Lucía Arana Igarza
Lucía Arana Igarza is a writer and podcaster based in Spain. She received a grant for “Derecho y Animales, el Podcast de INTERcids,” the first podcast in Spain, and in Spanish, on animal rights from the legal perspective. Based on interviews with different legal experts (attorneys, judges, prosecutors, police, etc.), each episode features interviews with a legal expert or animal advocate who analyzes a specific animal cruelty case. Lucía writes:
There is a lack of knowledge in Spain regarding the progress and development of animal rights. People are very interested in animal protection, but they do not have the tools to defend animals effectively. Spain is one of the countries in Europe with more cases of animal cruelty and abandonment. For example, bullfighting is still legal and a protected tradition in this country. There is a lack of enforcement of the current legislation, which must also be updated to the level of the other European countries. The mission of the podcast is to educate the target audience on animal rights through accessible and informative interviews with legal experts in the field. We seek, through pedagogy, to create a breeding ground for the improvement of animal-related legislation in Spain.
With an expanded budget, Lucía was able to double the number of episodes for her podcast “Derecho y Animales,” broadcasting almost a hundred episodes (as of July 2023). The increased visibility of the podcast has brought forth a more diverse audience, promoted relationship building between animal rights lawyers and politicians in Spain, and allowed local authorities to request work meetings with interviewees. As the government in Spain works on elaborating a national animal protection framework law, “Derecho y Animales” provides a platform for the discussion of legislative proposals related to animal protection. In response to this, Lucía writes:
“The increased number of episodes brings dynamism to the podcast, allows us to interview more experts and to address different useful and pressing subjects in a timely manner. In addition, this periodicity contributes to build[ing] audience loyalty, as most podcast listeners expect that pod programs will be aired on a weekly or biweekly basis.”
You can listen to “Derecho y Animales” here.
