Working Animals International – Ethical language consultancy

A blue and brown graphic silhouette-style image featuring the heads of a horse, donkey and camel next to the name ‘Working Animals International’.

How do you apply ethical storytelling principles to an animal charity?

This was the question posed to me by Working Animals International (then SPANA), who wanted to ensure their rebrand was aligned with their ethical and decolonial values.

It was an intriguing challenge. So much of ethical storytelling is about ensuring people’s voices are heard in a fair, respectful and inclusive way. But happens when those voices aren’t human?

Working closely with the brand team, key stakeholders across the organisation, and The Clearing, who were leading on the rebrand, I:

• Conducted an ethical audit of existing brand and fundraising materials

• Consulted on and participated in language and tone of voice workshops

• Developed an ethical language guide for integration with the new brand guidelines

It became clear that many established ethical principles can be adapted for animal charities, but a few new ones came up too. For example, we developed guidance on avoiding generalisations and stereotypes about working animal owners and the countries they live in.

But we also had a point about anthropomorphism – how projecting human emotions and idioms onto animals can create inauthentic storytelling and potentially harm the animal's dignity.

The whole project prompted some deep thinking about the complex relationships humans have with animals, the work the charity does, and how deeply held values translate to language used in brand and fundraising.

Working animals are the heartbeat of millions of families’ lives around the world. Working Animals International does amazing work advocating for their welfare, raising awareness, providing veterinary care and sharing skills and knowledge with owners.

The rebrand looks fantastic. Huge congratulations to brand team The Clearing. It was a pleasure to play a part in such an important and fascinating piece of work.