Author Archives: There's an Elephant in the Room

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

Words of concern – how to mean them

Posted on May 29, 2021 by There's an Elephant in the Room

When confronted with an article or post about a poorly individual who has been rescued from being used as a human resource, it is not unusual to read furious criticisms: 1) about the farmer / breeder,2) about the absence of … Continue reading →

Posted in Addressing resistance to change, Advocacy, consumer demand, property status, welfare | Tagged consumer demand, profit, regulations, supply and demand, veterinary care, welfare, welfare organisations, welfare standards | 3 Comments

Lies, damn lies, and statistics*

Posted on March 27, 2021 by There's an Elephant in the Room

Summary (for clear image) February is the month that FAO (The Food and Agriculture Organization, a specialised agency of the United Nations) publishes the annual global statistics of the number of land-based individuals slaughtered in the latest statistical year, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Global disasters, Statistics | Tagged amphibians, antibiotic resistance, avian flu, chickens, climate, climate catastrophe, data, diet, health, increase, insects, media hype, motive, not a diet, pandemic, plant-based, plant-based eating, plant-based options, slaughterhouse, species extinction, Statistics, veganism, wishful thinking, zoonotic, zoonotic disease | 3 Comments

Looking at language: Pests

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

I recently posted about fireworks and the devastation they cause, illustrating the post with a tragic picture of countless dead birds on a city street following new year fireworks. It is well documented that fireworks terrify all the living individuals … Continue reading →

Posted in Global disasters, Terminology | Tagged animal rights, badgers, balloons, bears, consumer demand, death, decency, fireworks, foxes, harm, insects, litter, littering, pest, pests, pigeons, poison, pollution, rabbits, rodents, slaughter, speciesism, strays, toxins, trap, vandalism, vermin, wedding doves | 3 Comments

On taking things at face value – when ‘cute’ is a lie

Posted on December 16, 2020 by There's an Elephant in the Room

I’ve written short posts in the past about my extreme discomfort at seeing animal videos on social media being presented as ‘cute’ and ‘adorable’ or ‘funny’ and ‘hilarious’. They are clearly very popular, very widely shared, and the comments range … Continue reading →

Posted in Addressing resistance to change, Advocacy, Imagery | Tagged adorable, advertising, baby goats, baby monkey, circus, Cruelty, cute, cute monkey, cynical, exploitation, fainting goats, funny, mother, performance, performer, speciesism, staged, video, videos, viral, viral video, where is the mother | 5 Comments