where science and ethics intersect with politics
As an all-volunteer publication, The Humane Herald isn’t always able to publish at the pace of the daily news cycle—but we remain committed to documenting the stories that matter. Our goal is to preserve truth, provide context, and give voice to the voiceless, even when the world has already moved on.
History holds a treasure trove of resources for vegan, abolitionist, animal rights activists, but many of these resources remain untapped by the movement. This omission can, one hopes, be partly remedied through articles and film dramatizations pointing to information about moments in history from which readers and viewers can extract valuable lessons, glean techniques, and draw moral support.
Dozens of Vendors to Offer Cruelty-Free Products at April 14 Post-Parade Festival The largest annual celebration in the Tri-State area … More
Prior to launching on Earth Day (April 22), 2009, the Humane Party had three alternative names: the “Vegan Party,” the “Abolition Party,” and the “Humane Party.” While the name was under debate, a logo was designed for the Abolition Party. Activists are welcome to reactivate this dormant logo, where appropriate.
This Thursday, December 6, 2018, marks the third annual celebration of Abolition Day. Abolition Day was launched by the Humane Party in 2015 both (i) to commemorate the end of human slavery in the United States (1865) and (ii) to promote the abolition of all slavery. The date of December 6 was chosen for this national celebration because it was on this day in 1865 that the number of states necessary to ratify the 13th Amendment was reached.
As winter approaches, many people will be spending more time indoors. The holiday season also means, for some, more social time with family and friends.
Here are three films that activists may enjoy checking out from their local libraries and sharing with family and friends.
Each year, more than a billion animals are mutilated, tortured, kidnapped, raped, slashed, electrocuted, strangled, burned, skinned, and/or killed in U.S. vivisection laboratories, slaughterhouses, and other mass-killing facilities. On Election Day, November 6th, 2018, all of that could change.
A museum and convention hall commemorating the Underground Railroad has opened in Niagara Falls, New York, to honor the courage, sacrifice, and determination of the many people who helped escapees in their journey to freedom prior to abolition of human slavery in the United States.
The clandestine network that helped people escape from bondage in the U.S. represents an early American example of direct action which can be viewed, in that regard, as an antecedent to the Animal Liberation Front of today.
A new poem by guest contributor Heather Leughmyer, on the harmful complicity of silence and the beneficial effects of breaking this silence.
The schedule for the 11th Annual Veggie Pride Parade in New York, NY, has been released. The event features over 20 speakers representing a wide array of perspectives on veganism, animal liberation, free speech, and more. Participants can also network with over 30 exhibitors who will be present. An after-party buffet and all-vegan comedy show follows the event.
The National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland is undertaking groundbreaking changes in the way they care for the dolphin colony raised in captivity at the facility. With a mission to “advance understanding and protection of cetaceans by offering a natural environment in which the colony of dolphins in (their) care will thrive,” the aquarium is establishing the first dolphin sanctuary in North America. The colony of 8 dolphins will be moved by the year 2020 from the 35-year old Inner Harbor attraction at the Marine Mammal Pavilion.
In a split decision on Idaho’s 2012 “ag-gag” law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled on January 4, 2018 that audio and visual recordings in animal agricultural facilities could not be prohibited by the state, upholding an earlier ruling that invalidated the Idaho law for violating free speech. The January 4th ruling is a partial victory for animal activists.
The present article marks the third installment of the “Mythology and Fantasy Literature for Activists” series. The story of A Christmas Carol has been presented, re-made, copied, and imitated in so many forms that it and its progeny serve as perennial landmarks of the modern Christmas tradition. The essential event and theme Dickens permanently installed into this tradition—personal transformation and redemption as a result of new insight—has many features to which vegans can relate, and revisiting this story can serve to prompt reflections on and new insights regarding one’s life choices for modern activists just as it has for several generations of other readers and viewers over the last 150 years.
This article briefly proposes an initial framework for articulating and formalizing a literary theory informed by the values of veganism and ahimsa and for applying that theory through literary criticism of individual works of literature. “Literature” here is broadly construed so as to include fiction and non-fiction written and spoken material as well as works in the fine and performing arts and in all expressive media, from painting and sculpture to audio and video recordings to video games and computer-generated simulations.
The first installment of this “Mythology and Fantasy Literature for Activists” series sought to introduce the potential value of mythology and fantasy literature for activists. Examining such literature may yield insights that reading history alone may not readily provide, particularly when one faces a challenge that, as far as the historical record goes, has never been overcome. Since animal emancipationists face just such a challenge, this potential value is, in the present author’s view, worth exploring. The previous article provided an example of a possible gleaning from Tolkien’s mythology-rich universe in which The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy are set. The present article continues to explore fantasy and mythology as a source of insights and inspiration for activists by means of another example.
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