[1][2] Its subject matter, animal sentience, concerns what and how nonhuman animals think and feel as well as the scientific and scholarly methods of investigating it and conveying the findings to the general public.

[3] The initial publisher was the Animal Studies Repository of the Institute for Science and Policy of The Humane Society of the United States,[4] now the Animal Studies Repository of WellBeing International.

[6][7] The 2012 Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness led to many scientists acknowledging that animals other than humans can feel subjectively and experience qualia.

[citation needed] In response to this, in 2014, the Institute for Science and Policy decided to create a peer-reviewed journal focused on animal sentience.

[11][12] All articles accepted for publication are open to open peer commentary, in which multiple researchers may submit mini-articles criticizing, clarifying, or elaborating on the article from the viewpoint of any research field relevant to its content.