ANIMAL RIGHTS WATCH

PROJECT PHOENIX: Have we lost our nerve as an animal rights movement?

Is the animal rights movement spending too much energy making exploitation a little less cruel by working for welfare reforms? Welfare reforms can reduce immediate suffering in the short term, while abolitionists keep the vision of freedom alive and expand what society believes is possible. But history shows us: when welfare becomes the main story of our movement, the public starts to see cruelty (not exploitation) as the problem, and kindness (not freedom) as the solution. Our challenge is not to choose between these approaches, but to ensure they reinforce each other – that reforms bring us closer to ending […]

‘Voices of the Herd’: New book explores the social and emotional lives of cows

Cows are intellectually curious and emotionally complex. They have rich emotional lives: They form lifelong friendships, grieve losses, protect vulnerable herd members, and show curiosity and playfulness. When a herd member dies, friends lick the body, moo loudly, and sometimes stand vigil where they were buried. The book ‘Voices of the Herd’ reframes cows as individuals with intrinsic worth, not commodities. The photographs and stories present them with dignity and emotional depth, encouraging people to see cows as beings deserving respect… Cows are highly intelligent and deeply sentient and emotional beings with distinct individual personalities. Each and every individual has […]

PETA Meets MAGA: U.S. Health Secretary, RFK Jr. takes on animal testing

In December 2022, Congress ended the requirement that all new drugs must be tested on two species – usually mice and a “higher order” mammal like rabbits or primates – before human trials. The law, called the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 was the culmination of 40 years of lobbying by animal rights activists. “No animal should be used in experimentation ‒ EVER,” said Kathy Guillermo, senior vice president at PETA. “It is disgusting that medical research laboratories that are federally funded by HHS and the National Institutes of Health continued to torture animals for decades by using them as subjects […]