animal rights news

Mirror carp hanging on a hook with lake in the background

What is Pain to a Fish?

Fish anatomy is so complex that they have even evolved the same “pain-blocking” substances (endorphins) as humans. This leaves us with the question: Why would fish have endorphins in their bodies if they couldn’t feel pain? And why is there still a debate over their sentience?
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An adorable young Nepalese girl holds a baby goat in her arms

The Goddess Needs Blood

Until we in the West acknowledge our responsibility to live according to the nonviolent values we profess to embrace, we are in no position to vilify the priests or the devotees of Nepal's Gadhimai Festival.
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An elephant in a national park in Tanzania

“I Couldn’t Wait To Get My Elephant”

Teressa Groenewald-Hagerman, like every other recreational hunter, was probably weaned on the flesh of more socially-acceptable victims. When her story made news, many chose to vilify Teressa as the heartless animal abuser of the day.
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A pink pig looks out sorrowfully from inside a filthy cage

UC’s Training Practices Come Under Fire

In response to an awareness campaign by the Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM,) the University of Cincinnati has recently come under scrutiny for its routine use of live animals for surgical training.
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A close-up of Joaquin Phoenix as Joker, looking up

Joaquin Phoenix at the Oscars

When Joaquin Phoenix took the Oscars stage, his speech invited us to take an honest look at the prejudices we still cling to, and to see the similarities rather than the differences in all victims of oppression.
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A beautiful wild horse stands looking immediately at the camera with beautiful scenery behind

Horse Slaughter in the US

If we don’t address the bigger issue here, then we will be fighting the same battle again… and again… and again with more single-issue campaigns and court cases like this.
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A lioness devours a carcass

Something Almost Primal

It seems that the directors of the puppet show are aware that ‘primal’ is a concept that plays to the perverse desires of the lowest parts of our selves. After all, this base and brutish lust for blood has such a hold on people that we are willing to turn a blind eye to unthinkable acts of cruelty in its name.
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Pink-gowned workers as far as the eye can see in a modern meat-packing factory

The Modern Animal Industry

As demand for animal products increases, so does the industry’s need to find ever more competitive methods of turning live animals into neatly-wrapped packages of muscle and bone. The result? Ever-faster line speeds, ever more mechanization, and mass production like we have never yet seen.
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