Author Archives: There's an Elephant in the Room

Professor Tom Regan: A Case for Animal Rights Speech

Posted on December 12, 2021 by There's an Elephant in the Room

Here, with what is still seen as one of the greatest animal rights speeches of all time, is Professor Tom Regan (1938 – 2017) who opened the debate “Does the Animal Kingdom Need a Bill of Rights” at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Transcript | Tagged bill of rights, case for animal rights, does the animal kingdom need a bill of rights, justice, peace, Professor Tom Regan, respect, scientific, Tom Regan, utilitarian, utilitarianism, video | 1 Comment

Let’s talk about mutilation

Posted on November 19, 2021 by There's an Elephant in the Room

A recent post on Facebook was illustrated by the image below which is the work of the highly acclaimed animal rights artist and advocate, Jo Frederiks. The text read; ‘The distinctions we make between the species that we love as … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Imagery, Mutilation, Nonhuman family members, Terminology | Tagged animal testing, artificial insemination, beak trimming, branding, castration, de-beaking, de-horning, de-snooding, de-spurring, de-toeing, disbudding, dubbing, ear notching, ear tagging, it doesn't hurt, it's for their own good, mulesing, nose ringing, pinioning, tail docking, teat removal, tongue reshaping, tooth clipping, udder flaming, vivisection | 4 Comments

On ‘personal choice’ and trying to be a ‘popular’ vegan

Posted on November 13, 2021 by There's an Elephant in the Room

I’m sure we’ve all heard – or maybe even used at some time – the tired old assertion about ‘my personal choice’? My first hearing was when it was actually snarled at me through gritted teeth by a former … Continue reading →

Posted in Awakening to veganism, consumer demand, Global disasters | Tagged animal rights, climate disaster, diet, disaster, ecological disaster, end of life as we know it, extremism, famine, fire, flood, Flooding, food shortage, human superiority, justice, moral choices, personal, personal choice, planetary collapse, plant-based, speciesism, truth, victims, violence, wildfires | 5 Comments

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 | 5 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