This year, our Fur Free Life campaign has taken a new focus. While animal suffering and the lack of animal protection legislation remain at the heart of our campaign for a Fur Free Life, our educational publicity recently concentrated on the serious health risks for wearers of fur.
Earth’s green skin is velvet today
With the mist on it
Crushed velvet with her children’s pawprints
…
Tree House Humane Society offers a proven, humane, long-term, “green,” alternative solution to Chicago’s growing rat issue. The project relocates feral or community cats to new territories where their hunting instincts and mere presence results in reduced numbers of rats, while giving them a safe and secure location where they can live out the rest of their lives.
Pope St. Pius V described bullfights as “a spectacle for demons rather than men.” As a practicing Catholic, I am saddened to say that the moral aspect of our treatment of other creatures is a part of Catholic teaching that our Catholic leaders have long neglected. Pope Francis is trying to put that right. Let’s take advantage of that and ask him to condemn bullfighting.
Reptiles are not commonly thought of as being responsive, or particularly intelligent. But in October 2001, we met a caiman (a type of small alligator) named Josefina, living in a lagoon in the rainforest of Costa Rica. Josefina displayed amazing intelligence, as well as sensitivity to human behavior and the effect her presence had on us.
A growing trend in the United States, cat cafés have been introduced in several cities including New York, Oakland, and San Diego. What will set Tree House’s Cat Café apart is its location. Unlike other cat cafés which are stand-alone, Tree House’s Cat Café will be situated inside what will be one of the most innovative, cat-centric shelters in the country.
Come on, Gaia,
Fight back
With your floods, fire, and mighty winds
Reveal
For an instant
The magnitude of your wrath…
Innocuous as individual mice and rats appear to be, and as easily befriended as they often are, they remain collectively an authentic menace to human health and agriculture. There is much we must understand if humans are to evolve a less violent coexistence with these creatures, who share virtually every human dwelling, place of business, and site of food production or preparation.
Stories featuring anthropomorphic animals have been a staple of human culture for millennia, but Disney’s new animated film stands out from the herd by depicting animals not just as stand-ins for humans, but unique sentient beings with interests and value of their own.
Egyptian writer Fatima Naoot has been sentenced to three years in prison for “insulting Islam” by criticizing the Eid al-Adha animal sacrifice. Yet there are many devout Muslims who argue against the Eid slaughter as contrary to their religion’s true values.
Asia for Animals calls on Shanghai Circus World to cancel plans for a macaque training school and phase out the use of animals in its performances, relying instead on human skill and acrobatics to build its reputation.
A paraplegic cat adopted from Egypt, Elrond was originally named Rania in the belief that he was a girl. Recently I have come to wonder if Elrond might not be female in some sense after all.