Animal Ethics Film List

The below list of films is not exhaustive. You may find or propose others. Please do not select a film you have previously studied or analyzed in an academic setting. Most of these films are available for free, or for a low watch/rent price online (usually $2-$4). Hover you cursor over each image below for a brief description and information to access each film. 

Documentary about the egg industry. The usual video link is not working. Click the image to see the film in 5 short segments.

Short documentary on evangelical Christian view of eating animals. Click to watch.

Documentary that follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks. Watch free on UCI Kanopy.

Documentary that analyzes and questions dolphin hunting practices in Japan. Find online.

Documentary about Tilikum, a captive killer whale who has taken the lives of several people, and the controversy of captive orcas. Watch at youtube, Google Play, Hulu, or online.

South Korean-American action-adventure film about a girl who raises a genetically modified superpig. Watch at Netflix.

Documentary that tells the story of six advocates determined to take down the world's largest animal-testing. Watch online.

documentary to look at what happens at sled dog operations and the Iditarod once the tourists go home. Watch at Hulu or online.

Based on the bestselling book by Jonathan Safran Foer and narrated by co-producer Natalie Portman, Eating Animals is an urgent, eye-opening look at the environmental, economic, and public health consequences of factory farming. Watch online.

Documentary exploring the concept and practice of speciesism. Watch Amazon Prime or online.

Documentary that chronicles the David and Goliath story of a tiny grassroots movement taking on big veterinary corporations in an effort to ban the de-clawing of cats.

Examines intensive livestock production as one of the most important causes of climate change.

Documentary about an infant chimpanzee who was taken from his mother's arms and sent to live with a human family as part of a Columbia University psychology experiment. Watch on Amazon Prime or online.

Documentary about the effect of overfishing and examines the imminent extinction of bluefin tuna. Watch on Amazon Prime or online.

Documentary that explores the problem of unhealthy dietary patterns in the African-American community. Watch free on UCI Kanopy, or on Amazon Prime or online.

Albatross is an artfully-filmed documentary about birds on Midway Island in the Pacific Ocean that are affected by ocean trash. View free at: https://vimeo.com/264508490

Documentary about humanity's absolute dependence on animals (for pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and scientific research). Click to watch.

Documentary that illuminates the lives of individual animals living within the machine of our modern world. Watch on youtube, iTunes, Google Play or online.

Documentary film examines corporate farming in the United States, and the effects on animals, environment, and workers. Watch on Amazon Prime, Hulu, iTunes, or online.

Documentary film about the international trade in captive orcas. Click for viewing options.

Documentary film about exotic pets kept in homes in the United States and the controversy surrounding it. Watch on Amazon Prime, iTunes, Hulu, or online.

Documentary follows People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals president Ingrid Newkirk and the controversial animal rights group. Watch on Amazon Prime, youtube, or Google Play.

Documentary that explores abuse and treatment of elephants in zoos and circuses. Watch on Amazon Prime, Hulu, Google Play or online.

Tyke Elephant Outlaw is a documentary film about a circus elephant whose escape made history. Watch on Netflix or online.

Documentary exploring animal agricultural practices as the primary cause of environmental issues. Watch on Netflix or online.

Documentary follows animal rights lawyer Steven Wise in his unprecedented challenge to break down the legal wall that separates animals from humans. Watch free at at UCI Kanopy, or Amazon Prime, Hulu, iTunes, or UCI Kanopy.

The documentary film charts the lives of both humans and non-humans who have experienced animal testing. Click to watch.

Oscar-nominated director tackles the vexing issue of why bees, worldwide, are facing extinction. Watch free on UCI Kanopy, and Amazon Prime, iTunes, Google Play and youtube.

An omnivore filmmaker and his vegetarian wife offer an unbiased look at how farm animals are raised for our consumption. Watch on Amazon Prime, iTunes, youtube, Google Play or UCI Kanopy (free).

Oscar winner about two brothers who run a bird hospital in Delhi, India; watch on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime.

Award winning film about elephant caretakers in South India

Follow a skeptical Spanish filmmaker struggling to make an documentary against animal cruelty. Click to watch on Kanopy (free); Spanish version on Vimeo.

Free on Kanopy; click to watch

Film about rivers, people, and wild salmon’s slide toward extinction. Click to watch free on Kanopy.

How on U.S. city moved from fearing bats to celebrating them. Click to watch free on Kanopy.

Film that explores puppy mills, their profits and costs. Click to watch free on Kanopy.

An unusual friendship grows in a South African kelp forest. Watch on Netflix.

Documentary about disappearance of coral reefs. Watch on Netflix.

Food 3.0 What Will Be Eating Next? Click to watch free on Kanopy.

Sci-fi favorite about many ethical themes. Watch on Amazon Prime or other streaming services.

One of the earliest films to consider life in a slaughterhouse. Find online.

Reconsidering the "human" relation to the environment. Click to watch free on Kanopy

Animated film about chickens in factory farms. Watch online.

Modern Sci-fi take on animals in entertainments. Watch online

1932 Classic about human and animal experimentation. Click to watch free.

Swedish fantasy film about security guard with high sense of smell and cross-species identity. Watch online.

Documentary about a construction worker who finds himself an animal advocate. Click to watch free.

Documentary about farmers reconsidering their relation to animal. Click to watch free.

Chronicles the lives of two dairy cows. Watch online.

See the streets of Istanbul through the eyes of street dogs. Click to watch free on Kanopy.

Film about shark fin industry. Click to watch free.

Multi-country look at the human-dog relation. Click to watch free or find online.

Rabbits defend their home against development. Click to watch the gripping 1978 original free. Newer version on Netflix.

When a man blurs the line between himself, society, and bears. Click to watch free.

Meeting elephant herds around the world to learn their adaptations, skills, and communication. Stream on Hulu.

A collision of an endangered species, fishery, and federal agency tasked to protect both. Free on Kanopy or rent on YouTube.

Natalie Portman and Jonathan Safran Foer present this eye-opening look at the food industry and an ethical future free of factory farming. Free on Kanopy or rent on YouTube.

Icelandic fiction film about the birth of a human/sheep hybrid of mysterious origin and the couple who adopts the child as their own. Check streaming sites.

Controversial plot regarding animal research makes this 2023 film an outside-the-box superhero flick. Check streaming services.