Bernice Bovenkerk

Bernice Bovenkerk is an Associate Professor at the Philosophy Group of Wageningen University, specializing in animal ethics, environmental philosophy, and the ethical implications of human-animal relationships. She holds roles on the Council for Animal Affairs (RDA), the Management Board of the Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies (ESDiT) programme, and editorial positions for academic journals like Environmental Ethics and Food Ethics. She also serves as vice-president of the European Society for Agricultural and Environmental Ethics (EurSafe).

Her research focuses on integrating animal agency into ethical frameworks, particularly regarding biotechnology, digital technology, and climate justice. Notable grants include a VICI grant (2025) exploring fair development of digital technologies for human-animal relationships, a VIDI grant (2018) on animal agency in the Anthropocene, and a VENI grant (2012) on domestication ethics. She holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne (Australia) on democratic challenges in biotechnology debates.

Bovenkerk actively engages in public discourse through events like the IDFA in the Balie and the Els Borst-lecture on One Health. Her work emphasizes societal impact, advising governmental bodies on animal testing alternatives and animal law evaluations.