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Paper short abstract

This paper addresses the notion that British people are particularly close to the nonhuman animals they live with. Using individual perspectives from Aberdeenshire and its Polish immigrant population, I reflect on my own English culture to evaluate the validity of the "animal lover" narrative.

Paper long abstract

This paper is based on a Steve Baker observation that the UK is often considered a "nation of animal lovers". More specifically, I am analysing how this applies to nonhuman animals that share a household with humans, particularly pets (as the research area is largely rural, livestock and visiting wildlife sometimes fit this category too), as perhaps the most likely scenario in which humans could be said to "love" nonhuman animals and the closest that many people consistently get to the natural world.

As I am aware that I fit the "animal lover" description, this is a partially autoethnographic paper. I also use two outside lenses; one that comprises UK nationals from a separate region to mine, and one representing a non-UK group unaffected by the stereotype. My work draws on my experience within Aberdeenshire, an area defined by its multiculturalism, and with its sizeable and dedicated Polish immigrant community. Using one-on-one interviews, I compare my English perspective with those from various North East Scots and Polish nationals, in order to evaluate the accuracy of Baker's assertion through its pertinence to culturally distinct places, as well as the opinions of impartial individual observers.

In addition to Baker's statement, and his theories of constructed identity, my fieldwork questions are inspired by Samantha Hurn's multi-species ethnography, Anna Barcz' critique of zoonarrative realism in modern literature, and Adrian Franklin's historical notes on changing attitudes towards nonhuman animals.