating people
  • Recognising that different countries have very different contexts. Where there are serious human crises it’s harder to prioritise non-human issues
  • The non-human animal law agenda across Asia
  • Does law follow culture and politics or can it lead and innovate as well?
  • In many Asian countries politics & law don’t respond to public opinion
  • Some countries have animal laws but there is no enforcement (e.g. Kazakhstan animal cruelty legislation)
  • Different animal law approaches (cruelty, personhood, farming/fishing)
  • The EU and UK recognising the salience of animal sentience
  • “I’m positive about our future… I experienced the rapid change in my views”.

Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at sentientism.info​​​​​​​​​​​​​. Join our “I’m a Sentientist” wall using this simple form.

​Everyone interested, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. The biggest so far is here on FaceBook.

Thanks to Graham for your video and audio skills!

Latest work

Upper body picture of Altamush Saeed wearing a suit, tie and glasses looking towards the camera.

“Factory farming… is impermissible in Islam” – Altamush Saeed – Sentientism Ep:216

Altamush Saeed is an animal and environmental law professor in Pakistan. A Sentientism conversation about what's real, who matters and how to make a better world.
More

“Factory farming… is impermissible in Islam” – Altamush Saeed – Sentientism Ep:216

Altamush Saeed is an animal and environmental law professor in Pakistan. A Sentientism conversation about what's real, who matters and how to make a better world.
More

“That system will be history… Our job is just to speed that up” – Thom Norman of Farmkind‬ – Sentientism Ep:215

Thom Norman is the co-founder of the non-profit FarmKind. A Sentientism conversation about what's real, who matters and how to make a better world.
More

“This great unresolved tension of modern life” – Monica Murphy & Bill Wasik – Sentientism Ep:214

Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy are the authors of "Our Kindred Creatures". A Sentientism conversation about "what's real?", "who matters?" and "how to make a better world?"
More

Join our mailing list and stay up to date

Sentientism

Handcrafted with ♥ by Cage Undefined