Are You More Important than a Gorilla?
In a world of 7.3 billion thoroughly destructive humans and just 125,000 very peaceable gorillas, was Harambe’s life worth less than Isaiah Dickerson’s?
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Introducing the Whale Sanctuary Project
This blog is taking a break for the next few months so that I can devote my energies to the Whale Sanctuary Project. Here's why.
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Is the Sloth Sanctuary a Zoo?
The Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica was the first of its kind for these wonderfully engaging animals, and it was a model for others that followed. But questions have arisen. And…
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Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary
Tafi Atome looks like a typical forest in Ghana. The monkeys have been revered in this village for two centuries. But being “sacred” is no guarantee of survival.
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The Great Irony of Animal “Rights”
The great irony of the animal rights movement is there is still only one species that has any rights at all: humans. But the Nonhuman Rights Project is setting out to change that.
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Why Mass Extinction Is Part of Human Nature
Why would a supposedly “intelligent” species behave in a way that’s bringing about a mass extinction – one that will likely take us down along with so many other animals?
Is the Stock Market a Global Ponzi Scheme?
Sacred Activism in the Service of Animals
Of Humans and Persons
Can There Ever Be a ‘Humane Economy’?
Is it possible for us humans to coexist peacefully with our fellow animals in a modern capitalist economy? Two books come to opposite conclusions.
Conservation, Restoration, Reparation
Even though we can never fully recompense these apex predators for what they’ve lost, having their own sanctuary can help to heal the deep wounds we have inflicted upon the fabric of nature itself.
New Whale Sanctuary Project
It’s the dawn of a new era for whales and dolphins. A new organization has been formed to create seaside sanctuaries for whales and dolphins being retired from marine circuses.
Circus Lions Fly to Sanctuary. Orcas Soon?
On the same day SeaWorld was pushing back against retiring killer whales to sanctuaries, 33 lions from circuses in Peru were heading to a sanctuary in South Africa.
The Great Octopus Escape – and Others!
Great escapes like those of Inky, Frank Lee Bull and the priceless Tamworth Two, remind us that our fellow animals prize freedom as highly as we do.
The New Tree of Life
The Tree of Life, a diagram that shows branches of life on Earth, has just changed radically. The dominant life form on Planet Earth is actually bacteria.
Imagining Ourselves as Animals
What would it be like to be eaten by a large predator? We humans are, after all, basically a prey species, and our drive to dominance is a product of human frailty.
SeaWorld’s Three Whoppers
It was all a bit too good to be true. Even as the CEO of SeaWorld and the CEO of the Humane Society of the U.S. were smiling together, SeaWorld was preparing an advertising blitz trashing animal protection organizations with a series of blatant untruths.
Top Scientist Predicts RAPID Ocean Rise
World-renowned climate scientist Dr. James Hansen is predicting a rapid ocean rise of 20 to 30 feet – enough to submerge every coastal city on Earth – along with catastrophic shutting down of ocean circulation, leading to massive storms and other climate upheavals. And the key word is RAPID.
Why SeaWorld’s Decision to Stop Breeding Orcas Is a Mixed Blessing
Orca captivity will still continue for at least another 30 to 50 years.
Four Paws in Gaza
The remarkable, heroic work of veterinarian Dr. Amir Khalil of Four Paws to rescue and care for animals in the shattered world of Gaza.
Tilikum Said to Be Close to Death
He has an infection, SeaWorld says, that is “very resistant to treatment.” The company is expecting yet another miserable, and for them very embarrassing, death.
Climate Change: from War to Brain Damage
As climate change accelerates, our warming planet is driving crises that range from war on one side of the globe to brain-damaged babies on the other. A few reports from recent days …
When Killing Animals is ‘Honoring God’
They’re wealthy men of the old aristocracy, who believe in “Honoring God by Honoring His Creatures” — that is, by killing them.
Best in Shoes – 2016
The judge and the Lagotta Romagnolo’s handler both wore blue, knee-length skirts that really showed off the muscle tone of their legs.
Westminster Porn Show
One of the world’s few remaining pageants of objectification and commoditization.
Election 2016 and the End of a World Age
Thomas Berry writes about the real choices we face this year and the Great Work upon which we should be embarking.
The ‘Animal Rights’ Paradox
How’s the animal rights movement doing? If you rate it by the simple question “How many animals have rights?” you’d have to say “Not very well.” Call it the animal rights paradox.
At Sundance, a Triumph for "Unlocking the Cage"
Premiered at Sundance, the movie follows attorney Steven M. Wise as he argues to a high court judges that chimpanzee Tommy has the capacity for legal rights and should be set free and sent to a sanctuary.