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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Westminster Porn Show
One of the world's few remaining pageants of objectification and commoditization.
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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.
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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…
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Pigs: Smart & Machiavellian
Winston Churchill famously said: “A dog looks up to you; a cat looks down on you; only a pig treats you as an equal.” But that, of course, is hardly how we treat them…
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Half the World’s Wildlife Destroyed in the Last 40 Years
In a sane world, it would be headline news. Everything else would immediately come to a screeching halt to make way for a massive, worldwide attempt to turn things around. (Of…
The Whale Who Took Down SeaWorld
Egg Industry Concession Is No ‘Victory’
For Chimps, the End of Vivisection, Almost
Cecil Is the Least of It
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.…
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.
How Sanctuaries Make Right What’s Wrong
In a time of mass extinction that’s been brought about by human exploitation and can no longer be stopped, what should we do?
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.
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?
Thoughts of Death Make You Support the Killing of Animals
A new series of studies shows that when people are reminded of their personal mortality, they tend to become more disposed toward the killing of nonhuman animals.
The Worm at the Core
Psychologist Sheldon Solomon explains Terror Management Theory – the study how we manage the lifelong anxiety that’s born of our terror of death – and how it affects our behavior toward other animals.
Why We Can’t Think Straight About Animals
Psychologist Hal Herzog explores the moral confusions and contradictions in our relationships with our fellow animals (not to mention with each other!).
How We “View” Other Animals
How we “view” other animals (from a position of privilege and exploitation), and how our behavior toward them and toward the planet has led to an irreversible, mass extinction.
Companionship Across the Abyss
Is there a hidden meaning behind the story of Adam and Eve and the Serpent? Jonathan Crane explains what it may be telling us about our relationship to our fellow animals … and how it could have been otherwise.
The State of Planet Earth Today
In his overview of the state of Planet Earth today, Carl Safina begins by asking the seemingly unrelated question: “Does my dog really love me? Or does she just want a treat?”
Thinking about Death Leads People to Support Killing Animals
A new study shows that any small reminder – even quite unconscious – of our inevitable mortality causes us to be more supportive of the killing of nonhuman animals
Love Dogs but Eat Pigs? It’s a Paradox
One of his friends calls herself a vegetarian even though she eats fish and chicken. “Well,” she says, “I don’t eat anything with a face.”
Ringling Folds – Three Cheers, but . . .
Without the elephants, for many people it wasn’t worth the price of a ticket any longer.
What Zoos Tell Us About Ourselves
“When one person is in a cage and someone else is outside the cage, walking up and down and looking at that person, what do you think that suggests about our power relations?”
King Oedipus and the End of the World
What does a piece of Ancient Greek tragedy have to do with our screwed-up relationship to our fellow animals? Quite a lot, in fact!
Why We Tell Ourselves We’re Not Really Animals – Video
Second in a new series: We humans have a constant sense of anxiety over our mortal, animal nature. And we deal with this by telling ourselves that we’re not really animals – despite all the evidence to the contrary.
How We Go About Insisting We’re Not Animals – Video
In this first video of a new series, we look at our deep need as humans to insist that we’re not animals – despite all the evidence to the contrary.
An Ape in Heels
A bishop, running for Congress, portrays the First Family as chimpanzees. Offensive and hateful. But it also tells us something about our fear of being great apes ourselves.