A Toast to Wasps and Hornets
If you enjoy fine wine and tasty beer, give a nod to wasps – it wouldn’t be possible without them. Long before humankind learned how to…
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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
India’s Out-of-Control Dog Problem
Tens of millions of free-roaming dogs … millions of dog bites every year … 20,000 people dying from rabies each year (99 percent of them from…
Are Cats Wiping Out Birds?
It’s been something of a feud between cat people and bird people: the question of how much damage our cats are doing to the bird population.…
Baby Bears Climb Ladder Out of a Dumpster
Shirley and Tom Schenk heard bears crying throughout the night near their home in Ruidoso, N.M. When they went out to see what was going on,…
It’s the Ecology, Stupid
“I get on my knees every day, and I’m saying an extra prayer right now,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters, adding that he’d be doing…
100-Meter Record Shattered
At the Olympics this weekend, everyone will be watching to see if the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt of Jamaica, can beat his own record: 100…
The Great Italian Beagle Rescue
It’s been one of the biggest dog rescues in history: 2,500 beagles who were destined for vivisection experiments are being rescued from the infamous Green Hill…
Farewell to the Ancient Nautilus
They survived that Fifth Great Extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. They even survived the Fourth (Permian) Extinction that wiped out 90…
The Super-Trendy Sponge Club
Fed up with the silly rituals of the Skull & Bones at Yale? Had enough of the Ivy Club at Princeton and the pricey clothes and…
The Would-Be Holographic God
Russian mogul Dmitry Itskov thinks he can upload his brain to a holographic avatar that can support his entire consciousness – and in the next 33…
Congressman Fights for Factory Farms and Dog Fighting
Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, is a parody of the kind of person who takes money from lobbyists in order to fight against animal protection. His big…
SeaWorld Putting Trainers Back in Water with Killer Whales
Since the day six-ton orca Tilikum dragged his trainer, Dawn Brancheau, into the pool, savaged her and killed her, SeaWorld has kept all trainers out of…
Dolphin Societies Reunite
A population of dolphins that split into two societies in Moreton Bay, Australia, in the 1990s has come back together. Dolphins are known to engage in…
Bird Flu, Pig Flu, Now Seal Flu
A new strain of bird flu has adapted to harbor seals. The H3N8 strain was discovered after 162 seals were found dead on the beaches of…
NIH Funds Major Alternative to Vivisection
The National Institutes of Health is funding a major new project to replace vivisection experiments with “organ chips” – silicon chips that can contain real human…
Papua People Insist: ‘We Are Not Animals.’
It’s often assumed that indigenous peoples think of themselves as being closer to nature and not as involved as the rest of us in trying to…
Scientists Declare: Nonhuman Animals Are Conscious
Science leaders have reached a critical consensus: Humans are not the only conscious beings; other animals, specifically mammals and birds, are indeed conscious, too. The official decision was reached in late night discussions two weeks ago during the prestigious annual Francis Crick Memorial Conference.
Climate Change Denier’s About-Face
One of the major climate change skeptics, Richard A. Muller, has taken another step in reversing his position. Much of Muller’s work has been largely funded…
Pork Council: "Ask a Pig If She’s Happy"
Why is the National Pork Producers Council worried that new laws may give chickens a few inches more space? Because it may be the thin end…
Pastor Rick Warren Explains His Tweet
Rick Warren has clarified his comment from a few days ago, which was apparently taken out of context – including by us. He wasn’t talking about…