Putting a Face on the Gulf Oil Leak

The oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico finally has a face. Or, rather, faces — at once primordially familiar and yet utterly strange under their new bronze patinas. As close-up photographs begin to appear that document the insult and injury done to coastal wildlife by the Deepwater Horizon leak, public pressure on the Obama [...]

Animal suffering in laboratories: A failure to care

By Alka Chandna, Ph.D. Animal experimenters from Canada’s McGill University recently determined that mice — like humans and other mammals — make grimacing facial expressions when they are in pain. For the study, the ill-fated mice were videotaped after experimenters injected noxious chemicals into their abdomens, ankles, hands and feet…

Cow Whipping: How violent can a farmer get with his livestock?

An animal rights group has released a video showing workers at an Ohio dairy farm punching cows, stabbing them with a pitchfork, and beating them with a crowbar. How violent is a rancher or dairy farmer allowed to get with his livestock? In some states, as violent as he likes…

Plaintiffs With Fins? The Legal Rights of Oil Spill’s Animal Victims

By Dionne Searcey. A story in The Seattle Times today about an Exxon Valdez survivor, an otter that had been sickly for years after being rescued from the slick in Prince William Sound (spoiler alert: it’s a sad ending), got us thinking. Do the wildlife victims of the current oil spill in the Gulf have [...]

Perdue’s “Humanely-Raised” Chicken: The Latest Misleading Food Claim

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the supermarket, another food manufacturer has decided to slap a misleading claim on its products…

No Energy

BY JOSHUA GREEN. In Washington, environmental disasters come with a silver lining. They have the power to change the legislative dynamic almost overnight. A 1969 oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara was the impetus for the original Earth Day, and prompted Congress to pass the National Environmental Policy Act, which among other things [...]

Is There Anything Truly Sustainable or Humane About Eating Meat?

Natural food sections in our grocery stores are chock full of them. The ethical foodies seek them out. They’re intended to inform the consumer about where our food comes from and how it’s produced: “Sustainable,” “organic,” “free-range,” “local” products — we’ve all seen the terms and we hope they genuinely convey what they imply…

Come On Canada – The Seal Slaughter Needs To Stop

With seal goods banned in every major market but China, Canada can no longer economically justify their annual seal hunt. So why does it still take place?

Loving chimps to death

BY JANE GOODALL. Last week in Stamford, Conn., a chimpanzee named Travis was shot and killed after he mauled a friend of his owner. The chimpanzee lived with a widow, eating lobster and ice cream at the table…

Is Obama’s Regulatory Czar a “Radical Animal Rights Activist”?

BY JONATHAN STEIN. Does the famed legal mind President Obama has picked to be his regulatory czar really have a “radical animal-rights agenda”? And if so, is that the real reason an industry front group called the Center for Consumer Freedom has launched a campaign against him?…

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