Date: January 26, 2023

Abstract: Pet-keeping crosses boundaries of socioeconomics, race, ethnicity, and geography, but access to pet services and information does not. Institutional bias and systemic inequity disproportionately impact socially and economically marginalized people and their pets. Pets for Life, a program of The Humane Society of the United States, works to increase equity in access to pet resources for people and pets experiencing poverty and living in underserved communities. Pets for Life is focused on creating a philosophical shift in the animal welfare movement, looking at larger issues of racial and economic injustice, how animal welfare has been complicit in or directly contributed to systems of oppression and discrimination, and how we begin to disrupt and dismantle those systems within animal welfare and society at large. This seminar will discuss the connection between animal welfare and social justice and how inequity in access to pet resources is being addressed in underserved communities.

Speaker Bio: Amanda Arrington is the Senior Director of Pets for Life at the Humane Society of the United States. Combining her passions for social justice and animal welfare, Amanda Arrington works to increase equity in access to pet resources for people experiencing poverty and living in underserved areas. Under her leadership, Pets for Life programs have been established in over 50 communities around the country. She’s also the founder and executive director of Beyond Fences in Durham, North Carolina, and previously served as North Carolina state director for the Humane Society of the United States. Amanda currently serves as co-chair of The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement’s DEI committee and received the prestigious American Veterinary Medical Association Humane Award in 2018.