Author Archives: There's an Elephant in the Room

Fireworks; harmless fun or wanton destruction?

Posted on October 18, 2021 by There's an Elephant in the Room

As someone who used to love the spectacle and the theatre of firework displays, the whizzing, whooping, whistling, screams, pops, and thunderous bangs, the sparkling, light-blazing skies and the gunpowder smoke hanging heavy in the crisp frosty air, the past … Continue reading →

Posted in Festivals, Fireworks and 'celebrations' | 3 Comments

Egg use by humans – a look at whether it’s humane.

Posted on September 28, 2021 by There's an Elephant in the Room

Today the first post I saw was about hens who had been used for eggs and it tore my heart out. I should have known better and not looked at the comments, but I did and guess what? There they … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Chickens and eggs | Tagged agreement, backyard, communication, compassion, consensual, consent, consumer demand, contract, egg laying, egg-laying hens, eggs, exception, exceptional circumstances, exploitation, family, free range, freedom, hormone implants, humane exploitation, hyper-ovulation, market demand, pro-use, selective breeding, slaughter | 4 Comments

Crocodile tears – getting under our skin

Posted on September 2, 2021 by There's an Elephant in the Room

In the past few days, I’ve seen several excellent posts condemning a well-known designer brand for their use of crocodile skins for leather goods while exposing the conditions in which these innocent creatures are ‘farmed’, with images and descriptions that … Continue reading →

Posted in Leather and skin, Victims in the shadows | Tagged animal rights, consumer demand, crocodile, designer, exclusive, fur, leather, victims | 4 Comments

Last call for planet Earth

Posted on August 16, 2021 by There's an Elephant in the Room

Today I was motivated to write a short blog on passing a roadside advert that has stood for many years, directing shoppers to a butcher in a nearby village. Bragging about ‘100% Scottish beef’ and ‘award winning pies and sausages, … Continue reading →

Posted in Addressing resistance to change, Global disasters | Tagged animal agriculture, Apocalypse, Business as usual, climate, climate catastrophe, climate disaster, climate emergency, famine, fires, floods, fossil fuel, IPCC, polar melting, temperature records, wildfires | 6 Comments

Victims in the shadows: octopuses, squids and cuttlefishes

Posted on July 9, 2021 by There's an Elephant in the Room

Octopus are soft-bodied, eight-limbed molluscs of the order Octopoda. The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. This blog was originally inspired by the many excellent articles I’ve read … Continue reading →

Posted in Aquatic individuals, Octopuses, squids and cuttlefishes, Victims in the shadows | Tagged cephalopod, consumer demand, consumers, cuttlefish, dream, exploitation, food animals, harvest, intelligence, intelligent, octopus, profit, respect, slaughter, sleep states, squid, vegan | 4 Comments

Reduction and restriction – is it compromise or betrayal?

Posted on July 5, 2021 by There's an Elephant in the Room

I was recently discussing fireworks, balloons, sky lanterns etc and the devastating harm that they inflict on all living creatures in many ways; some as an extreme form of noise/light pollution, and all resulting in widespread toxic littering that pollutes … Continue reading →

Posted in Fireworks and 'celebrations' | Tagged betrayal, compromise, environmental vandalism, fear, fireworks, Harm reduction, less harm, reduced harm, terror, toxic litter | 4 Comments

‘Saving’ victims by being vegan – numbers from a hat

Posted on June 23, 2021 by There's an Elephant in the Room

In a previous blog I included an observation about this idea of ‘saving’ victims by being vegan, but I’m revisiting it because it deserves to be addressed in a blog of its own. It should be noted that when this … Continue reading →

Posted in Statistics | Tagged aquatic, how many animals are saved, land-based, marine, numbers out of a har, numbers out of a hat, saving animals, saving animals be being vegan, Statistics | 3 Comments

Zoos and other prisons – not vegan, not ‘conservation’, not ‘education’

Posted on June 16, 2021 by There's an Elephant in the Room

Zoos and aquariums are just two types of place where members of nonhuman species face lifelong incarceration for the ‘entertainment’ of our species. Many with vested interests are quick to claim that the ‘entertainment’ aspect is only part of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Zoos and other prisons | Tagged animal rights, aquaria, aquarium, conservation, education, holism, orison, sea world, utilitarianism, wildlife park | 2 Comments

Using bees for honey; it’s not vegan and it’s not ‘conservation’.

Posted on June 10, 2021 by There's an Elephant in the Room

Using and consuming honey taken from bees is not vegan. All the latest research suggests that bees are sentient individuals whose lives matter to them. In keeping with the many other species whose lives and bodies are ‘farmed’ by humans, … Continue reading →

Posted in Addressing resistance to change, honey, Victims in the shadows | Tagged honey, honey bees, honey is not vegan, insect apocalypse, mass extinction, vegan | 4 Comments

Veganism and conscience

Posted on June 6, 2021 by There's an Elephant in the Room

I recently did a post on social media where I mentioned a number of subjects which I have observed over the years to be less popular with page followers than others. I can’t remember having posted that type of observation … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy | Tagged cats, conscience, fleas, food, harm, horse riding, judgement, lice, medication, ownership, parasites, pets, service animals, ticks, worms | 4 Comments