They are present in countless areas of our lives – from our daily dose of lolcats to state-of-the-art pig organ donors, and even considered our distant relatives according to Darwin and scientific discoveries. Their wellbeing is a topic that has been taken up at the political and humanitarian level, and mentioned in the end titles of movies and on the backs of shampoo bottles. With this in mind, to what extent should we challenge our traditional practices that treat animals as things to be used for human benefit?

Sandris Ādminis is a social activist and producer of the Zootehnikums broadcast on the NABA radio station, a show that reports on human-animal relations. Sandris is interested in the possibilities of increasing the visibility of animal‑related issues. He is a member of an animal advocacy social movement in Latvia, has contributed to Wikipedia, participated in public debates, given talks to school students and co‑founded the Dzīvnieku brīvība [Animal Freedom] animal rights organization. Sandris is passionate about ideas, music, unknown places, and unresolvable questions.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx