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Announcing Our 2023 Animal Photojournalism Fellows

Announcing Our 2023 Animal Photojournalism Fellows

by | May 16, 2023

We are thrilled to announce that we have awarded two Animal Photojournalism Fellowships this year, one to Selene Magnolia and one to Havva Zorlu. Selene is awarded a Senior Fellowship in recognition of her experience and extensive project scope. Over the course of this year each will tell their own stories of animals farmed for food.

[Content warning: Contains confronting images and/or video footage]

We have been in awe of the calibre of work submitted to our 2023 Animal Photojournalism Fellowship. During March we received applications from 62 talented individuals with submissions spanning South America, Asia, North America and Europe.

Read on to learn about our two new Fellows and see some of their animal photojournalism to date.

Selene Magnolia - SENIOR FELLOW

Selene’s project seeks to make industrial farming viscerally relevant to wider audiences by documenting the sweeping health threats of factory farms on people across Europe. This Senior Fellowship is $11,000 (CAD) for a one year project covering multiple countries and shoots.

This project is developed from the vertical impact and un-sustainability of factory farms, like gas emissions, deforestation, pandemics, climate destruction, but explores their horizontal effects as a focus. Long shadows are projected from intensive animal agriculture buildings and hit nearby communities first, like a lurking presence on people’s lives. ― Selene Magnolia

Selene Magnolia - Selene Fellow

Selene Magnolia

Selene Magnolia is an Italian award-winning documentary photographer and photojournalist. The main areas of focus framing her work are social justice, environmental issues, anthropology and human rights, contemporary and political issues, feminism and food production. Selene’s work has been awarded in numerous international photography awards and was also published in our award-winning book, HIDDEN: Animals in the Anthropocene. Learn more about Selene’s thought-provoking work in her We Animals interview feature.

Follow Selene’s work: selenemagnolia.com

Woman who lives close to a factory farm is gardening outdoors wearing a face mask daily because of smell and pollution. Denmark, 2019. Selene Magnolia / Wildlight / Greenpeace

Woman who lives close to a factory farm is gardening outdoors wearing a face mask daily because of smell and pollution. Denmark, 2019.

Selene Magnolia / Wildlight / Greenpeace

Deck crew pulls nets filled with sardines onboard the purse seine fishing boat Pandelis II. Greece, 2020. Selene Magnolia / We Animals

Deck crew pulls nets filled with sardines onboard the purse seine fishing boat Pandelis II. Greece, 2020.

Selene Magnolia / We Animals

Deck crew collects sardines onboard the purse seine fishing boat Pandelis II. Greece, 2020. Selene Magnolia / We Animals

Deck crew collects sardines onboard the purse seine fishing boat Pandelis II. Greece, 2020.

Selene Magnolia / We Animals

A gasping, writhing pile of fish and by-catch lie piled together on a fishing boat deck. France, 2018. Selene Magnolia / HIDDEN / We Animals
A worker onboard the fishing vessel Fasilis shovels fish back into the sea. During the sorting process, unwanted fish (bycatch) are sorted into piles on the deck, where they lay suffocating until they are eventually tossed back into the water. Many do not survive.
Workers onboard the fishing boat Fasilis sort the catch by type, dividing it between fish with commercial value and useless by-catch.
Garbage day. A dead pig inside a refuse bin waits for collection outside a farm entrance. Denmark, 2019. Selene Magnolia / HIDDEN / We Animals
A fisherman holds a shark taken from the nets of a fishing boat. Common bycatch victims of industrial trawling include sharks, dolphins, turtles and some endangered species. France, 2018. Selene Magnolia / HIDDEN / We Animals

Selene Magnolia / We Animals

View more of Selene’s visuals via our stock platform.

Havva Zorlu - FELLOW

Havva’s project takes place on her home soil in Türkiye (Turkey), an enormous farmed animal player, where she will document widespread animal use across regions in a country deserving of more attention. This Fellowship is $6,500 (CAD) for six months.

Awareness against animal exploitation in Türkiye has started to increase more rapidly in recent years. Depending on this awareness, animal photojournalism is also developing. As a person living in Türkiye, this fellowship is a unique opportunity to make the lives of animals visible and to become professional in the field of animal photojournalism. ― Havva Zorlu

Selene Magnolia - Selene Fellow

Havva Zorlu

Havva Zorlu is a photographer and animal rights activist based in Türkiye. She started taking photographs at a young age with the dream of becoming a photojournalist, and uses photography as a means of expression. Her photography mostly consists of documentary photography and experimental image production techniques. She graduated from Dokuz Eylül University Fine Arts Faculty Photography Department in 2022. Today she takes photographs to contribute to the struggle for animal rights by defending the right to life and freedom for all species.

Follow Havva’s work: @havvazorlu

In 2022, We Animals interviewed Havva as part of our contributor interview series to learn more about her stirring visuals and journey towards animal photojournalism; and her recent feature in BirGün, arranged by Deniz Tapkan Cengizone for one of Türkiye’s major newspapers, offers Havva an influential platform to discuss these underreported animal issues.

In the yard of an animal breeder in Turkiye, men pin down a bound goat about to be slaughtered. This goat will be killed while fully conscious as a ritual animal sacrifice, or "Qurban," so the goat's owner may observe the Islamic Eid al-Adha holiday traditions. During this four-day holiday, millions of animals are slaughtered in Turkiye alone. Türkiye, 2022. Havva Zorlu We Animals

In the yard of an animal breeder in Turkiye, men pin down a bound goat about to be slaughtered. This goat will be killed while fully conscious as a ritual animal sacrifice, or “Qurban,” so the goat’s owner may observe the Islamic Eid al-Adha holiday traditions. During this four-day holiday, millions of animals are slaughtered in Turkiye alone. Türkiye, 2022.

Havva Zorlu / We Animals

Dozens of cows live inside a concrete-floored indoor enclosure on a dairy farm in Turkiye. The cows on this farm spend their entire days indoors, confined in pens without bedding. The concrete floor of this pen is slick with feces and urine. Türkiye, 2022. Havva Zorlu We Animals

Dozens of cows live inside a concrete-floored indoor enclosure on a dairy farm in Turkiye. The cows on this farm spend their entire days indoors, confined in pens without bedding. The concrete floor of this pen is slick with feces and urine. Türkiye, 2022.

Havva Zorlu / We Animals

Milk flows from the udder of a dairy cow immobilized inside a squeeze box at a slaughterhouse in Izmir, Turkiye. The box makes it easier for workers to attach the chain that will pull her from the box and suspend her upside-down from the ceiling. A worker will then cut her throat. Türkiye, 2022. Havva Zorlu We Animals

Milk flows from the udder of a dairy cow immobilized inside a squeeze box at a slaughterhouse in Izmir, Turkiye. The box makes it easier for workers to attach the chain that will pull her from the box and suspend her upside-down from the ceiling. A worker will then cut her throat. Türkiye, 2022.

Havva Zorlu / We Animals

This modern dairy farm in Turkey is a simple, typical example of how cow milk is produced. On this farm, calves are removed from their mothers within 24 hours of birth. Naturally, calves would wean themselves from their mothers at eight to ten months of age. This calf separation practice allows the mothers' milk to be collected and sold for human consumption. Newborn calves live inside individual, tiny pens for the first 15 days before being moved into barns. Calves will never suckle from their mothers and are instead fed manufactured commercial milk powder mixed with water. If the calf is female, she will be exploited for milk like her mother, being artificially inseminated for the first time at 14-15 months old. Male calves here are fattened for slaughter and killed at 12 to 24 months of age. Mother cows are milked three times daily by milking machines. The national average milk yield for Turkish dairy cows is just under 20 litres per day, while, according to industry reports, some large farms average closer to 30 liters of milk per day from each cow. Two months after a cow has given birth, she will be artificially inseminated again, and will give birth nine months later. This cycle continues throughout the cow's life, until she is no longer "productive" - often at only 5 or 6 years old. The natural lifespan of a cow is 20-25 years. Cows on dairy farms will be sent to slaughter prematurely if they become sick or lame, if their milk production diminishes, or if they are no longer able to become pregnant.
This modern dairy farm in Turkey is a simple, typical example of how cow milk is produced. On this farm, calves are removed from their mothers within 24 hours of birth. Naturally, calves would wean themselves from their mothers at eight to ten months of age. This calf separation practice allows the mothers' milk to be collected and sold for human consumption. Newborn calves live inside individual, tiny pens for the first 15 days before being moved into barns. Calves will never suckle from their mothers and are instead fed manufactured commercial milk powder mixed with water. If the calf is female, she will be exploited for milk like her mother, being artificially inseminated for the first time at 14-15 months old. Male calves here are fattened for slaughter and killed at 12 to 24 months of age. Mother cows are milked three times daily by milking machines. The national average milk yield for Turkish dairy cows is just under 20 litres per day, while, according to industry reports, some large farms average closer to 30 liters of milk per day from each cow. Two months after a cow has given birth, she will be artificially inseminated again, and will give birth nine months later. This cycle continues throughout the cow's life, until she is no longer "productive" - often at only 5 or 6 years old. The natural lifespan of a cow is 20-25 years. Cows on dairy farms will be sent to slaughter prematurely if they become sick or lame, if their milk production diminishes, or if they are no longer able to become pregnant.
Compared with its larger slaughterhouse counterpart in Gaziantep, which can slaughter up to 960 bovines per day, this facility located in Izmir, Turkiye, has a much lower capacity, slaughtering only a few dozen animals daily. Because dairy farming is common in this area, cows with low milk yield, injuries, or who are old are often brought to this slaughterhouse along with cows from surrounding villages. In recent years, low, government-set raw milk prices and high "meat" prices have spurred an increase in the number of dairy cattle sent to slaughter. Upon arrival, the animals are taken into the slaughterhouse one by one and clamped in a metal mechanism called a "kill box" to immobilize them. While the box holds the cattle in position, a worker secures a chain hanging from the ceiling to one of the animal's legs. An overhead mechanism pulls the chain up, which then opens the metal box, pulling the animal upwards, fully conscious. Next, as the animal hangs upside down, a slaughterhouse worker cuts their neck. The cattle bleed to death, still struggling to survive while being moved to the next stage of processing via the overhead rail and chain mechanism. Unlike other countries, Turkiye has been slow to adopt the pre-stunning of animals prior to being killed.
This modern dairy farm in Turkey is a simple, typical example of how cow milk is produced. On this farm, calves are removed from their mothers within 24 hours of birth. Naturally, calves would wean themselves from their mothers at eight to ten months of age. This calf separation practice allows the mothers' milk to be collected and sold for human consumption. Newborn calves live inside individual, tiny pens for the first 15 days before being moved into barns. Calves will never suckle from their mothers and are instead fed manufactured commercial milk powder mixed with water. If the calf is female, she will be exploited for milk like her mother, being artificially inseminated for the first time at 14-15 months old. Male calves here are fattened for slaughter and killed at 12 to 24 months of age. Mother cows are milked three times daily by milking machines. The national average milk yield for Turkish dairy cows is just under 20 litres per day, while, according to industry reports, some large farms average closer to 30 liters of milk per day from each cow. Two months after a cow has given birth, she will be artificially inseminated again, and will give birth nine months later. This cycle continues throughout the cow's life, until she is no longer "productive" - often at only 5 or 6 years old. The natural lifespan of a cow is 20-25 years. Cows on dairy farms will be sent to slaughter prematurely if they become sick or lame, if their milk production diminishes, or if they are no longer able to become pregnant.
This modern dairy farm in Turkey is a simple, typical example of how cow milk is produced. On this farm, calves are removed from their mothers within 24 hours of birth. Naturally, calves would wean themselves from their mothers at eight to ten months of age. This calf separation practice allows the mothers' milk to be collected and sold for human consumption. Newborn calves live inside individual, tiny pens for the first 15 days before being moved into barns. Calves will never suckle from their mothers and are instead fed manufactured commercial milk powder mixed with water. If the calf is female, she will be exploited for milk like her mother, being artificially inseminated for the first time at 14-15 months old. Male calves here are fattened for slaughter and killed at 12 to 24 months of age. Mother cows are milked three times daily by milking machines. The national average milk yield for Turkish dairy cows is just under 20 litres per day, while, according to industry reports, some large farms average closer to 30 liters of milk per day from each cow. Two months after a cow has given birth, she will be artificially inseminated again, and will give birth nine months later. This cycle continues throughout the cow's life, until she is no longer "productive" - often at only 5 or 6 years old. The natural lifespan of a cow is 20-25 years. Cows on dairy farms will be sent to slaughter prematurely if they become sick or lame, if their milk production diminishes, or if they are no longer able to become pregnant.
Eid al-Adha ("Feast of the Sacrifice")—the larger of two main Islamic holidays and widely celebrated in Turkey—involves mass ritual animal sacrifice, known as "Qurban." On the first day of Eid al-Adha, the slaughter of animals begins after the morning prayer. The day is the busiest since this is when most animals are sacrificed. The animals killed during Eid al-Adha in Turkey are usually buffalo, cattle, goats and sheep. Although cities like Istanbul created slaughtering areas in 2022, people still slaughter animals at home. On the holiday’s first day in July 2022, a We Animals investigator documented the suffering as people sacrificed animals in their garden in Kaynaklar village in the Buca district in Izmir. A small cutting environment was created in the garden of a home near the village square for the people living in the village. In 2021, in Turkiye alone, over 3.7 million animals were killed during Eid al-Adha.
Eid al-Adha ("Feast of the Sacrifice")—the larger of two main Islamic holidays and widely celebrated in Turkey—involves mass ritual animal sacrifice, known as "Qurban." On the first day of Eid al-Adha, the slaughter of animals begins after the morning prayer. The day is the busiest since this is when most animals are sacrificed. On the second day, an animal breeder in the Menderes district of Izmir, Turkey, makes a sacrifice in his garden. Goats and sheep living in the backyard are slaughtered in the front garden, packaged, and delivered to their buyers. Due to the high purchasing cost of an entire cow or bull, up to seven customers may jointly buy the animal—a reason cows and bulls are usually sacrificed on the feast’s first day. Since one individual buys goats and sheep, their slaughter continues more intensively on other days. At this location, people sitting on a few chairs in the garden watch the whole slaughtering and butchering process. Some people who had bought animals to be slaughtered stroke the animals’ heads or cover their eyes, in an attempt to prevent those animals from being afraid. In 2021, in Turkey alone, over 3.7 million animals were killed during Eid al-Adh.
Eid al-Adha ("Feast of the Sacrifice")—the larger of two main Islamic holidays and widely celebrated in Turkey—involves mass ritual animal sacrifice, known as "Qurban." On the first day of Eid al-Adha, the slaughter of animals begins after the morning prayer. The day is the busiest since this is when most animals are sacrificed. On the second day, an animal breeder in the Menderes district of Izmir, Turkey, makes a sacrifice in his garden. Goats and sheep living in the backyard are slaughtered in the front garden, packaged, and delivered to their buyers. Due to the high purchasing cost of an entire cow or bull, up to seven customers may jointly buy the animal—a reason cows and bulls are usually sacrificed on the feast’s first day. Since one individual buys goats and sheep, their slaughter continues more intensively on other days. At this location, people sitting on a few chairs in the garden watch the whole slaughtering and butchering process. Some people who had bought animals to be slaughtered stroke the animals’ heads or cover their eyes, in an attempt to prevent those animals from being afraid. In 2021, in Turkey alone, over 3.7 million animals were killed during Eid al-Adh.
Eid al-Adha ("Feast of the Sacrifice")—the larger of two main Islamic holidays and widely celebrated in Turkey—involves mass ritual animal sacrifice, known as "Qurban." On the first day of Eid al-Adha, the slaughter of animals begins after the morning prayer. The day is the busiest since this is when most animals are sacrificed. On the second day, an animal breeder in the Menderes district of Izmir, Turkey, makes a sacrifice in his garden. Goats and sheep living in the backyard are slaughtered in the front garden, packaged, and delivered to their buyers. Due to the high purchasing cost of an entire cow or bull, up to seven customers may jointly buy the animal—a reason cows and bulls are usually sacrificed on the feast’s first day. Since one individual buys goats and sheep, their slaughter continues more intensively on other days. At this location, people sitting on a few chairs in the garden watch the whole slaughtering and butchering process. Some people who had bought animals to be slaughtered stroke the animals’ heads or cover their eyes, in an attempt to prevent those animals from being afraid. In 2021, in Turkey alone, over 3.7 million animals were killed during Eid al-Adh.

Havva Zorlu / We Animals

View more of Havva’s visuals via our stock platform.

Havva and Selene will work remotely with Jo-Anne McArthur and the We Animals team throughout 2023 and will receive this Fellowship funding as a monthly stipend and to cover project costs.

We’d like to extend our thanks to all who applied to this year’s Fellowship – we were thrilled to read all of the wonderful project proposals and to learn about more and more photographers doing this important work on behalf of animals. From the 62 applicants we received this year, we were also able to offer numerous assignments around the globe covering industries from fishing and dairy farming to animals in gastronomy and cell-based meat.

This is an inspiring time for animal photojournalism, and we look forward to sharing these new stories with you in the coming months. Subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on social media to stay updated.

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