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I adore these videos of Tardar Sauce (a.k.a., Grumpy Cat). She has become a worldwide sensation, and she is quite rightly described as the World's Most Famous Cat (at least for the moment). If you're on Facebook, like me, you know that Grumpy Cat memes are a dime a dozen. A few of them are amusing (rarely laugh-out-loud
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8 May 2013 at 9:56am
This is a superb PETA video on animals in circuses, hosted and narrated by actor Alec Baldwin. There is an excellent interview in the video with a longtime veterinarian Dr. Mel Richardson, who has worked with elephants in circuses for over 40 years. Please have a look at this video. It's not very long and it's quite informative.
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5 May 2013 at 9:51am
Please show this to your friends and family who are meat eaters. It is a gore-free video. It shows a cow shedding tears over the horrific fate he is about to experience. I quote from the wonderful Facebook page Animal Rights Activist: This 34 second footage clearly shows a beautiful, sweet cow shedding tears in the seconds
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5 May 2013 at 9:45am
"I had never seen a slaughterhouse before. My blood ran cold. This didn't just turn me into a vegetarian. It turned me into a genuinely compassionate human being. I ultimately became vegan when I aw what happens to millions of chickens - their beak burned off, millions of tiny male chicks being hurled to their death into grinders, premature calves being
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3 May 2013 at 4:47pm
A three-legged alligator on the fairway? You heard it here first, folks!
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3 May 2013 at 1:58pm
It occurred to me that my post yesterday contained some pessimistic observations about the human race. Whenever this blog features despairing observations, I like to counter with a more hopeful follow-up. There are plenty of reasons why Animal Rights advocates should be hopeful. Here are five! 1. In the Flushing section
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2 May 2013 at 7:11pm
2 May 2013 at 5:55pm I'll never forget my family's first video camera. My dad purchased it 30 years ago from an electronics store in Salt Lake City called Stokes Brothers. When I got that thing, I went around shooting movies everywhere: in the backyard; at family picnics; in the basement rec room. You name it, I shot videos. Now I look back and watch them and they're
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1 May 2013 at 1:31pm
Do yourself a favour: Check out Father Frank Mann reflecting on why he converted to veganism. It's one of the most eloquent and moving testimonies I've ever heard. And it shows what many of us have believed all along: That veganism and animal rights are an essential part of our spirituality and ability to feel empathy with all living
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29 Mar 2013 at 4:28pm
This film - from Mercy for Animals - is extraordinary and short. Please have a look. It poses a question that many people are afraid to ask: Where does my food come from? The mini-film is an extraordinary mixture of pathos and humor. I've always thought the movement needs more humor, but we should never lose sight of the tragedy all around
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12 Mar 2013 at 9:23am
This is heartbreaking video shot by the wonderful activists in Toronto who organized Toronto Pig Save. It should be mandatory viewing. Thank you to the brave and inspiring Anita Krajnc for bringing it to my attention. Bless you Anita and all the activists with Toronto Cow Save! Please watch it. It does not show gore,
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2 Mar 2013 at 8:28pm
If you get a moment, please - please - read Leah Graces' troubling article "Why We Haven't Seen Inside a Broiler Chicken Farm in a Decade" in Food Safety News. It is a must-read for those of us who are concerned about the fate of factory-farmed animals, especially chickens, who live in the worst conditions imaginable and are
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1 Feb 2013 at 10:50pm
This video should be mandatory viewing, especially among anyone that eats pork and other pig products. This is one more appalling chapter in a very, very long book full of atrocities that humans commit on a daily basis against animals. This video shows us two different paths that pigs can follow: the factory farm system, with all of its horrors
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24 Jan 2013 at 1:37pm
12 Jan 2013 at 10:17am ... such as this one. Please watch. Please share. And please do your best to stay away from dairy, for the reasons explained here.
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9 Jan 2013 at 8:55pm
Here is chef and health counselor Alex Jamieson, who has so many great ideas about maintaining a healthy vegan diet. In this video, she gives terrific vegan tips, talks about her vegan cookbooks and mentions some of her favorite vegan recipes. If you aren't familiar with Jamieson's work, check out here Website here. She
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6 Jan 2013 at 8:57pm
Wonderful Steve-O, of Jackass fame (one of my guilty pleasures over the years), narrates a Farm Sanctuary video that looks absolutely extraordinary. It is the story of a pig, cow and chicken who manage to escape the horrors of factory farms. While I haven't seen it yet, I've watched plenty of other Farm Sanctuary videos, and
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5 Jan 2013 at 2:12pm
Apologists for Foie Gras - one of the most sadistic foods ever concocted in the long, tragic, violence-filled history of the (in)Human Race - insist the French delicacy made from the livers of duck and geese who were force fed during their short, awful existences, is actually not that cruel. If you get a chance, have a look at
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3 Jan 2013 at 3:23pm
Words of wisdom from Gary Francione, who has been a source of so much wisdom over the years. He is absolutely right. The key is to link Animal Rights and Human Rights. One without the other is meaningless. The violence used against animals comes from the same place as violence used against humans. It is rooted in an objectification of both,
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3 Jan 2013 at 3:04pm
With the start of a new year, there are ample reasons for animal rights advocates to be discouraged. Yet there are also reasons to be hopeful. Here are five: 1. As of midnight on January 1, 2013, Israel has banned the import and sale of all cosmetics and cleaning products that have been tested on animals. (Source)
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1 Jan 2013 at 8:55pm
... with words worth remembering. Have a look:
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23 Aug 2012 at 7:19am
The first is called "I am scared and don't want to die." The second is called "A kiss before dying." Zero gore. Just pathos and tragedy. Remember: Animals savor life as much as you or I. They want to live, too. They deserve to live. No animal wants to be our food. Please watch. Please share. Let these videos strengthen
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23 Aug 2012 at 7:14am
I am back from a summer hiatus, and I especially wanted to post this powerful passage by Timothy Pachirat, author of Every Twelve Seconds, a book about slaughterhouses. It's an extraordinary description of slaughter, worth including here in its entirety. “I wanted to understand how massive processes of violence become normalized
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23 Aug 2012 at 4:21am
Mercy for Animals has exposed yet another case of extreme brutality, this time at Christensen Farms in Hanska, Minnesota. Christensen is a pork supplier for Walmart. Bob (The Price is Right) Barker narrates the powerful Mercy For Animals video exposing the horrific conditions inside the
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18 Jul 2012 at 7:40am
Last week, I posted a photo making the rounds on Facebook. It shows a bullfighter sitting down in the middle of an arena and bowing his head while a bull looks on. It purports to show bullfighter Alvaro Munera having a crisis of conscience right before a bullfight and demonstrating remorse by lowering his head, as if weeping or showing shame.
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18 Jul 2012 at 7:15am
15 Jul 2012 at 6:18am If you're a believer in Animal Rights and Veganism, like me, then chances are you probably came to these beliefs as a result of your sensitivity. I have a theory that most proponents of Animal Rights and Veganism are extremely sensitive people. Even the ones who seem dogmatic, or who rely too excessively on guilt-tripping, or
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12 Jul 2012 at 11:06am
I keep meaning to post this. This wonderful graphic makes important distinctions between the Animal Rights and Animal Welfare movements. Even though there is a fair amount of overlap between the two movements, their ultimate goals are dramatically different. Of course, this blogger falls into the Animal Rights camp. Until we recognize that
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18 Jun 2012 at 4:45am
Facebook and the blogosphere are all aflutter with commentary about Jonathan Safran Foer, author of the bestseller Eating Animals, becoming a spokesperson for Buyingpoultry.com, a website that promotes the consumption of "humane and sustainable poultry." For those who haven't read Eating Animals (a book I've
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17 Jun 2012 at 10:03am
Don't worry. I'm not giving up on veganism. Neither is the maker of this video, nicknamed Richie Fruitbat. It's an excellent video that refutes some of the myths spread around by former vegans who go back to their omnivore ways. There is a lot of wisdom in this video. I'm not a raw food vegan like Richie (I don't think I can
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12 Jun 2012 at 6:04pm
12 Jun 2012 at 5:53pm If you get a moment, please check out this advertisement made by our Canadian brothers and sisters in the struggle about sow stalls, which will air on TV stations in Manitoba. It's a brilliant commercial that drives the point home in 30 seconds. Those who think it doesn't make any difference that so many restaurant chains are
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1 Jun 2012 at 5:16pm
When it comes to the ultra-violent and sadistic Canadian seal hunt, which do you want to hear first? The bad news? Or the bad news? First the bad news: During this year's commercial seal hunt, 70,000 harp seals were killed, according to the Newfoundland and Labrador fisheries. That number is up substantially from last year's kill figure
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31 May 2012 at 8:59pm
Luka Rocco Magnotta, the 29-year-old Canadian who allegedly sent human body parts in the mail recently, got his start as an animal abuser.There's a piece of conventional wisdom that I've always agreed with that goes something like this: People who begin as animal abusers often graduate to heinous crimes involving human beings.
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31 May 2012 at 7:34pm
Source: Lolcats
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27 May 2012 at 7:44am
Below is a splendid quote from historian, author and activist Howard Zinn (1922-2010). To reinforce the sentiment expressed in the quote, I've also posted an uplifting video about the 2010 rescue of two very sick piglets, Chloe and Coco, by the Australian animal rights groups Uproar (Pig Rescue) and Animal LIberation
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27 May 2012 at 5:15am
From Italian photographer Tommaso Ausili's powerful photoessay "The Hidden Death" (2011).
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26 May 2012 at 8:03am
This is a brilliant talk by Dr. Milton R. Mills, M.D., who makes one of the most convincing series of arguments I've ever heard that human beings are naturally herbivores, not omnivores. It is almost impossible to walk away from this incredibly informative speech without agreeing 100% that human beings were meant to consume a plant-based
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26 May 2012 at 6:14am
24 May 2012 at 9:51am 24 May 2012 at 8:37am If you get a moment, please watch this graphic video footage of life inside of a Wyoming pig factory farm. The clip above contains only a few scenes from the actual footage, which was shot by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) inside of a factory farm that supplies Tyson Foods. Most of the video above contains
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23 May 2012 at 8:05pm
When I think of Forbes Magazine, I think of a business magazine that has been around a long time and has rightfully earned a reputation as a staid and venerable bulwark of free enterprise. But Forbes surprised me with a long and detailed profile/interview with Dr. Marc Bekoff, Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary
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22 May 2012 at 11:59am
Staring into the abyss too long not only hurts the eyes, it can crush the soul. To allow yourself to empathize with suffering animals is noble. However, taking in too much suffering, seeing nothing but agony, and seeking out only the negative, can leave the sensitive person feeling defeated, traumatized and alone. That is why here at We're
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22 May 2012 at 6:22am
"In a way, to be indifferent to suffering is what makes the human being inhuman. Indifference is more dangerous than anger and hatred. Anger can at times be creative. But indifference is never creative. Even hatred at times may elicit a response. You fight it. You denounce it. You disarm it. Indifference elicits no response. Indifference
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20 May 2012 at 4:10pm
13 May 2012 at 6:17pm The slippery slope.It's interesting to watch omnivores grappling with their food choices. I just finished reading an article in the Toronto Star defending meat eating. "Why Consuming Animals May Be the Right Thing to Do," said the headline. Echoing a New York Times contest in March asking readers to defend meat
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7 May 2012 at 11:47am
More interesting stuff from the frontiers of science: A study conducted by scientists at Duke University Medical Center in the United States and a group of researchers in Norway found that people who dislike meat are genetically predisposed to be disgusted by the smell of it. The researchers were particularly focused
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6 May 2012 at 9:33pm
This week is Be Kind to Animals Week. I just read a lovely - and very inspirational - story about Yvonne Wall (right), who runs a horse sanctuary in California called Forever Free Horse Rescue (check out their wonderful website if you get a chance). The story (click here to read it) talks about Yvonne's tireless efforts to
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6 May 2012 at 8:28pm
These days, people exploring the possibility of going vegan are probably hearing a lot of conflicting advice about the lifestyle. On the one hand, vegans sing the praises of adopting veganism and the joys of consuming a plant-based diet. On the other hand, you hear about celebrities who give up on veganism, or famous people who
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3 May 2012 at 7:40am
Here's the wonderful and eloquent Ruby Roth, talking about her controversial book Vegan is Love on CNN. We're lucky to have Ruby on our side, fighting the good fight. In this clip, she is offering a spirited defense of veganism, both as a way to get healthy and a means to improve the lives of animals. She also promotes introducing
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3 May 2012 at 6:36am
“Can you really ask what reason Pythagoras had for abstaining from flesh? For my part I rather wonder both by what accident and in what state of soul or mind the first man did so, touched his mouth to gore and brought his lips to the flesh of a dead creature, he who set forth tables of dead, stale bodies and ventured to call food and nourishment
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3 May 2012 at 4:24am
There's a good chance you haven't heard of Isa Chandra Moskowitz. For years, she hosted one of the pioneering vegan cooking shows, Post-Punk Kitchen, a public access TV program based out of Brooklyn, New York. Now 39, Moskowitz left Brooklyn for Portland, Oregon, in 2008, and eventually settled in Omaha, Nebraska.
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19 Apr 2012 at 8:37pm
I have to admit: When I first went vegan in 2009 and partner told me about nutritional yeast, I shuddered with horror. Nutritional yeast? Really? With a name like that, it has to be lousy. As a recent article on the Huffington Post pointed out: "Just the name of this ingredient will most likely cause you to instantaneously dismiss it. Nutritional
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15 Apr 2012 at 7:24pm
Please take 13 minutes to watch this powerful short documentary, "Not in My Name." But be warned: It contains very graphic scenes of violence and brutality. It should be required viewing for all meat eaters. Joanna Lumley, Paul McCartney and Chrissie Hynde and other celebrities (mostly British in this case) offer commentary.
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29 Mar 2012 at 12:55pm
The Ag-Gag Movement - the evil effort by state legislators across the United States to ban photography and filming inside of factory farms, slaughter houses and other animal production facilities - is gaining strength across the country. Here are 10 things to remember about this nationwide jihad to stamp out the truth and punish whistleblowers.
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20 Mar 2012 at 7:03pm
I am leaving/I am leaving/But the fighter still remains-Simon and Garfunkel's "The Boxer" What better lyrics to quote than those immortal lines from Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon's "The Boxer" to describe a tragic defeat? The news from last night was not good. I'm not talking about the Republicans and Super Tuesday. I'm
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7 Mar 2012 at 6:56am
By now, you've probably heard of Meredith Lowell from Cleveland Heights, Ohio (pictured above), who set up a bogus Facebook profile in order to hire someone to murder a random person wearing fur. She was prepared to shell out $750 to $850 to get the job done. Her scheme backfired, thanks to an undercover FBI sting operation that thwarted
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23 Feb 2012 at 6:44am
21 Feb 2012 at 3:56pm In China, where conditions for animals have traditionally been among the worst on earth for decades, Animal Rights activists are on the march. They're mobilizing as we speak, emboldened by basketball superstar Yao Ming, a retired NBA player who gained fame for his stunning performances on the court for the Houston Rockets. Yao
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21 Feb 2012 at 3:16pm
I admit: I was one of those progressives who, for the longest time, failed to connect the dots. I spoke of human rights, yet I devoured pork chops. I agitated for peace, but thought nothing of the terror experienced by the chickens that eventually became my food. I wrote of social justice without realizing that justice is meaningless if it doesn't
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20 Feb 2012 at 6:48am
20 Feb 2012 at 6:44am The wonderful folks with Canadians for the Ethical Treatment of Food Animals (CETFA) are calling for a roadside memorial in Manitoba at a spot where a semi truck crashed and killed 71 cows in January. CETFA is asking for a sign to be placed at the crash site that reads: "Careless driving costs lives: In memory of 71 cows." The sign would
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15 Feb 2012 at 8:55am
These ones (below) must be worth millions. The crying calf says it all - no words necessary.
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15 Feb 2012 at 8:51am
One of the anti-vegan myths you encounter all the time is that vegans do not get sufficient calcium in their diets. For vegans, there are many ways of obtaining our daily calcium requirements, just as there are many ways of taking in protein, iron, vitamin B12, etc. This helpful list (above) shows, in a very graphic way, sources of calcium that
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15 Feb 2012 at 8:27am
12 Feb 2012 at 10:20am Thanks to the wonderful folks at C-A-L-F.com for this beautiful image! And while I'm posting about C-A-L-F, check out the organization's wonderful introductory video on their homepage. It's very inspiring! I'll stand by you ( go vegan ) from kat vegan wain on Vimeo.
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12 Feb 2012 at 6:48am
The struggle never ends. And the Good Fight is worth it.
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11 Feb 2012 at 2:35pm
There is a fascinating article from the Website Counting Animals.com about the number of animal lives saved by going vegetarian. After crunching a lot of figures about animal deaths and the number of animals consumed per person, the author of the article concludes that vegetarians save about 404 animal lives per year. In other words, at
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11 Feb 2012 at 12:26pm
"Even if you're a minority of one, the truth is the truth."- Mohandas K. Gandhi
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8 Feb 2012 at 2:05pm
Only when we are able to fully connect with the suffering of other sentient beings, human or non-human, and do something - however small - to free them from that suffering, can we really begin to fill our own internal humanity in its entirety. Please watch this beautiful 2010 video, in Spanish (with English subtitles) about Animal
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8 Feb 2012 at 10:16am
“If you look at the course of western history you'll see that we're slowly granting basic rights to everyone. A long time ago only kings had rights. Then rights were extended to property-owning white men. Then all men. Then women. Then children. Then the mentally retarded. Now we're agonizing over the extension of basic rights to homosexuals
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8 Feb 2012 at 7:23am
I'm posting Shaun Monson's powerful film Earthlings on my Blog because it has had such a huge influence on so many people. The film lasts a little over an hour and a half. It's quite powerful. Have a look if you get the time. This is not the film that won me over to veganism. For me, the film Death on a Factory Farm,
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7 Feb 2012 at 8:57pm
I love this image. About ten years ago, I was in Vietnam and I was horrified to see dogs and cats squirming in small cages, barely bigger than their own bodies, a thought that still horrifies me. When I came back to the United States, these images continued to haunt me in my memories. Those poor animals, in that sweltering heat, cramped
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7 Feb 2012 at 1:42pm
For a long time, I took a break from this Blog, even though I never took a break from believing that Animal Rights and Veganism are the most important issues of our time. I had to work on editing a manuscript which will become my first novel. I'm excited that my novel is going to be published this fall. And for months, I devoted all
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6 Feb 2012 at 7:07pm
If an image is worth a thousand words, this one is surely worth millions!
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23 Dec 2011 at 2:47pm
I've made plugs for Toronto Pig Save before. This is a wonderful group of people, based in Toronto, nonviolently bearing witness and resisting the slaughter of these innocent animals. Have a look at this video. It's a wonderful interview with TPS founder Anita Krajnc. Anita has been a huge inspiration in this region to
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23 Dec 2011 at 2:38pm
This video made me weep. It shows German animal rights activists preparing a wonderful meal of fruits and vegetables and then one of them, dressed as Santa Claus, delivers it to pigs inside of a factory farm. His solitary act of sharing represented, in my view, a gesture of profound kindness in a world full of cruelty
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23 Dec 2011 at 2:24pm
How can we go on referring to ourselves as a "civilization" and treat animals this way?
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11 Dec 2011 at 7:58pm
What more needs to be said?
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10 Dec 2011 at 8:42am
Canadian veganista Sarah Kramer - author of several wonderful cookbooks such as La Dolce Vegan and How It All Vegan (check out her Website here) - is featured prominently in this CTV piece on being vegan in the Holiday Season. The CTV crew visits her beautiful shop in Victoria, British Columbia. Have a look at
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10 Dec 2011 at 8:24am
My previous post (below) was a bit of a downer. Please watch this wonderful and very hopeful short film about our Canadian brothers and sisters spreading the truth and winning the hearts and minds of people. All it takes is one really well-placed image or documentary or article or leaflet to open someone's eyes. I was a meat lover and omnivore
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9 Dec 2011 at 7:41pm
The pork producer Smithfield Foods, Inc., has announced that - after lots and lots of pressure from animal welfare advocates - it will no longer keep pregnant female hogs in gestation crates. "VICTORY!" proclaimed a headline on Change.org. "Smithfield Will Stop Using Gestation Crates." Those who put pressure on Smithfield Foods
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9 Dec 2011 at 6:57pm
...but at least it captures your attention. And it makes you think. People need to think more. They need to connect the dots. They need to understand the impact of their decisions. Images such as this one help us tear down the wall of denial.
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24 Nov 2011 at 3:57pm
Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends, family and loved ones. I hope it's a great Thanksgiving Thursday. Hopefully, too, Thanksgiving will present a moment to reflect and think about what you're thankful for. Most of us are thankful to be alive, to be living and breathing, to experience the joys of life. Turkeys feel the same way
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24 Nov 2011 at 3:40pm
I am about to celebrate an anniversary: Two years as a vegan. Going vegan is a decision that has been a tremendous source of happiness for me. It has changed my life for the better. It has improved my general outlook on the world. It has helped me to feel better, both physically and emotionally. Most of all, the burden of having a diet based
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17 Nov 2011 at 1:49pm
Did you hear about this case going to the United States Supreme Court? The National Meat Association is challenging a California law that says that pork producers have to "humanely euthanize nonambulatory pigs." Translation: Pigs that cannot walk. In a universe full of bloodletting and murder, it is
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5 Nov 2011 at 9:55am
"The Last Thing You Will Ever See"Painting by Dan Dunbar
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4 Nov 2011 at 6:41pm
What else is left to add?
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4 Nov 2011 at 5:33pm
It should come as no surprise that McDonald's is coming under fire for buying meat from a producer that abuses its animals. Smithfield Farms in Virginia is especially notorious for the way it abuses and exploits pigs. So notorious, in fact, that the company produced a slick piece of propaganda called "Taking the Mystery
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4 Nov 2011 at 4:41pm
16 Oct 2011 at 7:10pm 14 Oct 2011 at 6:49pm This very impressive, orderly and nonviolent demonstration against speciesism was held in Madrid, Spain recently, sponsored by the Spanish animal rights group Igualdad Animal. Our European comrades are always coming up with creative new ways to protest against the exploitation and destruction of animals.
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14 Oct 2011 at 6:08am
For those of you who think that Canada is a much more open-minded place than its mighty neighbour to the south, think again. From the Montreal Gazette:OTTAWA — A government agency responsible for tracking financial transactions to ensure they aren't used for illicit purposes has identified animal rights activists
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13 Oct 2011 at 8:23pm
7 Oct 2011 at 10:14pm Academics talk a lot. They get paid to talk. They use their words to analyze and interpret and dissect events and people and trends and ideas. Many love to use big words, 25 cent words, to make themselves sound more erudite. But there is something to be said for choosing only a few words, but choosing words with meaning. A short statement,
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7 Oct 2011 at 6:18pm
The massive, spontaneous and leaderless Wall Street protests in New York City have been inspiring to behold. It has often been said that if these protests were being held by the Tea Party, the press coverage would likely be far more extensive. As it is, the protests have been so big and so dramatic, the news outlets can't
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2 Oct 2011 at 9:06pm
This is a superb speech by Dr. Gary Francione, delivered in July 2011 at the JAINA convention in Houston. I've said it before numerous times on this Blog, but I'll say it again: Francione is a brilliant thinker and writer, and he has had a huge influence on my worldview. Please take some time to watch this speech (in two parts,
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2 Oct 2011 at 8:51pm
22 Sep 2011 at 1:01pm Maybe you've already seen the recent YouTube video (above) of band members from Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah, entertaining a group of cows in the French Alps. The video, showing Steve Call and his Dixieland Band playing tunes for a group of music-loving cows, instantly went viral,
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18 Sep 2011 at 9:11pm
From the wonderful folks at Evolve! Campaigns.
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14 Sep 2011 at 2:19pm
... there's nothing really for me to add.
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7 Sep 2011 at 7:53pm
Above: Anne Hathaway is transitioning to veganism. Take the leap, Anne! You won't regret it! Watching What You Eat & What You Spend: The wonderful website Care2 Healthy Living offers Six Helpful Tips on how to eat vegan on a budget. Being vegan need not be prohibitively expensive. The tips are all excellent ones. Stuff I never
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6 Sep 2011 at 9:17pm
When I'm driving alone in my car, I usually listen to one of the Sirius XM Satellite stations that plays the music from my youth in the 1970s and 1980s. But when I'm chauffeuring my son and his buddies, they prefer the loud dance music and hip hop. I've heard plenty of Ke$ha songs and I have to admit, I've never been blown away with her
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6 Sep 2011 at 8:56pm
It ain't easy being vegan.
Oh sure: Defenders of the lifestyle who are trying to win over new converts insist it's easy. But it really isn't. It literally boggles the mind when you consider how many types of food contain animal products of one sort or another.
I'll give you a frinstance. Amy's-brand soy cheese pizza, on sale
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4 Sep 2011 at 10:19pm
In Germany, a cow named Yvonne has become something of a folk heroine. The six-year-old dairy cow has been on the run since May, hiding out in the dense Bavarian Forest, and her plight has captured worldwide attention.
Authorities have tried to capture her. They sent a bull out with the hope of luring her back
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19 Aug 2011 at 7:10pm
There's really nothing else to add.
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15 Aug 2011 at 5:50pm
Thank you to my daughter, Madeline, for pointing out that Ellen DeGeneres now has a vegan website, called Going Vegan With Ellen.
It is a stunningly beautiful Website, with great looking recipes, articles, tributes to vegan celebrities, links and a promo for the wonderful folks at the Gentle Barn animal sanctuary in Santa
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14 Aug 2011 at 11:14am
If you get a chance, watch this hilarious vegan video. In a mere 3 minutes and 19 seconds, Aletha manages to capture a multitude of responses that we've all heard before from non-vegans who can't believe that we'd adopt such a "crazy" lifestyle. Aletha is another one of these wonderful vegans with a YouTube channel, and -
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14 Aug 2011 at 9:20am
Here is a deeply moving and eloquent video of a 16 year old named Beverly who converted to veganism last year. She has her own YouTube Channel (subscribe, if you get a chance). She is absolutely wonderful and when I see videos like this one, I feel a lot of hope for humanity.
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14 Aug 2011 at 8:59am
There is a new Planet of the Apes film out, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a prequel that explains how the story began. I will probably end up seeing it, although with some reluctance. You see, I'm a hardcore fan of the original 1968 Franklin J. Schaffner film, starring Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans
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3 Aug 2011 at 5:45pm
There are so many wonderful groups fighting the good fight against animal abuse and cruelty. One of those groups, which has been putting videotaping to its very best and most effective use, is Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (or SHARK for short). SHARK is a group that deserves our support. SHARK maintains a
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31 Jul 2011 at 10:32am
Back in the Eighties, I used to be a huge fan of the British alternative rock band The Smiths. Their songs of angst and irony and pain were, in some ways, the anthems of my youth. I was an alienated teenager growing up growing up in Reagan-era suburbia, out of place in my high school, where I skipped classes more frequently than attended
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29 Jul 2011 at 6:52am
This is a painful video to watch, but we have to see these videos. I watch them over and over, because they remind us of why we fight (that, is what we stand for). This video is about the price that is paid for the milk that goes into Cadbury Chocolate. And I'm not talking about the financial price. I'm talking about the moral price
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27 Jul 2011 at 6:20pm
"The very saddest sound in all my memory was burned into my awareness at age five on my uncle's dairy farm in Wisconsin. A cow had given birth to a beautiful male calf. The mother was allowed to nurse her calf but for a single night. On the second day after birth, my uncle took the calf from the mother and placed him in the veal pen in the barn
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26 Jul 2011 at 12:08pm
I am convinced that the only way to stay sane in a crazy world like ours is to laugh and laugh hard. That's why I'm posting this video from Da Ali G. Show. In it, Ali G. (always played so hilariously by Sacha Baron Cohen) quizzes animal rights experts about various animal issues. It's quite crass and somewhat disturbing,
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24 Jul 2011 at 9:40am
The lofty vision of Animal Rights is not complete without a lofty vision of Human Rights. Human suffering often comes from the exact same source as animal suffering: A lack of respect for living beings and the sanctity of life. Think of the tragedy in Norway two days ago. A maniacal Norwegian gunman's grisly rampage through
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24 Jul 2011 at 7:26am
The heroic men and women of Toronto Pig Save are fighting a noble battle against the slaughter of pigs at Quality Meat Packers and other slaughterhouses in the Toronto area. Please watch this video to understand what they're up against. Pigs across North America are being transported in packed trucks in record high temperatures,
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24 Jul 2011 at 6:49am
This video, about two close buddies - a Pit bull named named Spike and a kitten named Visa - shows their loving friendship mixed with epic clashes to the sounds of Guns N' Roses singing "Live and Let Die." Please take a few minutes to watch it. You won't regret it. The footage syncs perfectly with the music. It lifted my
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23 Jul 2011 at 1:27pm
There is a splendid article about a group of feral pigs living in the The Bahamas. They're very happy - and safe - there, flopping down in the shade along the beaches, swimming in the clear, warm waters, and just generally enjoying life. An article about these wonderful beach bums appeared on The Daily Mirror (UK) Website. The pigs
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22 Jul 2011 at 12:27pm
Across North America, livestock are being transported to killing factories in sweltering heat. It is bad enough that they are being slaughtered in such huge numbers, but to have to be squeezed into truck trailers by the dozens and dozens, with barely enough room to move, while the heat pounds down on them, is unthinkable. Yesterday alone,
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22 Jul 2011 at 7:21am
Boy, my last few Blog entries have been so damned serious! The mistreatment of animals in today's world be a very weighty topic, and nobody needs to take a break to laugh more than people who try to be voices for the voiceless. From time to time, I have to reclaim my sense of humour (humor to my American friends!). Which is why I'm posting some vegan
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19 Jul 2011 at 8:41pm
Nowhere is the double standard about our treatment of animals more clear than when we're experiencing a heatwave, as we are right now. Newspapers, TV channels and the Internet perform an invaluable service by warning people - over and over again - about the dangers of locking pets in cars. Sadly, despite these warnings, pets - especially
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19 Jul 2011 at 9:57am
I can't resist posting this beautiful photo taken by the kind folks at Catskill Animal Sanctuary in New York state. Check out Catskill's Website if you get a chance. They do all kinds of wonderful work to help abandoned, neglected and abused animals. This is a photograph of one of their many cherished residents, Amelia, on her morning
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18 Jul 2011 at 8:26am
Thanks to the folks at Animal Liberation of Australia, we have this stark reminder (above) that calves have shorter lifespans than flies. This sickening state of affairs is thanks to the Dairy and Veal Industries. Our Israeli brothers and sisters in the Animal Rights Movement run a wonderful website called
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17 Jul 2011 at 4:27pm
Temple Grandin, the famous doctor of animal science at Colorado State University, subject of an HBO movie and one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2010, has been referred to as an "animal welfare advocate." Perhaps the words "shill," "enabler" and "apologist" are more apt descriptions. Grandin
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17 Jul 2011 at 1:43pm
Time to start asking some difficult questions: What, exactly, are the manufacturers of animal-based products trying to hide? Why don't they want us to see the inside of factory farms and other production facilities that involve animals? Why are so many states trying to pass legislation outlawing videotaping inside of meat and egg and dairy
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17 Jul 2011 at 8:07am
Kudos to 89-year-old Lloyd Swick of Ottawa, the capital of Canada, who is going around the city raising $100,000 to build a memorial to animals that have perished in past wars. After all of the money is raised and the memorial is complete, Ottawa's Confederation Park will boast one of the world's only monument
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14 Jul 2011 at 8:46pm
Back in 1983, a dreadful film called The Big Chill hit the theaters across North America. It depicted a group of narcissists - men and women in their late 30s (possibly early 40s) - who reunite after one of their friends commits suicide. Most of the characters in the film had been activists back in the Sixties, but now they now - approaching
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7 Jul 2011 at 6:31pm
Please take a couple of minutes to watch this extraordinary video by musician Philip Steir, member of the band Consolidated and a highly regarded music remixer. He pretty much says it all. There is nothing left for me to add. He went vegan in the late 1980s, when it was much more challenging to do so, and he hasn't looked back ever since. His
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4 Jul 2011 at 7:34pm
Back in the Eighties - 1984, to be specific - Hollywood released a trio of movies about families losing their farms: Places in the Heart, Country and The River. This was no accident. Farms had been in a state of crisis for years. The situation had grown worse in the Reagan years, as farm foreclosures continued to
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30 Jun 2011 at 10:13pm
Who'da thunk it? In the arsenal of weapons for animal rights activists, the camera is mightier than the pen. And the mightiest camera of all is the concealed camcorder. Our brothers and sisters at Mercy for Animals have been scoring one major coup after another with their hidden camera videos. MFA has sent their activists right into
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29 Jun 2011 at 12:44pm
A colleague told me something recently that astonished me. He's researching a project on the history of the Berlin Zoo (a.k.a., the Berlin Zoological Garden), which opened its doors in 1844 and has evolved in very interesting ways over the decades. He told me that back in the day - and now we're talking late 1800s, early 1900s - there
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23 Jun 2011 at 5:42am
The latest Time magazine featured an article defending the "Happy Meat" craze by Josh Ozersky, foodie, food historian, author of The Hamburger: A History and frequent contributor to a plethora of magazines, including the aforementioned. At least Ozersky acknowledges early in the article that his foes have a legitimate point.
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17 Jun 2011 at 5:39am
One of the things that haunts me is how much of my life I spent advocating - and sometimes fighting for - social justice, but I failed to include animals in the equation. People at the forefront of struggles for change - whether they're fighting for a cleaner environment, a more open and accountable political system, a safer neighborhood, a saner
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15 Jun 2011 at 4:16am
Once again, Farm Sanctuary's Gene Baur shoots down the myth of "Happy Cows" in this excellent - and very short - video shot in the American heartland, Kansas. Take out a minute and a half or so and watch it. Hear what Gene has to say. Gene is a real hero to the Animal Rights Movement. This summer, he and some of his Farm Sanctuary
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9 Jun 2011 at 9:14pm
Certain heroes and heroines don't get monuments. Many of the ordinary rank-and-file Civil Rights Movement activists, for example, didn't get monuments built in their honor. Environmentalists who've fought bravely for a safer and cleaner world don't get them either. And don't expect any of the wonderful folks who are resisting the excesses of our
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9 Jun 2011 at 10:44am
It is so encouraging to see the Vegan Diet going mainstream across North America. In the United States and Canada, people are realizing that veganism is not only a healthier way to live, it's the only way to enjoy a truly humane diet, one in which animals are not exploited, treated harshly and murdered in the making of our food. Up here in Canada,
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4 Jun 2011 at 9:28am
Another one of my favorite videos, from PETA, featuring the wonderful actor Casey Affleck. This video actually had an influence on me going vegan in the fall of 2009. Have a look at it if you get a chance and share it with friends and loved ones. Casey is a fantastic performer and a very insightful guy. Back when I was
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1 Jun 2011 at 7:45pm
Sorry for the long hiatus. I took most of the month of May off of blogging to attend to other writing that I had to finish. I'm back in the saddle again, though, and posting this compelling video that offers more reasons to go vegan. Have a look. The facts speak for themselves. But the number one reason for going vegan - above health
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1 Jun 2011 at 7:37pm
Videos Plucked From YouTube: The Mercy For Animals (MFA) videos depicting extreme cruelty at the E6 Cattle Co. in Hart, Texas, were plucked off the website. The folks at YouTube, it seems, didn't like the extremely shocking nature of the videos. They said that "if a video is particularly graphic or disturbing,
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8 May 2011 at 8:48pm
I'm Vegan: Gary Francione from Eric Prescott on Vimeo.By now, I've blogged numerous times about the vital contributions of Gary Francione to the Animal Rights Movement, both in thought and action. This fantastic interview with Francione contains a lot of important information about the history
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28 Apr 2011 at 8:34pm
Anyone who has spent time around chickens knows they're extraordinary birds. They're intelligent. They love their families. And they have a natural inner yearning to live freely that is shared by humans and other sentient beings. Check out some of these videos if you get a chance. They show mother hens and their babies living life and being together.
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26 Apr 2011 at 7:22am
Right on, CNN! The cable news channel ran a terrific story on the Mercy for Animals calf abuse scandal. The interviewer, Jane Velez-Mitchell, was brilliant. This newswoman is definitely in our corner on this issue. Please take about 10 minutes out to watch this video. NOTE: The horrific violence in the Mercy for
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25 Apr 2011 at 12:36pm
Mario Savio, the heroic Italian-American working class leader of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement delivered this legendary speech on the steps of Sproul Plaza at the University of California, Berkeley, on December 2, 1964. This was the height of the Free Speech Movement, when young students - many
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24 Apr 2011 at 2:07pm
WARNING: DO NOT WATCH THIS VIDEO IF YOU ARE A SENSITIVE SOUL WHO CANNOT HANDLE VIOLENCE. I consider myself to be one of those sensitive souls. And watching this video horrified me. It absolutely horrified me. Thank God that Mercy for Animals had the courage to expose this sick, twisted form of sadism that is standard operating
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24 Apr 2011 at 9:25am
Have a Wonderful Easter Weekend! I guarantee you that you'll love this video of a little bunny chowing down on a flower and then taking a bath. It is so cute. Incidentally, this time of year there are plenty of online articles discussing all aspects of Easter celebrations. Many articles are wisely warning moms and dads to refrain from
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22 Apr 2011 at 9:13pm
On this Blog, I've lamented the actions of puritanical vegans who take it upon themselves to make sure that the vegan population in North America (which is so small, it almost can't be measured statistically) is adhering to all the rules and regulations of the lifestyle. Days ago, the purists went on the warpath against VegNews
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22 Apr 2011 at 7:40am
This week, the Premier of British Columbia, Christy Clark, unveiled some of the toughest anti-animal cruelty laws in North America. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, a response to the slaughter of a hundred sled dogs in Whistler last year, has increased maximum punishments for animal cruelty from $10,000
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6 Apr 2011 at 4:13am
This is a very thoughtful video on the question of Human Rights versus Animal Rights from YouTube user porolita22. Have a look if you get a chance. It's not very long. And porolita22 manages to squeeze a lot of important arguments into this video in a way that is very friendly and accessible. If all vegans could argue this
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4 Apr 2011 at 7:11am
Case 1: On June 17, 2010, Bobby Elliott of Merritt, British Columbia, tied his Golden Lab mix named April Rain to the back of his truck and dragged her around. He claimed he was giving her "exercise." A kind bystander find April Rain badly injured and took her to a vet. Elliot's punishment?He was sentenced to 30 days
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3 Apr 2011 at 6:42pm
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