VIDEO: WHO’S THE ANIMAL?
Who’s The Animal? Check out this thought provoking film that was made for BBC RAW,…
Browsing: Art
POETRY: The Animals’ Prayer
Blessed are the animals
For they shall lead us back
To our lost innocence…
POETRY: The Killing Fields of Quabbin
Blind terror and bewilderment
As the guns crash and echo
Through once virgin forest…
Nourishing Compassion: On the Meaning of Our New Logo
The logo of the Animal People Forum includes a stylized version of the Chinese character 仁. Pronounced “Ren” in English, it signifies in Confucian spiritual philosophy an aspect of human nature that emerges in relation to others, including animals.
POETRY: Requiem
…
Swim deep, little seal
Man is here
Here with his nets and his clubs
Your ballet of grace means nothing to him
Dive to the sunless sea and do not return…
POETRY: Man the Destroyer of Worlds
When I walk in the woods,
I am at peace.
I am at home.
And, yet,
Sadness is always there
Because I know
In every thorn patch,
Every hillock,
Every thicket,
Hide living beings,
Shy and fearful
Of me and my fellow man….
POETRY: Looking for a Place to Die
He arrived one day
And claimed a corner of the yard.
The whirling dervish tomcat bully
Tried his usual tricks
But he just wearily hissed
And stayed
Curled up tight
On his bed of leaves
For over a day…
THE MARKET TO SELL DOGS and its sad wrecks
An item in our Ernest Bell Library. French postcard – anti-vivisection It is quite unusual…
Ecotourism
In any discussion of ecotourism the dangers of “greenwashing” must be explored. Greenwashing is the use of misleading advertisements to suggest that an activity is good for the environment when objectively it is not. Wildlife theme parks, underwater hotels and motorized tours into fragile ecosystems strive to portray themselves as environmentally positive (or neutral) but they are not. True ecotourism builds environmental awareness while emphasizing human rights and local control over resources and development. It is not solely about animals but also about the humans who live there, and have lived there in the past, often for thousands of years.
Animal friendly gardens
So many backyards in our neighborhood are covered with grass and non-native plants which are unfriendly to wildlife. Animals can only utilize certain plants as food and some are unusable or even poisonous. Grass is an environmental disaster. It requires a prodigious amount of water which in drought regions is irreplaceable. Pesticides are generally used it which poison the ecosystem and drain off into our rivers and oceans. People then mow it and put the clippings in plastic bags which are hauled away (using fossil fuels) to the landfill. What a tragedy!