Virtual Animals: An Ethical Discussion

Talk by
Dr. Judith Benz-Schwarzburg
Messerli Research Institute
University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna

Time & Location:
08 Oct 2025, 17:30 – 19:30
-> free access to exhibition from 16.30
Immersium, Habsburgergasse 10, 1010 Wien, Austria

Please note: Registration is required!

About the event:
Humans like watching animals. But encountering them in nature has become problematic due to wildlife extinction and overtourism. Meanwhile, we most often encounter wild animals in captivity. As there are many animal welfare concerns surrounding captive animals and because we have new technological means, more and more circuses and zoos, conservation organizations, entertainment shows and museums go virtual: they offer to meet tigers on virtual safaris, orangutans through VR goggles, sharks on surround screens, and elephants as 3D projections. From an ethical perspective, such formats offer many advantages: no real animals are being bred and housed, transported and tamed, trained, watched and cuddled. However, ethical criticism surrounding animal displays is not exclusively addressing animal suffering. Ethicists also ask us to scrutinize our consumptive attitude towards nature. Thus, we have to ask ourselves to what extent a given representation reduces the animal to a consumable object of human entertainment. This, to a large extent, will depend on how we exhibit them and for what purposes. In this talk, Dr. Judith Benz-Schwarzburg discusses the chances and challenges of virtual animals and the implications for ethical representation.

The talk will be in English, but we can discuss in German and English.

Poster