Many people don’t worry about the suffering that mice experience when they’re used in research, even people who oppose experiments on other species, such as dogs or primates. Mice are intelligent, social animals who feel pain. There is no reason their suffering matters less than that of other species. Mice matter and they need your help.
On October 29th, the Government of China revealed that it allows commercial trade in tiger bone and rhino horn from farmed animals for use in traditional Chinese medicine research and clinical treatments. This is a brazen and regressive position which drastically undermines international efforts for tiger and rhino conservation.
The lab monkey, fur mink, and racing horse will not be liberated through compromise. They need so-called extremism. As Dr. King suggested, an extremist for justice is a label that carries no shame; indeed, it should be embraced.
The European Parliament has called for a global ban on animal testing for cosmetics by 2023. Animal testing for cosmetics has been banned in the EU since 2013, but remains legal in 80% of countries worldwide. A November 16th Geneva conference will bring experts together to strategize for a global ban.
If we do not understand why humans do the things they do, and what drives them to change, we will never be effective at making the world a better place for animals.
In what has been called ‘the pet effect,’ companion animals can relieve suffering and enrich people’s lives in measurable ways. The company of animals helps improve chronic pain, PTSD symptoms, depression and grief, and more.
Compassion for hoarders is not misplaced if you recognize that most of them are in desperate need of psychological help. What hoarders do not need is the type of sympathy and support that enables them to continue harboring and acquiring even more animals.
Eight bird species, including two species of macaw, look set to have their extinctions confirmed following a robust new assessment of Critically Endangered species. The findings reveal a worrying new trend: for the first time, mainland extinctions are outpacing island extinctions.
California lawmakers have approved Senate Bill 1249, the California Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act, sending the bill to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk for his signature. SB 1249 would make it unlawful for cosmetic manufacturers to sell any cosmetic in California if the final product or any component of the product was knowingly tested on animals.
Duke University researchers have developed a new way to estimate lemur populations, providing valuable information for conservation efforts. So far, their population estimates are good news for some species and bad news for others.
Some scientists have suggested we need to protect half of Earth’s surface to preserve most of its species. A new Duke University-led study, however, cautions that it is the quality, not merely the quantity, of what we protect that matters.
The authors conclude that “Reconciling future oil palm development and primate conservation in Africa will be very challenging,” especially if palm oil demand skyrockets, as it is predicted to.