ANIMAL RIGHTS WATCH

Dear Gen. Pershing: A letter from the war pigeon Cher Ami to the general who gave her a medal

Dear General John J. Pershing, I am writing this letter to you since I feel the need to tell my own story. Even though you heard it before. Even though you know what happened that day in October 1918, in the Argonne forest, where you claim that I became a hero. I need to be the one telling it to you and you need to be the one who listens. You see General, you all seemed to believe that my life was for you to decide. That I was just like a version of the radio. But I breathe. My […]

William Schulz: Leading voice for human rights makes the case for animal personhood

WILLIAM SCHULZ: It’s pretty difficult to find people who support wanton cruelty to animals, as South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem recently discovered in the fierce backlash against her description of killing a hunting dog named Cricket. In fact, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was founded all the way back in 1866. But often, the conversation stops there. We’re not cruel to animals — at least we’re selectively not cruel to animals, excepting those raised for meat on industrial farms — but animals are not equal to us. We do not necessarily guarantee them the right […]

Avocados Are ‘Bad’ and Vegans Are ‘Ridiculous’: New study exposes how people justify eating meat

PHYS.ORG: Avocados are “bad” and vegans are ridiculous. My body needs meat. It’s my partner who doesn’t want to cut back on meat—not me. These are just a few of the things we say when feeling compelled to legitimize not being able to scale back on our meat consumption for the sake of climate. The findings are from a University of Copenhagen study. In focus group discussions with Danish consumers, the researchers took note of which arguments came into play as participants addressed meat consumption. “The study shows how we justify our reluctance to cut down on meat consumption when […]