Turkeys served for Thanksgiving are babies. Turkeys can live a decade or more, but they are killed for meat when they reach a certain weight – and that’s usually when they are less than 5 months old. Jimmy and Morrison are about a year old now.
Tag: animal welfare
The Uncomfortable Parallel: Who Decided Which Lives Matter More?
We love some animals, exploit others, and kill still others in the name of protection. From intelligent pigs to dairy cows and endangered owls, we examine how intelligence, economic usefulness, and human preference determine which lives matter—and who gets to make that decision.
Beer Burros and Other Bad Ideas
The beer burro trend draws on tradition, because of course it does. When are we going to step out of tradition and finally move on to better things?
Collateral
You can align with the core belief of an organization, be grateful it exists, support its work, send money – and still be critical of its choices.
Catabasis
If you’ve been in this movement for a while, you already know these players and storylines. If you are newer, like me, you’ll get a sense of what it feels like to step into a conversation that’s been happening for decades.
If Consent Matters, What About Bodies That Cannot Give It?
If consent is a fundamental ethical principle, what responsibilities do we have toward animals who cannot give it? Exploring bodily autonomy, reproductive control, and the uncomfortable distinction between caring for another being and using their body for our benefit.
Welcome to the New Era of Animal Welfare. Some Animals May Not Enter.
“Welcome to the new era of animal welfare—eligibility determined by intended human use.” ~Thorn & Thistle
The Body Keeps the Cause
When activism becomes physically embodied—through protest, sacrifice, confrontation, and even violence—what does the movement owe the people putting their bodies on the line? Allie Irwin examines that tension, and the choices organizations make when advocacy, accountability, and strategy collide.
Correction: The Joyous Conviction of David Michelson
You might remember that I called IP28 the whole vegan enchilada – the end of killing animals in the state of Oregon.
beLIEf
From the Latin comes the Spanish rodear, a “roundup” – the practical, unglamorous work of gathering cattle. American English, with a cowboy twang-drawl, turned rodeo into an “exhibition” and “contest.”
Behind the Gates of Marshall BioResources
On September 12, animal advocates began walking west from Albany, New York, toward a sprawling property roughly 200 miles away in North Rose. Their destination is Marshall BioResources, a name that means relatively little to much of the American public despite the company’s significant place within the animal-research industry.
Crated
You can help one pig, you can pull up a crate, or you can put down the pork.
Devastated by Doves
Just before dawn tomorrow, shotgun shots will pierce the desert air, ricochet off the boulders and set off an echoing crack! … crack! … crack! …
Grandstanding
Farming and rodeo have had four decades to evolve – but they still operate on the same principles: animal commodification and corporate exploitation.
The Listening Lounge Reboot: “Animal Blessing Hymn” by Sherry Zitter
For this Listening Lounge reboot, we return to the music of Sherry Zitter with “Animal Blessing Hymn,” a gentle offering dedicated to animals great and small.
The Listening Lounge Reboot: Abolition with Shelley Harrison
The Listening Lounge is a Voices of the Movement series from The Humane Herald, resurfacing music, interviews, spoken word, and other audio worth hearing again.
