Leading influence on rise of animal rights movement Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., 1929-1968, in whose honor we celebrate Martin Luther King Day, never had any visible direct involvement with animals or animal issues––but he is justly remembered among the greatest influences on the animal rights movement of our time, and the many […]
The Animal Shelter by Patricia Curtis
Lodestar Books (c/o E.P. Dutton), 1984. 164 pages, hardcover. $13.95 original price. Reviewed by Merritt Clifton The Animal Shelter, by Patricia Curtis, introduced a generation of young people to humane work. “I wrote The Animal Shelter 28 years ago, so it is badly out-of-date,” Curtis told me in May 2011, seemingly surprised to be looked […]
Tom Regan, 78, made the case for animal rights
Evolved from butcher to leading advocate of vegan philosophy RALEIGH, North Carolina–– Animal rights philosopher Tom Regan, 78, died on the morning of February 17, 2017. “He had taken pneumonia last week,” longtime family friend Bernard Unti told ANIMALS 24-7. “The family was all with him,” including Nancy, Regan’s wife of more than 50 years, […]
Fierce critics Ann Cottrell Free & Henry Spira goaded HSUS to mature
Part III of The five muckrakes whose ideas built the Humane Society of the U.S.; see also Did Cleveland Amory write to Ann Landers? Yes! Very likely no president of the Humane Society of the U.S. ever looked forward to telephone calls from either Ann Cottrell Free or Henry Spira, nine years younger, who emerged as a […]
The five muckrakes whose ideas built the Humane Society of the U.S.
How five journalists helped to shape the world’s largest animal charity (First of a 3-part series. See also Did Cleveland Amory write to Ann Landers? Yes! and Fierce critics Ann Cottrell Free & Henry Spira goaded HSUS to mature.) WASHINGTON D.C.––Celebrating the 62nd anniversary of the founding of the Humane Society of the U.S. […]
Did Holocaust imagery convince my vegan rabbi?
by Barbara Kay Activism in a noble “rights” cause has its satisfactions and its frustrations. It feels good to join in solidarity with like-minded people in spreading a righteous message, but it is difficult to accept the frequent reality that most people aren’t paying attention to it. Urgency & shock tactics When the cause is […]
Perdue Farms agrees to animal welfare concessions after 30-year battle
Henry Spira posthumously wins long fight with the late Frank Perdue after Perdue son throws in the towel SALISBURY, Maryland––Perdue Farms, a $6 billion-a-year pioneer of factory-style chicken farming and now the fourth largest chicken producer in the U.S., on June 27, 2016 announced a four-point program to improve chicken welfare. The Perdue announcement, […]
Can Tox21 robot take the gamble on animals out of toxicity testing?
Testing device uses cells instead of animals WASHINGTON D.C.––Can a robot detect substance toxicity toward humans faster and more accurately than a traditional test on rats, mice, fish, or other animals? The developers of the Tox21 robot, whose name is short for “Toxicology in the 21st Century,” are betting that the robot can outperform traditional […]
McDonald’s to phase out using eggs from caged hens
Phase-out to be completed 30 years after McDonald’s accepted statement of humane principles OAK BROOK, Illinois––The McDonald’s restaurant chain, buyer of more than two billion eggs per year, 4% of total U.S. egg production, on September 9, 2015 announced that it will phase out use of eggs from caged hens over the next […]
Why Fish Feel?
Rediscovering long submerged origins ALEXANDRIA, Virginia––The Showing Animals Respect & Kindness booth in the main hallway at the late July/early August AR-2015 conference was a crowd-stopper. Featured were one of the SHARK drones, one of the most powerful lenses outside of top-secret military use mounted on a tripod, and SHARK founder Steve Hindi, with fellow […]