Epistemic struggles in legislating animal welfare in Finland

Competing Constructions of the Public Interest

Bibliographic Data

ID6436427
AuthorsMatias Koivulehto (Faculty of Law University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland, corresponding author), Tomi Lehtimäki (0000-0003-3782-4153, Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy Faculty of Social Sciences University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland)
Year2025
Volume52
Issue4
Pages628-649
Publication date2025-11-10
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Law and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0263-323X • E-ISSN: 1467-6478
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/jols.70027
OpenAlexW7104650341
LanguageEN
Citations received1

This article examines how the interests of farm animals were constructed as being part of the public interest in the drafting of Finland's new Animal Welfare Act (693/2023). While the public interest typically refers to the well‐being of the entire political community, traditionally centred around human concerns, animal welfare legislation suggests that animal interests may also be included in some way. In this study, we analysed stakeholder statements submitted during the legislative consultation process, using the framework of epistemic governance. Four distinctive discourses were identified: economy and competitiveness, oppression, legality, and research‐based decision making. Each discourse presents a different conception of the social world and the place of animals within the political community. These discourses reveal how farm animal interests are represented within legislative debates and how they align with differing notions of the public interest

Animal welfare · Legislation · Legislature · Politics · Public interest · Welfare · Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies · Geographies of human-animal interactions · Human-Animal Interaction Studies

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