Animal ethicist Bernice Bovenkerk appointed as personal professor
- dr. B (Bernice) Bovenkerk
- associate professor
As of 1 December 2025, philosopher Bernice Bovenkerk has been appointed personal professor. As an animal and environmental ethicist, her work focuses on the relationship between humans, animals and their environment. She examines, for example, the impact of digital technologies such as artificial intelligence on our relationship with animals, as well as the ethical question of whether it is justifiable to consume animals, given growing scientific insight into their consciousness and their capacity to experience pain and stress. More broadly, her work centres on the changing role of animals in society.
“I have been interested in animals and nature since childhood,” Bovenkerk says. “I have always wondered how animals experience the world.” She was inspired to study philosophy during a Latin class, while translating a text by Seneca. During her studies at the University of Amsterdam, she specialised in environmental philosophy.
She subsequently worked in Utrecht on the ethics of biotechnology in animals and completed her PhD at the University of Melbourne in Australia. Her doctoral thesis, The Biotechnology Debate. Democracy in the face of intractable disagreement, was awarded the biennial dissertation prize of the Dutch Research School for Ethics. She later moved to Wageningen together with chair holder Marcel Verweij and has now been working for twelve years in the Philosophy Group. “What attracts me to Wageningen University & Research is its focus on the life sciences and the opportunity to work across disciplines with a wide range of scholars, from animal scientists and ecologists to sociologists,” she explains.
Bernice Bovenkerk is a regular contributor to the media and frequently speaks at public events. “I think it is important to make society more aware of ethical issues surrounding animals and the environment, and to actively contribute to public debate.”
In addition to her work at Wageningen University & Research, Bernice Bovenkerk is a member of the Dutch Council on Animal Affairs and serves on the board of the programme Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies (ESDiT).
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dr. B (Bernice) Bovenkerk
associate professor
