The importance of understanding the stages of a social movement Years ago when heading an ethics institute, I was asked to speak at a nonprofit leadership symposium. I raised the issue that unlike corporations that go to great lengths to outperform competitors or perish, nonprofits too often subordinate excellence to expediency. This may keep their […]
In Defense of Animals founder Elliot Katz dies at 86
Animal rights movement pioneer SAN RAFAEL, California–– In Defense of Animals founder Elliot Katz, DVM, “died peacefully on March 24th at the age of 86,” the organization announced via Facebook on April 9, 2021, after word of Katz’s death had percolated through the animal advocacy community for several days. “Dr. Katz was a trailblazer […]
What animal advocates owe to the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
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 […]
Why did the ASPCA pres get $852,231, while we got $9.70 an hour?
We are NOT the ASPCA!!! This is an exposé (and appeal) that Beth & I really did not want to have to write, but one of our faithful & reliable donors of $8.00 per month persuaded us that we had to –– because donors like her, for the most part, are paying not only for […]
Making a Thanksgiving place for Tofurky
Eventually live turkeys joined the feast. But not at first. Chloe Sorvino, food and drink editor for the business magazine Forbes, marked Thanksgiving 2020 by looking back 40 years to the invention of Tofurky in 1980, by then-nature educator Seth Tibbott. Described as a “turkey alternative,” blending tofu and wheat with a wild rice and […]
A Traitor To His Species: Henry Bergh & The Birth Of The Animal Rights Movement
by Ernest Freeberg 322 pages, hardcover. $30.00. Basic Books Hachette Book Group 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104 www.basicbooks.com Reviewed by Merritt Clifton Perhaps the first question to ask about a new biography of Henry Bergh, of whom more than 50 have reputedly been written already, with at least four close to […]
Are kosher & halal slaughter bans anti-Semitic & Islamophobic?
Animal advocacy, religious teaching, & cultural insecurity collide in Belgium BRUSSELS, Belgium––Is Belgium moving rapidly to ban slaughter without pre-stunning out of concern for animals? Or are prohibitions of the traditional kosher and halal slaughter methods rooted in latent anti-Semitism and Islamophobia? Slaughter without pre-stunning becomes illegal Whatever the political truth is, legal reality […]
Timothy J. Walker, 73, exposed slaughterhouse cruelty
by Gail Eisnitz, chief investigator, Humane Farming Association Timothy J. Walker, 73, died on September 10, 2018 in Naples, Florida, a little known hero for animals sent to slaughter. After graduating from St. Mary’s High School in St. Louis, Walker at age 17 joined his two first cousins in the U.S. Navy. Disaster relief Initially stationed […]
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, […]