Friday Jun 23, 2023
Save the Salmon for Orcas | Episode 61
The Animal Wellness Podcast
Dedicated to knowing and supporting laws and lawmakers that benefit animals.
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Tuesday Jun 20, 2023
Tuesday Jun 20, 2023
After the horse, no animal better represents the frontier heritage and pastoral expanse of the United States than does the wolf. Revered by some, demonized by others, enthralling to all—it’s also the case that no other wild animal brings such strong emotions to Americans.
No wonder, then, they are the subject of such complex legal and political battles. A byzantine web of state and federal regulations and protections seems to be in perpetual flux, making it difficult for supporters of wolves—or their opponents—to know where the law stands at any one time.
On this episode of the Animal Wellness podcast, Samantha Bruegger, Paul Collins and Jennifer McCausland give their perspectives from two states where the wolf issue could not be more relevant.
Bruegger is the executive director of Washington Wildlife First, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to transforming Washington’s management of its fish, wildlife, and natural spaces from a model of consumptive use to an ethic that values science, respects nature, and prioritizes the preservation of natural ecosystems. McCausland, a resident of Washington and an activist for state issues concerning animals, is the senior vice president of corporate policy for the Center for a Humane Economy. Collins is the Wisconsin state director for Animal Wellness Action and has been focused on protecting wolves in what he calls “ground zero” for efforts to hunt them out of existence.
Bruegger calls on people in the state of Washington to comment on new regulations impacting wolves by visiting this link. She also refers to the Washington Wildlife First Resource Library and a New Yorker article that talks about the politicization of wolves. Finally, McCausland describes her efforts to combat overfishing of King salmon off the Pacific coast and the catastrophic impact overfishing is having on the local population of orcas.
Washington Wildlife First Resource Library: https://wawildlifefirst.org/resources-2/
State wolf planning materials: www.wolfplanning.org
New Yorker article: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/04/04/killing-wolves-to-own-the-libs-idaho
www.animalwellnessaction.org
www.centerforahumaneeconomy.org
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Music from https://filmmusic.io: "Fearless First" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com); License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Monday May 22, 2023
Monday May 22, 2023
After numerous battles in lower courts, the National Pork Producers Council and others finally convinced the Supreme Court to hear their challenge to California’s Proposition 12. That state initiative, passed by a powerful majority of California voters, mandates that no producer may sell products sourced from pigs or chickens into the state unless the producers ensure certain humane standards are maintained for the animals.
No fair, said the plaintiffs—time and again, up and down judicial ladders across the country. And time and again, courts rebuked the challenges and upheld the right of Californians to dictate what kinds of products may be sold within the state’s borders.
Fortunately for animals—and for citizens in the several other states where such requirements exist—the Supreme Court dealt the ultimate lethal blow to their arguments, and Prop 12 stands. The victory for animals and for the people who care about them cannot be understated.
In this episode of the Animal Wellness podcast, host Joseph Grove talks to Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action, and Kate Schultz Barton, the group’s senior attorney. Pacelle was key in developing Prop 12, its predecessors in the state, and similar ballot initiatives across the country. Shultz Barton, along with colleague Scott Edwards, submitted amicus briefs to the Court, making legal arguments some of which were adopted by the Court in the winning opinion.
Pacelle and Barton Schultz find little time to celebrate, however, explaining that the Pork Producers Council can be expected to turn to Congress for relief.
The Animal Wellness podcast is produced by Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. It focuses on improving the lives of animals in the United States and abroad through legislation and by influencing businesses to create a more humane economy. The show is hosted by veteran journalist and animal-advocate Joseph Grove. Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify and Podbean offer subscriptions to the free show.
www.animalwellnessaction.org
www.centerforahumaneeconomy.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnimalWellnessAction
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/centerforahumaneeconomy/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AWAction_News
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHumaneCenter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/animalwellnessaction/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/centerforahumaneeconomy/
Thursday May 04, 2023
Thursday May 04, 2023
Our special guest is filmmaker Ashley Avis, whose new WILD BEAUTY: MUSTANG SPIRIT OF THE WEST is available for pre-order on iTunes after earning multiple awards from film festivals across the country. The release date is May 12, 2023. You can watch the trailer here.
The Winterstone Pictures production has been called "a sweeping, immersive journey into the world of wild horses that illuminates both the profound beauty and desperate plight they currently face in the Western United States.”
Avis and her crew went on a multi-year expedition to uncover the truth before wild horses disappear forever. What she found is a tragic conspiracy to displace the horses so private-sector ranchers can co-opt public lands for cheap grazing for animals for commerce. The horses, once rounded up, often end up in the slaughter pipeline.
It’s capitalism and government collaboration against public interest at their worst, executed with maniacal chases, weapons, black helicopters and a far-reaching campaign of disinformation with little journalistic scrutiny to keep any of it in check.
The documentary features two great friends of the Animal Wellness podcast: Scott Beckstead, director of campaigns for Animal Wellness Action and perhaps the leading national authority on wild horses, and our former executive director, Marty Irby, who was personally recognized by Queen Elizabeth for his work on behalf of horses.
The Animal Wellness podcast is produced by Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. It focuses on improving the lives of animals in the United States and abroad through legislation and by influencing businesses to create a more humane economy. The show is hosted by veteran journalist and animal-advocate Joseph Grove. Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify and Podbean offer subscriptions to the free show.
Visit the website for Winterstone Pictures here. Learn more about the nonprofit set up by Avis to champion wild horses here.
www.animalwellnessaction.org
www.centerforahumaneeconomy.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnimalWellnessAction
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/centerforahumaneeconomy/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AWAction_News
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHumaneCenter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/animalwellnessaction/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/centerforahumaneeconomy/
Music from https://filmmusic.io: "Fearless First" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com); License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Tuesday May 02, 2023
Tuesday May 02, 2023
Jewel Johnson joins our podcast to talk about the emotional lives of fighting roosters, whom she rescues from seizures at busted cockfights and other surrenders. She does this through her 30-acre sanctuary in Colorado called Danzig's Roost.
Contrary to expectations, the animals are incredibly docile with people and even exhibit bonding behaviors with humans more typically associated with dogs and cats. Johnson talks about the merciless culling of "undesirable" fighters, and how a fully trained rooster—while being gentle with other birds and even hens—loses the ability to be socialized with other roosters.
Johnson also takes listeners inside the culture of cockfights, finding among the people who fight the animals a devotion to God and family that is perniciously at odds with the concomitant belief that a divine grant of dominion over animals gives them the right to sentence the animals to death for the purpose of entertainment.
You don't know fighting roosters or cockfighting until you listen to Johnson's story of love, sacrifice and hope for these misunderstood, exploited animals.
Rooster Sanctuary at Danzig's Roost on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rooster.sanctuary
Rooster Sanctuary at Danzig's Roost's website: http://www.roostersanctuary.org
You can read about the FIGHT Act and its critical improvements to anti-cockfighting law here: https://bit.ly/3oJKrBx
Read our story about Johnson's work here: https://bit.ly/3ZEyFVR
The Animal Wellness Podcast is produced by Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. It focuses on improving the lives of animals in the United States and abroad through legislation and influencing businesses to create a more humane economy. The show is hosted by veteran journalist and animal-advocate Joseph Grove.
Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify and Podbean offer subscriptions to the free show.
www.animalwellnessaction.org
www.centerforahumaneeconomy.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnimalWellnessAction
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/centerforahumaneeconomy/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AWAction_News
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHumaneCenter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/animalwellnessaction/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/centerforahumaneeconomy/
Music from https://filmmusic.io: "Fearless First" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com); License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Saturday Apr 29, 2023
Saturday Apr 29, 2023
In this episode, author Julie Marshall and host Joseph Grove talk with Ursula Goodenough about her new release, the second edition of "The Sacred Depths of Nature: How Life Has Emerged and Evolved." The book provides a brief but powerful commingling of science and spirituality to help readers more deeply connect with animals, plants and the earth herself.
The book is available here: https://bit.ly/3L7gSS2. More information about the book can be found here: www.sacreddepthsofnature.com.
The Animal Wellness Podcast is produced by Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. It focuses on improving the lives of animals in the United States and abroad through legislation and influencing businesses to create a more humane economy.
Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify and Podbean offer subscriptions to the free show.
www.animalwellnessaction.org
www.centerforahumaneeconomy.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnimalWellnessAction
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/centerforahumaneeconomy/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AWAction_News
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHumaneCenter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/animalwellnessaction/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/centerforahumaneeconomy/
Music from https://filmmusic.io: "Fearless First" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com); License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Wednesday Apr 12, 2023
Wednesday Apr 12, 2023
How far is too far when it comes to animal advocacy? In this episode of the Animal Wellness Podcast, two veteran activists with somewhat different approaches discuss the best tactics to effect change for animals.
Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, often works quietly and behind the scenes, nudging the levers of government and commerce to create improvements. The author of two New York Times bestsellers on animals believes in applying reason and the appeals of logic and decency to convert those who put or leave animals in harm’s way.
Donny Moss, however, is just as apt to use a bullhorn as a keyboard. The founder of Their Turn is known for taking the battle to the streets, using video, social media and in-person confrontation to put pressure on businesses, consumers and even corporate board members to change minds.
The two review their successful collaboration on the Kangaroos Are Not Shoes campaign, which recently has had major wins in the fight to convince Nike, Puma and Diadora to stop selling soccer cleats made from the skins of murdered kangaroos. The campaign is now targeting hold-outs Adidas and New Balance. You can sign the petition here.
The Animal Wellness Podcast is produced by Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. It focuses on improving the lives of animals in the United States and abroad through legislation and influencing businesses to create a more humane economy. The show is hosted by veteran journalist and animal-advocate Joseph Grove. Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify and Podbean offer subscriptions to the show.
Donations to www.animalwellnessaction.org make the show possible.
www.animalwellnessaction.org
www.centerforahumaneeconomy.org
www.kangaroosarenotshoes.net
www.theirturn.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnimalWellnessAction
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/centerforahumaneeconomy/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AWAction_News
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHumaneCenter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/animalwellnessaction/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/centerforahumaneeconomy/
Music from https://filmmusic.io: "Fearless First" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com); License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Thursday Mar 23, 2023
Thursday Mar 23, 2023
In this episode of the Animal Wellness Podcast, the team says farewell to Marty Irby, executive director of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. Marty has been a guest on virtually every show and served the organizations and the podcast since their inceptions.
One of Marty’s greatest passions is improving the lives of horses—Tennessee Walkers, Thoroughbreds, wild horses and others. He and Wayne Pacelle, president of the non-profits, update several campaigns being waged on the behalf of America’s equines.
Veterans for Mustangs Act. This bill would fund the deployment of U.S. Armed Services veterans to the West to help sterilize wild stallions, reducing the perceived need of the Bureau of Land Management to conduct abusive, disruptive—and unnecessary—round-ups. Read more here: https://animalwellnessaction.org/bipartisan-veterans-for-mustangs-act-introduced
Horse Slaughter. Animal Wellness Action is hard at work to prohibit the export of U.S. horses to Canada and Mexico, where they are slaughtered for overseas human consumption and other purposes. Read more here: https://animalwellnessaction.org/landmark-investigation-into-trafficking-slaughter-of-american-horses-to-canada-mexico
Prevent All Soring Tactics Act. This legislation aims to stiffen penalties and bolster enforcement of existing ones against the use of caustic chemicals and sharp implements to create the infamous “big lick” exaggerated gait with Tennessee Walking horses.
Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act. After some changes to language in the law, this milestone advance against doping appears set to clear legal challenges and safeguard thousands of racing horses. Read more at our dedicated website: hisawatchdog.org.
Irby also discusses his appearance in the award-winning “Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the American West,” a powerful documentary about wild horses set for national release next month. You can watch the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/746037325
www.animalwellnessaction.org
www.centerforahumaneeconomy.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnimalWellnessAction
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/centerforahumaneeconomy/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AWAction_News
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHumaneCenter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/animalwellnessaction/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/centerforahumaneeconomy/
Music from https://filmmusic.io: "Fearless First" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com); License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Thursday Feb 23, 2023
Thursday Feb 23, 2023
While the Corona virus has largely receded from the daily consciousness of most folks, it's not gone away completely. Just the other day, someone told reported that some hospitals are beginning to enact new masking policies. Regional and national hotspots remain across the globe. Countless people are grieving the almost 6.8 million people the virus has killed so far. The question remains, What have we learned?
Most people, it seems, are operating under an unspoken belief that what we have learned or haven't learned won't matter. That the odds of something like this happening again in our lifetimes is slim. If you'll forgive a horribly bad pun, they may be counting their chickens for before they hatch.
The looming culprit is bird flu, a devastating virus responsible directly and indirectly for the death of millions of birds, most notably chickens, who are being slaughter in countless numbers as a prophylactic against further spread of the disease. Why are eggs so expensive these days? Fewer chickens. Fewer eggs. Supply and demand.
But the real threat to humans is so far merely potential, albeit increasingly likely. On the show to talk about bird flu and its potential harms to people are Wayne Pacelle, president, and Drs. Jim Keen and Tom Pool. Dr. Keen is the Director of Veterinary Sciences for the Center for a Humane Economy, our sister organization. Dr. Pool is the Senior Veterinarian, Animal Wellness Action. And what's made this timely for us is our recent reporting on cockfighting in OK, Miss., Alabama and Tennessee.
Wayne Pacelle from Animal Wellness Action joins host Joseph Grove to discuss the topic. Also on the show are Dr. Jim Keen, D.V.M., Ph.D., Director of Veterinary Sciences, Center for a Humane Economy, and Dr. Tom Pool, D.V.M, MPH, Dipl. ACVPM, Senior Veterinarian, Animal Wellness Action.
Here's a link to our exclusive investigation into cockfighting:
http://bit.ly/3xQSEFi
Music from https://filmmusic.io: "Fearless First" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com); License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
www.animalwellnessaction.org
www.centerforahumaneeconomy.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnimalWellnessAction
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/centerforahumaneeconomy/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AWAction_News
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHumaneCenter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/animalwellnessaction/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/centerforahumaneeconomy/