„Zwierzę zawsze pozna człowieka”. Relacje podlaskich rolników ze zwierzętami

The article is based on field research conducted between 2011 and 2013 amongst people living in villages surrounding the town of Dąbrowa Białostocka in Poland. The main research method was qualitative interviews with female and male farmers. Examined issues included: human-animal relationship and animal subjectivity, attitudes towards mass production of milk and meat, strategies of animals’ death avoidance. I assume that the perception of nature and human-animal relationships changes with time, is socially constructed and grounded in a specific cultural environment. I show that my interlocutors are against mass production as they believe it objectifies animals. The relationship they have with animals within their farm is personal and based on mutual trust. Animals of various species are treated differently, however each individual is treated uniquely, and the relationship is a result of both animal and human personality and effort.

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