Harry Potter and animal justice has for a long time been one of those niche but fascinating discussions, with author JK Rowling teasing nonhuman rights issues at various moments throughout the series. From the freeing of Buckbeak to subservient owls, Nina Copleston asks how Potter’s treatment of nonhumans reflects on all of us.

INTERVIEW: How does someone go from witnessing the horrors of a West Yorkshire hatchery to championing the rights of animals through powerful storytelling? We spoke to author and international campaigner Susan Hargreaves about reaching young minds and her graphic novel launch tour.

DEEP DIVE: Two types of characters epitomise Disney like no other: princesses, and animals. But while Disney’s portrayal of female characters has left much to be desired with change only happening relatively recently, the studio giant’s treatment of animals is still sorely lacking, as Nina Copleston so deftly explains.

The evidence that children don’t want to eat animals is mounting. A new study by researchers at the Universities of Exeter and Oxford has found that children make fewer moral distinctions between different species and that speciesism is learned during adolescence.

WEEKEND READ: Do children know what they’re eating when their parents give them bacon and eggs? According to a new study, children aged seven and younger frequently don’t understand that meat - and to a lesser extent eggs and dairy - comes from animals, yet often classify animals as “not OK to eat”.

CULTURE: According to a recent study, animals have been declining in fiction since 1835, running parallel to animal extinction in our world. As animals and natural habits vanish around us, is it any surprise that they have disappeared from books too? And as we live increasingly urbanised lives, does this lack of fictionalised animal friends have real-life consequences?

Vegan parents are often faced with a dilemma when choosing children’s books. The classic stories are often rife with hypocrisy and cognitive dissonance, yet they reveal much about humanity’s relationship with animals, as Nina Copleston discusses.

Last year, Enfield Council became the first local authority in the UK to pledge to serve only vegan and vegetarian foods at council events in a bid to address the climate emergency. Inspired and motivated by the September 2020 rebellion, Animal Rebellion asked itself a question: what if the success of Enfield could be replicated elsewhere? And so the seeds of the plant-based schools campaign were sown.

Lyon’s city council has moved to take animal flesh off school menus, sparking a debate that touches on many issues ranging from the political to the environmental and of course the ethical. We take a look at the arguments and other examples of moves by schools to switch to more sustainable mealtimes.

They’re cute, fluffy and kids absolutely adore them - but what happens to classroom-hatched chicks after their two weeks is up? The reality isn’t nearly so cute, especially for the boys.