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Kendra Coulter

Huron University College, Management and Organizational Studies, Faculty Member

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Professor at Huron University College (Western University)
Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics
Member of the Royal Society of Canada's College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists.
Expert on animal protection, animal labour, animals and work, horse-human relations, gender, equity, and work.

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Kansas State University

University of Aberdeen

Eva Botella-Ordinas

Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Yannis Hamilakis

Brown University

Linda MacDonald Glenn

University of California, Santa Cruz

The University of Newcastle

DEBAPRASAD BANDYOPADHYAY

Saint-Petersburg State University

Sergey Sokolovskiy

Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology Russian Academy of Science

Mireille Miller-Young

University of California, Santa Barbara

stavros Lazaris

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique / French National Centre for Scientific Research

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Books by Kendra Coulter

Defending Animals: Finding Hope on the Front Lines of Animal Protection

Defending Animals: Finding Hope on the Front Lines of Animal Protection, 2023

Published by The MIT Press, to be released on September 26, 2023. Preorder wherever books are sold.

Animal Labour: A New Frontier of Interspecies Justice?

by Charlotte Blattner, Dr. iur., LL.M. (Harvard), Kendra Coulter, and Will Kymlicka

For centuries, animals have worked alongside humans in a wide variety of workplaces, yet they are... more For centuries, animals have worked alongside humans in a wide variety of workplaces, yet they are rarely recognized as workers or accorded labour rights. Many animal rights advocates have argued that using animals for their labour is inherently oppressive, and that animal labour should therefore be abolished. Recently, however, some people have argued that work can be a source of meaning, self-development and social membership for animals, as it is for humans, and that our goal should be to create good work for animals, not to abolish work. In this volume, an international and interdisciplinary group of scholars explores the benefits and drawbacks of animal labour as a site for interspecies justice. What kind of work is good work for animals? What kinds of labour rights are appropriate for animal workers? Can animals consent to work? Would recognizing animals as “workers” improve their legal and political status, or would it simply reinforce the perception that they are beasts of burden? Can a focus on labour help create bonds between the animal rights movement and other social justice movements? These and other questions are explored in depth. While the authors defend a range of views on these questions, their contributions make clear that the question of labour deserves a central place in any account of justice between humans and animals.

Animals, Work, and the Promise of Interspecies Solidarity

This is the introduction to Animals, Work, and the Promise of Interspecies Solidarity (New York: ... more

Revolutionizing Retail: Workers, Political Action, and Social Change

Governing Cultures: Anthropological Perspectives on Political Labor, Power, and Government

Papers by Kendra Coulter

The Compounding Feminization of Animal Cruelty Investigation Work and its Multispecies Implications

Gender, Work, and Organization, 2018

All forms of human labour performed with and/or for animals are gendered, although not always tid... more All forms of human labour performed with and/or for animals are
gendered, although not always tidily. Here we focus on animal
cruelty investigation work, a particularly complicated gendered
occupational case. Drawing on survey, interview and focus group
data, we focus on a regionally based workforce's gendered specifics.
In keeping with feminist political economy and labour process
theory, we highlight both material and experiential dimensions,
examining physical and psychological risks, and rewards. We argue
that the gendered and multispecies entanglements of the work
and the victims coalesce in the compounding feminization of cruelty
investigation labour. We raise questions about the implications of
the gendered and multispecies interconnections for the women
and men involved, and for the animals dependent on their work.

Challenging Subjects: Towards Ethnographic Analyses of Animals

Journal for the Anthropology of North America, 2018

This article is an exploration of and experiment in animal-centric ethnographic research. I first... more This article is an exploration of and experiment in animal-centric ethnographic research. I first delve into key conceptual, scholarly, and practical issues which extend from the growing interdisciplinary interest in human-animal relations, and the anthropological emphasis on multispecies ethnography. I then offer experimental ethnographic data focused on horses in show jumping stables in Canada. I approach the horses as both biological and sociocultural beings who affect and are affected by their formal jobs as show jumping horses. Through the concept of work-lives, I also highlight the multi-dimensional nature of their experiences as whole beings who have their own relationships and interests which are simultaneously shaped by and distinct from their human-prescribed roles. I am interested in the methodological possibilities as gateways to deeper understanding of animals, more ethical practice within and beyond universities, and more just multispecies futures.

Public Investment in Animal Protection Work: Data from Manitoba, Canada

Animals, 2020

(Open access paper) There is a dearth of research on animal cruelty investigations policy and wor... more (Open access paper) There is a dearth of research on animal cruelty investigations policy and work, despite its importance for protecting animals from illegal forms of cruelty. This study provides baseline data about the approach used in Manitoba, one of the only Canadian provinces where animal protection is publicly funded. By integrating statistical and qualitative data collected through interviews with key informants, this paper elucidates how animal cruelty investigations are organized and undertaken in the province. Although animal protection in Manitoba is publicly funded, the workforce responsible for undertaking investigations is a cross-section of public and private actors with different occupational classifications and working conditions.

The Organization of Animal Protection Investigations and the Animal Harm Spectrum: Canadian Data, International Lessons

Social Sciences, 2022

This (open access) paper offers the first overview of the Canadian animal cruelty investigations ... more This (open access) paper offers the first overview of the Canadian animal cruelty investigations landscape. First, the public and private sector organizations responsible for enforcement are explained, followed by examination of the implications of this patchwork for reporting suspected cruelty. Key statistical data are presented about the types of issues and cases and investigator responses. Initial recommendations are then proposed, and the value of the animal harm spectrum is discussed, including how it can be mobilized to strengthen the operations of animal protection work and animal welfare policy across nations.

Animal protection: Organizational constraints and collaborative opportunities

Journal of Community Safety & Wellbeing, 2022

This (open access) paper examines the landscape of animal cruelty investigations in Canada. Build... more This (open access) paper examines the landscape of animal cruelty investigations in Canada. Building on six years of mixed-methods research, we first outline the enforcement organizations and investigations process. Then we identify three challenges for jurisdictions across the country: the unevenness of forensic veterinary expertise, differing levels of Crown awareness and engagement, and relative availability of community-based programs and services to solve problems and prevent harm. We argue that further development of all three areas, including through strengthened multi-sector collaboration, will increase the effectiveness of animal protection, better protect vulnerable people, and augment public safety.

Animal Protection Organizations and Public Policy The Case of the Netherlands

Politics and Animals, 2022

Progressive political changes for animals in the Netherlands have been more robust and rapid than... more Progressive political changes for animals in the Netherlands have been more robust and rapid than what has been achieved in most other countries, yet there is minimal English-language scholarship on Dutch strategies for animal protection and cruelty investigations. After outlining the most salient political and legal dimensions, this paper explains the network of animal protection infrastructure, organizations, and public policy in the Netherlands. We conclude by identifying key insights that can be learned from the Dutch context including the importance of stable public funding for animalfocused investigative work, the value of proactive inspections, and the benefits of a national hotline for reporting animal maltreatment.

Beyond Human to Humane: A Multispecies Analysis of Care Work, Its Repression, and Its Potential

Studies in Social Justice

This paper approaches care work through a multispecies and interspecies lens, and challenges read... more This paper approaches care work through a multispecies and interspecies lens, and challenges readers to expand both their analysis and their ethical considerations in order to include animals. First I present a conceptual framework to help illuminate and unpack the care work animals do in the wild, in homes, and in formal workplaces. I then highlight the complex ways animals’ bodies, minds, and families are involved in the production of commodities for human consumption, and the implications of such practices for animals’ own forms of caregiving. Unfortunately, the fact is that for many animals, their primary experiences of care work are its repression. As a result, in the final section, I offer food for thought about the potential for care work to not only involve more empathetic embodied interactions and labour processes, but to be a springboard for expanded visions and projects of social justice which include humane jobs and recognize that “the social” is multispecies.

Women, Animals, and the Future of Work

Short essay accessible via the link above.

Herds and Hierarchies: Class, Nature, and the Social Construction of Horses in Equestrian Culture

Society and Animals, 2014

This study centers on equestrian show culture in Ontario, Canada, and examines how horses are ent... more This study centers on equestrian show culture in Ontario, Canada, and examines how horses are entangled symbolically and materially in socially constructed hierarchies of value. After examining horse-show social relations and practices, the paper traces the connections among equestrian culture, class, and the social constructions of horses. Equestrian relations expose multiple hierarchical intersections of nature and culture within which both human-horse relations and horses are affected by class structures and identities. In equestrian culture, class affects relations within and across species, and how horses are conceptualized and used, as symbols and as living animal bodies.

Horse Power: Gender, Work, and Wealth in Canadian Show Jumping

Gender and Equestrian Sports. Edited by Miriam Adelman and Jorge Knijnik., 2013

Feeling Resistance: Gender and Emotions in Retail Organizing

WorkingUSA: Journal of Labor and Society, 2013

This article examines retail organizing with a focus on the role of emotions. The data enlisted w... more This article examines retail organizing with a focus on the role of emotions. The data enlisted were collected through participant observation in organizing projects and interviews with retail workers who organized or sought to unionize their workplaces. Three main intersections of emotions and retail organizing are identified and outlined: the galvanizing, mobilizing, and polarizing dimensions. The article argues that emotions are intimately interwoven with organizing in retail, and in some instances are the primary determinants of the outcome. It concludes with a discussion of the implications that stem from a deeper understanding of the significance and gendered politics of emotions in retail organizing.

Raising Retail: Organizing Retail Workers in Canada and the United States

Labor Studies Journal

Retail workers are a significant but largely unorganized group in Canada and the United States. H... more Retail workers are a significant but largely unorganized group in Canada and the United States. However, in recent years, there has been a marked increase in efforts to organize retail workers, including pursuit of innovative structures and strategies. The author focuses on the dominant threads of contemporary retail organizing work in Canada and the United States, outlining three current organizing vehicles: unionization, store-based networks, and occupation or sector-based associations. The author then reflects on the strengths, weaknesses, and possibilities of these approaches, independently and collectively, and emphasizes the need to confront the social and cultural as well as the economic devaluation of retail workers.

Solidarity in Deed: Poor People’s Organizations, Unions, and the Politics of Anti-Poverty Work in Ontario

Anthropology of Work Review, 2012

This article explores the possibilities and challenges of building working-class solidarity by of... more This article explores the possibilities and challenges of building working-class solidarity by offering an anthropological perspective on the relationships between poor workers' organizations and formal trade unions in Ontario, Canada. I examine two community-based, poor people's organizations, ACORN Canada and the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, in order to document their recent struggles and examine the nature of their linkages with labor unions. The intersections of poor workers' organizations and unions illustrate key ways solidarity can be and is being put into practice, but also suggest the need for broadening and deepening how solidarity is understood and pursued given the material conditions of poverty and poor people, and the current cultural and ideological terrain.

Anti-Poverty Work: Unions, Poor Workers and Collective Action in Canada

Rethinking the Politics of Labour in Canada. Edited by Stephanie Ross and Larry Savage., 2012

Unionizing Retail: Lessons From Young Women's Grassroots Organizing in the Greater Toronto Area in the 1990s

Defending Animals: Finding Hope on the Front Lines of Animal Protection

Defending Animals: Finding Hope on the Front Lines of Animal Protection, 2023

Published by The MIT Press, to be released on September 26, 2023. Preorder wherever books are sold.

Animal Labour: A New Frontier of Interspecies Justice?

by Charlotte Blattner, Dr. iur., LL.M. (Harvard), Kendra Coulter, and Will Kymlicka

For centuries, animals have worked alongside humans in a wide variety of workplaces, yet they are... more For centuries, animals have worked alongside humans in a wide variety of workplaces, yet they are rarely recognized as workers or accorded labour rights. Many animal rights advocates have argued that using animals for their labour is inherently oppressive, and that animal labour should therefore be abolished. Recently, however, some people have argued that work can be a source of meaning, self-development and social membership for animals, as it is for humans, and that our goal should be to create good work for animals, not to abolish work. In this volume, an international and interdisciplinary group of scholars explores the benefits and drawbacks of animal labour as a site for interspecies justice. What kind of work is good work for animals? What kinds of labour rights are appropriate for animal workers? Can animals consent to work? Would recognizing animals as “workers” improve their legal and political status, or would it simply reinforce the perception that they are beasts of burden? Can a focus on labour help create bonds between the animal rights movement and other social justice movements? These and other questions are explored in depth. While the authors defend a range of views on these questions, their contributions make clear that the question of labour deserves a central place in any account of justice between humans and animals.

Animals, Work, and the Promise of Interspecies Solidarity

This is the introduction to Animals, Work, and the Promise of Interspecies Solidarity (New York: ... more

Revolutionizing Retail: Workers, Political Action, and Social Change

Governing Cultures: Anthropological Perspectives on Political Labor, Power, and Government

The Compounding Feminization of Animal Cruelty Investigation Work and its Multispecies Implications

Gender, Work, and Organization, 2018

All forms of human labour performed with and/or for animals are gendered, although not always tid... more All forms of human labour performed with and/or for animals are
gendered, although not always tidily. Here we focus on animal
cruelty investigation work, a particularly complicated gendered
occupational case. Drawing on survey, interview and focus group
data, we focus on a regionally based workforce's gendered specifics.
In keeping with feminist political economy and labour process
theory, we highlight both material and experiential dimensions,
examining physical and psychological risks, and rewards. We argue
that the gendered and multispecies entanglements of the work
and the victims coalesce in the compounding feminization of cruelty
investigation labour. We raise questions about the implications of
the gendered and multispecies interconnections for the women
and men involved, and for the animals dependent on their work.

Challenging Subjects: Towards Ethnographic Analyses of Animals

Journal for the Anthropology of North America, 2018

This article is an exploration of and experiment in animal-centric ethnographic research. I first... more This article is an exploration of and experiment in animal-centric ethnographic research. I first delve into key conceptual, scholarly, and practical issues which extend from the growing interdisciplinary interest in human-animal relations, and the anthropological emphasis on multispecies ethnography. I then offer experimental ethnographic data focused on horses in show jumping stables in Canada. I approach the horses as both biological and sociocultural beings who affect and are affected by their formal jobs as show jumping horses. Through the concept of work-lives, I also highlight the multi-dimensional nature of their experiences as whole beings who have their own relationships and interests which are simultaneously shaped by and distinct from their human-prescribed roles. I am interested in the methodological possibilities as gateways to deeper understanding of animals, more ethical practice within and beyond universities, and more just multispecies futures.

Public Investment in Animal Protection Work: Data from Manitoba, Canada

Animals, 2020

(Open access paper) There is a dearth of research on animal cruelty investigations policy and wor... more (Open access paper) There is a dearth of research on animal cruelty investigations policy and work, despite its importance for protecting animals from illegal forms of cruelty. This study provides baseline data about the approach used in Manitoba, one of the only Canadian provinces where animal protection is publicly funded. By integrating statistical and qualitative data collected through interviews with key informants, this paper elucidates how animal cruelty investigations are organized and undertaken in the province. Although animal protection in Manitoba is publicly funded, the workforce responsible for undertaking investigations is a cross-section of public and private actors with different occupational classifications and working conditions.

The Organization of Animal Protection Investigations and the Animal Harm Spectrum: Canadian Data, International Lessons

Social Sciences, 2022

This (open access) paper offers the first overview of the Canadian animal cruelty investigations ... more This (open access) paper offers the first overview of the Canadian animal cruelty investigations landscape. First, the public and private sector organizations responsible for enforcement are explained, followed by examination of the implications of this patchwork for reporting suspected cruelty. Key statistical data are presented about the types of issues and cases and investigator responses. Initial recommendations are then proposed, and the value of the animal harm spectrum is discussed, including how it can be mobilized to strengthen the operations of animal protection work and animal welfare policy across nations.

Animal protection: Organizational constraints and collaborative opportunities

Journal of Community Safety & Wellbeing, 2022

This (open access) paper examines the landscape of animal cruelty investigations in Canada. Build... more This (open access) paper examines the landscape of animal cruelty investigations in Canada. Building on six years of mixed-methods research, we first outline the enforcement organizations and investigations process. Then we identify three challenges for jurisdictions across the country: the unevenness of forensic veterinary expertise, differing levels of Crown awareness and engagement, and relative availability of community-based programs and services to solve problems and prevent harm. We argue that further development of all three areas, including through strengthened multi-sector collaboration, will increase the effectiveness of animal protection, better protect vulnerable people, and augment public safety.

Animal Protection Organizations and Public Policy The Case of the Netherlands

Politics and Animals, 2022

Progressive political changes for animals in the Netherlands have been more robust and rapid than... more Progressive political changes for animals in the Netherlands have been more robust and rapid than what has been achieved in most other countries, yet there is minimal English-language scholarship on Dutch strategies for animal protection and cruelty investigations. After outlining the most salient political and legal dimensions, this paper explains the network of animal protection infrastructure, organizations, and public policy in the Netherlands. We conclude by identifying key insights that can be learned from the Dutch context including the importance of stable public funding for animalfocused investigative work, the value of proactive inspections, and the benefits of a national hotline for reporting animal maltreatment.

Beyond Human to Humane: A Multispecies Analysis of Care Work, Its Repression, and Its Potential

Studies in Social Justice

This paper approaches care work through a multispecies and interspecies lens, and challenges read... more This paper approaches care work through a multispecies and interspecies lens, and challenges readers to expand both their analysis and their ethical considerations in order to include animals. First I present a conceptual framework to help illuminate and unpack the care work animals do in the wild, in homes, and in formal workplaces. I then highlight the complex ways animals’ bodies, minds, and families are involved in the production of commodities for human consumption, and the implications of such practices for animals’ own forms of caregiving. Unfortunately, the fact is that for many animals, their primary experiences of care work are its repression. As a result, in the final section, I offer food for thought about the potential for care work to not only involve more empathetic embodied interactions and labour processes, but to be a springboard for expanded visions and projects of social justice which include humane jobs and recognize that “the social” is multispecies.

Women, Animals, and the Future of Work

Short essay accessible via the link above.

Herds and Hierarchies: Class, Nature, and the Social Construction of Horses in Equestrian Culture

Society and Animals, 2014

This study centers on equestrian show culture in Ontario, Canada, and examines how horses are ent... more This study centers on equestrian show culture in Ontario, Canada, and examines how horses are entangled symbolically and materially in socially constructed hierarchies of value. After examining horse-show social relations and practices, the paper traces the connections among equestrian culture, class, and the social constructions of horses. Equestrian relations expose multiple hierarchical intersections of nature and culture within which both human-horse relations and horses are affected by class structures and identities. In equestrian culture, class affects relations within and across species, and how horses are conceptualized and used, as symbols and as living animal bodies.

Horse Power: Gender, Work, and Wealth in Canadian Show Jumping

Gender and Equestrian Sports. Edited by Miriam Adelman and Jorge Knijnik., 2013

Feeling Resistance: Gender and Emotions in Retail Organizing

WorkingUSA: Journal of Labor and Society, 2013

This article examines retail organizing with a focus on the role of emotions. The data enlisted w... more This article examines retail organizing with a focus on the role of emotions. The data enlisted were collected through participant observation in organizing projects and interviews with retail workers who organized or sought to unionize their workplaces. Three main intersections of emotions and retail organizing are identified and outlined: the galvanizing, mobilizing, and polarizing dimensions. The article argues that emotions are intimately interwoven with organizing in retail, and in some instances are the primary determinants of the outcome. It concludes with a discussion of the implications that stem from a deeper understanding of the significance and gendered politics of emotions in retail organizing.

Raising Retail: Organizing Retail Workers in Canada and the United States

Labor Studies Journal

Retail workers are a significant but largely unorganized group in Canada and the United States. H... more Retail workers are a significant but largely unorganized group in Canada and the United States. However, in recent years, there has been a marked increase in efforts to organize retail workers, including pursuit of innovative structures and strategies. The author focuses on the dominant threads of contemporary retail organizing work in Canada and the United States, outlining three current organizing vehicles: unionization, store-based networks, and occupation or sector-based associations. The author then reflects on the strengths, weaknesses, and possibilities of these approaches, independently and collectively, and emphasizes the need to confront the social and cultural as well as the economic devaluation of retail workers.

Solidarity in Deed: Poor People’s Organizations, Unions, and the Politics of Anti-Poverty Work in Ontario

Anthropology of Work Review, 2012

This article explores the possibilities and challenges of building working-class solidarity by of... more This article explores the possibilities and challenges of building working-class solidarity by offering an anthropological perspective on the relationships between poor workers' organizations and formal trade unions in Ontario, Canada. I examine two community-based, poor people's organizations, ACORN Canada and the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, in order to document their recent struggles and examine the nature of their linkages with labor unions. The intersections of poor workers' organizations and unions illustrate key ways solidarity can be and is being put into practice, but also suggest the need for broadening and deepening how solidarity is understood and pursued given the material conditions of poverty and poor people, and the current cultural and ideological terrain.

Anti-Poverty Work: Unions, Poor Workers and Collective Action in Canada

Rethinking the Politics of Labour in Canada. Edited by Stephanie Ross and Larry Savage., 2012

Unionizing Retail: Lessons From Young Women's Grassroots Organizing in the Greater Toronto Area in the 1990s

Gendering Government: Political Labor and the Production of Political Culture and Policy

Governing Cultures: Anthropological Perspectives on Political Labor, Power, and Government. Edited by Kendra Coulter and William R. Schumann., 2012

Government Matters: Intellectual Labor and the Work of Governing.

The Stubbornness of Hope: Listening to Young Female University Teachers in Cuba

International Journal of Cuban Studies, 2010

Women, Poverty Policy and the Production of Neoliberal Politics in Ontario

Journal of Women, Politics and Policy, 2009

This article contributes to our understanding of the production of neoliberal policies and politi... more This article contributes to our understanding of the production of neoliberal policies and political culture by offering an anthropological analysis of women, poverty policy, and Third Way politics in Ontario, Canada. After tracing the history of neoliberal politics globally and in Ontario, I consider two examples of women's attempts to shape poverty policy drawn from ethnographic research in the legislature. The first centers on a social assistance recipient who was unexpectedly thrust into the media spotlight, thus given a chance to speak publicly about Ontario's welfare policies. The second focuses on a consciously planned challenge to policy by a coalition of feminist researchers and frontline workers. These cases illuminate the challenges facing feminists who seek to shape Third Way government policy, as discussion of gender and socioeconomic inequality is actively avoided by politicians, and women's experiences of poverty and demands for action are ignored, obfuscated or re-packaged.

Deep Neoliberal Integration: The Production of Third Way Politics in Ontario

Studies in Political Economy, 2009

A More Humane and Safer Ontario

Unprecedented data about animal protection in Ontario.

Work in Ontario Horse Stables

Unique data on the equine workforce.

Difference Makers: Understanding and Improving the OSPCA's Animal Cruelty Investigations

A report written in 2016 when the OSPCA enforced animal cruelty laws in Ontario.

The Gender Wage Gap in Ontario's Retail Sector: Devaluing Women's Work and Women Workers

The first study of the gender wage gap in Ontario's retail sector.

Winner of the Canadian Association for Work and Labour Studies Book Prize, 2015

Humane Jobs Are Central to a Humane Economy

Column in the Huffington Post.

We Can Treat Animals Humanely and Still Grow the Economy

Column in the Globe and Mail

Poverty, Jobs, and 'Lionomics'

Love Animals? Support Poverty Eradication and Humane Jobs

How Unions Can Support Pro-Animal Members, Animals, and Interspecies Solidarity

We Don't Just Need More Jobs, We Need Humane Jobs

Animals are Workers, Too

Of Hope and Horses: Thoughts on I'll Have Another, Class, and Society

If You Want Style, Choose Ethical Fashion

Why Canada Needs Retail Jobs to be Good Jobs

Retail Workers Deserve Our Respect

Retail Matters: Challenges and Opportunities for Organizing

Targeting Change: Retail and Canada's Future

Target Takeover Kills Thousands of Jobs

Walmart Workers in U.S. the Latest to Demand Better Working Conditions

Retail Workers Make History