Journal profile · Agricultural and Biological Sciences-Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)
Animal Sentience
ISSN 2377-7478 · WellBeing International · United States
Animal Sentience: diamond open access (no APC); no APC; review about 9 weeks (community reports); 12 articles in 2025; indexed in Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Animal Sentience is published by WellBeing International. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Animal Law and Welfare, Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies and Philosophy and Theoretical Science, together about 49.6% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The objective of Animal Sentience is to contribute to the scientific, scholarly, and practical understanding of (1) what and how nonhuman species can feel and think and (2) how to protect and preserve them. Sensations and perceptions, including pain and pleasure and a wide variety of emotions, are central to a feeling organism's wellbeing. The scope of Animal Sentience is broad. Submissions are invited from disciplines spanning the physical, biological and social sciences, the humanities, and beyond, including technology, the arts, law, media, and public policy. The perspective can be physiological, psychological, behavioural, cognitive, ethological, ecological, veterinary, philosophical, ethical, legal, political, or practical. Scholarly inquiry does not grow or flourish in isolation from its practical implications. Creating bridges between science and advocacy is one of academia's increasingly pressing priorities, especially where feelings and welfare -- whether human or nonhuman -- are concerned. Our understanding of the feelings of other creatures on the planet we share informs, deepens, and strengthens our evolving relationship with them. For this reason, papers published in Animal Sentience also encourage discussion of how the findings can be applied to advancing policy and practice. Open Peer Commentary is invited on all target articles from qualified specialists in any of the fields on which the content impinges.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Agricultural and Biological Sciences-Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)
Editor-in-chief Stevan HarnadPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 5, Canada 2, United Kingdom 1 (8 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Animal Law and WelfareSocial Sciences19.1%
- Animal Behavior and Welfare StudiesVeterinary18.1%
- Philosophy and Theoretical SciencePsychology12.4%
- Animal testing and alternativesVeterinary6.1%
- Philosophical Ethics and TheoryArts and Humanities5.9%
- Embodied and Extended CognitionNeuroscience5.3%
- Primate Behavior and EcologyPsychology4.7%
- Environmental Philosophy and EthicsEnvironmental Science4.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CiteScore quartiles (Scopus, June 2026 release)
| Subject | Quartile | Rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous) | Q1 | 37/253 | 85th |
| Neuroscience (miscellaneous) | Q2 | 21/74 | 72nd |
Scopus ranks journals by CiteScore within each subject: the 75th percentile and above is Q1, then a quartile every 25 points. A different system from the CAS zones.LetPub
Database indexing
ScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
CrossrefPublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.3LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.45LetPub ·
- h-index
- 34OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 165OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.63OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 717 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 24 | 24 | 251 |
| 2025 | 12 | 12 | 547 |
| 2024 | 32 | 32 | 2,075 |
| 2023 | 35 | 35 | 868 |
| 2022 | 52 | 52 | 569 |
| 2021 | 4 | 4 | 385 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 9 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 9 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Open peer commentary, Unspecified peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY, CC BY-NC | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — | |
| Publisher website | No APC | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare6 items from the author guidelines
- Keywords
- ≥ 5
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 10,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Required
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted5, with length limits
- author response to commentariesAuthors’ Responses to Commentaries resemble Commentaries in format (author, title, abstract, keywords, bio, email, URL).Length not stated
- commentaryan submit a Commentary directly. A Peer Commentary is a mini-article (about 1000 words) with a title, abstract (100 words) and bio. It is subjectmain text ≤ 1,000 words
- open peer commentaryAnimal Sentience is a journal consisting of “target” articles and “open peer commentary” articles.Length not stated
- précisIn these instances, the author should provide a comprehensive, Article-length Précis for publication with the Commentaries and the author’s Response.Length not stated
- target articleAnimal Sentience is a journal consisting of “target” articles and “open peer commentary” articles.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteLicense & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Self-archiving
- License & copyright Copyright & Creative Commons
Animal Sentience is an Open Access journal. The default copyright for all target articles and commentary articles is CC-BY, which means that the text can be re-used and re-published as long as the author(s) and the original locus of publication are explicitly cited when re-publishing. Under special circumstances the author may instead request to adopt CC-BY-NC, which requires the citation system a…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access
Open Access; default license CC-BY for target and commentary articles; CC-BY-NC available on request. Model summary
Animal Sentience is an Open Access journal. The default copyright for all target articles and commentary articles is CC-BY, which means that the text can be re-used and re-published as long as the author(s) and the original locus of publication are explicitly cited when re-publishing.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review Process
Target articles refereed by 4-6 peers selected by the Editor. Model summary
Animal Sentience is a journal consisting of “target” articles and “open peer commentary” articles. Target article submissions are first refereed through classical peer review. If accepted for publication, the target article is then accorded open peer commentary. Peer commentary articles are subject to editorial review. All target articles are refereed by 4-6 peers selected by the Editor for their …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Self-archiving
Submitted version: no deposit pending decision. Model summary
Submitted Version – Once a manuscript is submitted, the author(s) should refrain from depositing it in a repository pending a decision from Animal Sentience.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- WellBeing International
- Country or region
- United States
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2377-7478
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Animal Sentience
How long does peer review take at Animal Sentience?
Authors report an average review time of about 9 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Animal Sentience?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Keywords: ≥ 5; Manuscript length: ≤ 10,000 words; Reference style: APA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Required; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Animal Sentience based?
Of the 8 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (5), Canada (2) and United Kingdom (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Animal Sentience?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Animal Sentience is indexed in Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Animal Sentience open access, and what is the APC?
Animal Sentience is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .