Transnational Encounters with the Non-Human Animal as a Refugee

Abstract

Following the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in the Spring of 2022, both traditional and new media were full of images of fleeing humans, often accompanied by non-human animal companions. Consequently, the EU and individual European states had to manage animals crossing borders, seeking safety and shelter. This article explores how animals become part of a geopolitically significant security composition as refugees. Animals and their geographies have traditionally not been theorised in relation to security, but researchers from different fields have begun to question this anthropocentric viewpoint. Three forms of encounters are explored: political, organisational, and empathetic. Crisis and war are largely transnational events, where international relations and organisations play a part. When the role of animals in this context is recognised, their power becomes transnational and they become subjects of what Hobson called an enlarged political geography. It is concluded that animals are a present and constitutive force in society because cross-species relations affect much of human action.

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