Tag Archives: sanctuary

Speciesism and the welfare of property

Posted on February 15, 2019 by There's an Elephant in the Room

Sometimes we are told that someone ‘loves’ ‘their’ animals, or that they ‘treat them well’, but the claim that is always shouted from the rooftops is the one about ‘high welfare standards’. These claims may come from people in a … Continue reading →

Posted in property status, welfare | Tagged autonomy, business asset, commerce, commercial assets, companions, consent, feelings, guidelines, individual, property, regulations, rescue, respect, sanctuary, sentience, sentient, speciesism, welfare, welfare standards, well-being, wellbeing | 16 Comments

The way it’s always been and if we stop they’ll become extinct

Posted on April 9, 2018 by There's an Elephant in the Room

‘ Humans have been using other animals since the beginning of time.’ ‘It’s always been this way.’ ‘If we stop farming them they’ll become extinct.’ The idea that ‘nothing can change from the way it’s always been done’, is commonly … Continue reading →

Posted in Addressing resistance to change, FAQ | Tagged backyard, battery, chickens, Chickens and eggs, consumer demand, Cruelty, domestication, environment, extinct, extinction, factory, free range, genetic modification, harm, hens, humane, justice, sanctuary, selective breeding, slaughter, Torture, vegan, veganism, victims, violence | 9 Comments

In a nutshell: why all egg use is inhumane

Posted on September 6, 2017 by There's an Elephant in the Room

The problems faced by all egg-laying hens are not caused by their environment, but by the very bodies that have been created by humans. Their bodies are the result of years of selective breeding to maximise egg production for human … Continue reading →

Posted in 'Happy' exploitation, Chickens and eggs, In a nutshell | Tagged backyard, chickens, Chickens and eggs, commodification, consumer demand, free range, harm, health, hens, humane, prisons, resources, sanctuary, sentience, slaughter, vegan, victims | 34 Comments

What will happen to the animals when the world goes vegan?

Posted on July 4, 2017 by There's an Elephant in the Room

What will happen to all the animals if the world goes vegan? You do realise that they’ll become extinct? Will the planet be overrun with animals? Who will pay for looking after the animals if it becomes illegal to eat … Continue reading →

Posted in Addressing resistance to change, FAQ | Tagged breeding, Chickens and eggs, climate change, commodification, consumer demand, dairy, disease, ecology, economy, environmental destruction, extinction, genetic modification, health, insemination, milk, resources, sanctuary, selective breeding, sentience, slaughter, smoking, speciesism, vegan, veganism | 33 Comments

Looking at words – ‘slaughter’

Posted on October 25, 2016 by There's an Elephant in the Room

The word that keeps recurring to me today is ‘slaughter’. It’s a common word; everyone knows it, probably everyone uses it. I look on it as one of these words that we tend to use without examining too closely. It’s a bit like … Continue reading →

Posted in Speciesism, Terminology | Tagged bleeding, Chickens and eggs, commodification, consumer demand, Cruelty, dairy, harm, health, human superiority, milk, morality, sanctuary, sentience, slaughter, speciesism, stunning, vegan, veganism, violence | 32 Comments

Tributes

Posted on October 11, 2016 by There's an Elephant in the Room

Every day we read tributes on social media from those who have shared their lives with members of other species and they move me to tears. Without exception these writings and images invite us to share something special and personal from a wounded … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Eulogies | Tagged broken, cat, cats, companions, death, dog, dogs, eulogy, family, family members, friends, helpless, lonely, memorial, memory, respect, sanctuary, sentience, slaughter, speciesism, Torture, tribute, tributes, unloved, veganism, violence, wounded | 2 Comments

One little hen

Posted on July 24, 2016 by There's an Elephant in the Room

A little hen. Picture her as she huddles in the crowded press of tattered and wounded bodies, crouched in the fetid stench of ammonia. Her mind may be whirling with complex thoughts and memories; but in her entire experience of … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Chickens and eggs, Sentience | Tagged chickens, Chickens and eggs, consumer demand, hens, justice, respect, sanctuary, sentience, vegan, violence | 5 Comments

An apology to my family – my thoughts

Posted on March 9, 2016 by There's an Elephant in the Room

More than 600,000,000 unique, special individuals, with minds and thoughts, hopes and hearts, needs, desires and preferences are abandoned by humanity every single year. Shelters are filled to bursting point and countless millions of sad, frightened and desperate nonhumans are slaughtered … Continue reading →

Posted in Nonhuman family members | Tagged abandonment, advocacy, cats, companions, dogs, domestication, family, family members, human superiority, justice, love, Nonhuman family members, ownership, pets, respect, sanctuary, sentience, service animals, speciesism, use, vegan, veganism, vulnerable | 9 Comments

We don’t need to be ‘animal lovers’ to do right by them

Posted on December 14, 2015 by There's an Elephant in the Room

As a vegan advocate, I strongly believe that the words we use are vitally important, and words like ‘animal lovers’, ‘love’, ‘compassion’ and ‘kindness’ are frequently used by many who protest about animal ‘cruelty’. Apart from the fact that all … Continue reading →

Posted in Terminology | Tagged compassion, Cruelty, decency, harm, kindness, love, rescue, respect, sanctuary, vegan | 2 Comments

Lessons in Applied Speciesism

Posted on October 20, 2015 by There's an Elephant in the Room

Originally posted on Striving with Systems:
By Justin Van Kleeck i. The memory of picking up Orion and Hikaru, our first rescued roosters, from the shelter is still vivid, albeit with the fuzzy edges of most past memories. In contrast…

Posted in Speciesism | Tagged chickens, Chickens and eggs, commodification, consumer demand, human superiority, rescue, respect, sanctuary, speciesism, vegan, violence | Leave a comment