Human-animal relations in regenerative ranching: implications for animal welfare
Regenerative ranching emphasizes ecosystem restoration and is informed by holistic decision-making. It offers an opportunity to transform human-animal relations in ranching. However, its implications for animal welfare remain underexplored. This study examined human-animal relations in regenerative ranching in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, using the four lenses from integral theory: individual perceptions, practices, cultural norms, and systemic structures.
Through semi-structured interviews with 16 regenerative ranchers who practice holistic decision-making in the Pacific Northwest, and 10 key informants (i.e. NGOs, thought leaders, university professors), participant observation, and thematic analysis, we identified tensions between relational values and practices. Ranchers recognized animal sentience and expressed compassion, but their instrumental language (e.g. labeling cattle as tools) reflected a cognitive dissonance. Practices aligned with relational values, such as low stress animal handling and fence-line weaning, coexisted with culturally rooted stressors (e.g. branding and castration events). Cultural traditions celebrating community bonds prioritized human well-being over animal welfare, while systemic barriers (e.g. mandatory branding laws and market dependencies) appeared to constrain animal welfare improvements.
Our findings highlight regenerative ranching’s potential for transforming human-animal relations in ranching. This can be realized by nurturing relational values like care and responsibility and addressing cultural and institutional inertia. We propose integrating animal welfare explicitly into the holistic decision-making framework, advocating for policy reforms, and fostering dialogue with Indigenous Peoples to reconcile ethical, ecological, and economical priorities of regenerative ranching.
By acting on their relational values, regenerative ranchers could be role models for compassionate, multispecies coexistence, expanding the true meaning of regeneration in agriculture involving animals.
