Relationship and links between humans and animals in armed conflicts: implications for waste management

Abstract

Some manifestations of human power trigger armed conflicts. This study analyses the practical implications of those power manifestations, specifically focusing on animal suffering and the related waste management. A concept of "shared personhood" emerges, illustrating that human and animal fates are inextricably linked during armed conflicts. Human-induced conflicts cause animal mortality, and the resulting biological waste (carcasses) can in turn generate zoonotic risks that threaten human health. Drawing on Luhmann’s theory of communication, animal waste functions as a self-replicating signal with distinct agency and the potential to cause human suffering, if left unmanaged in armed conflict zones. This signal with agency is caused by the human power and it leads to negative feedback loops on human wellbeing. Effective waste management in armed conflict zones requires a holistic approach that decreases human and animal suffering. To achieve this, appropriate strategies must be developed to minimise formation of animal waste in conflict zones, to ensure monitoring of animal waste generation and uncertainty of human actions as sources of animal waste are acknowledged. These efforts are essential to sever the signal feedback loops, and to achieve justice for all victims of armed conflict through proper animal waste disposal and appropriate waste management.