Purple paw pin badge
Dr Josh Milburn
My work asks about the place of animals in moral, legal, and political philosophy. One of my current interests is animals and warfare. Work on the ethics of war has traditionally been deeply anthropocentric, overlooking the impact that war has on animals, and the roles that animals play in war. This little badge tells an interesting story about the complexity of thinking about animals in war.
Many British people choose to wear a red poppy in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day to remember humans killed in war. Starting in 2006, the campaign group Animal Aid sold a purple poppy to commemorate animal victims of war. This poppy could be worn alongside, or instead of, a red poppy.
However, in 2015, Animal Aid stopped producing purple poppies, because they felt that their message of animals as victims of war had been diluted. Many people, they said, instead chose to wear a purple poppy to remember the animals impacted by conflict as valiant servants or heroes. This was the opposite message to the one that Animal Aid aimed to convey.
In place of the purple poppy, Animal Aid began selling a purple paw pin badge, which you can see here. They invite people to wear this badge throughout the year to commemorate all animal victims of human exploitation – not just animals impacted by war.
The purple poppy has a life beyond Animal Aid, and they are today produced and sold by many different groups and individuals to commemorate animals in war. Many of these groups and individuals hope to convey messages less radical than Animal Aid did with their original purple poppy campaign. This leaves the purple poppy as a surprisingly ambiguous symbol.