October 20, 2009

Local Actions and Legal Precedents: Interviews with Elizabeth Schoales and Will Potter

On this installment of Animal Voices we speak directly to an activist trying to effect important change on a local level in Canada, and to a journalist bringing attention to how a new legal precedent will affect activists all over the US.

Photo © Bill Swindaman

First, we speak with Elizabeth Schoales, an activist based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. In addition to work with the Cat Action Team (the only Trap, Neuter, Return program in PEI), Schoales has been busy trying to get the Charlottetown municipal government to rethink their wildlife removal program, which results in hundreds of skunks (and other animals) being trapped and shot every year within the city limits. We also discuss the recent bust of PuppiesAcrossCanada.com, a website operating as a front for a puppy mill in PEI. [To contact Schoales about helping her with her work, please contact: animalvoices AT gmail DOT com]

Next, we catch up once again with journalist and blogger Will Potter to discuss the recent upholding of convictions against the SHAC 7 by a US appellate court. Though the ruling has passed quietly and virtually unnoticed in the mainstream press, Potter gives us a grim analysis of its possible implications for what is and is not protected speech in the US. A must listen for any activists who encourage or endorse direct action as a tactic of animal liberation.

Download mp3s of the interview:
lower quality / smaller: part 1 (2.88 MB) and part 2 (2.2 MB)
higher quality / larger: part 1 (7.91 MB) and part 2 (6.07 MB)

May 5, 2009

Unravelling the Acronym: Will Potter Exposes the AETA (Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act)

In this interview, Will Potter, award-winning independent journalist and creator of GreenIsTheNewRed.com, demystifies the AETA (Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act) and discusses the implications of the act for advocates. Potter argues that the AETA is a significant threat not only to those who engage in illegal activities on behalf of animals, but also to aboveground activists and even to those outside of the movement. Tune in to hear about the meaning and troubling history of the law, its larger social and political context, and its particular effects on incarcerated activists.

News links:

• Holista: Stop Producing and Selling Shark Cartilage
• P.E.I. environment minister reminisces about blowing up beaver dams
• Malia and Sasha Obama Urged to Join Veggie Campaign

Download mp3s of the interview:
lower quality / smaller: part 1 (3.11 MB) and part 2 (3.11 MB)
higher quality / larger: part 1 (8.38 MB) and part 2 (8.57 MB)

December 13, 2005

Taimie Bryant & Gary Francione: AR in the Classroom & the Courtroom Part 2

Gary Francione, professor of law and Nicholas deB. Katzenbach Distinguished Scholar of Law & Philosophy at Rutgers University School of Law, and Taimie L. Bryant, professor of law at the UCLA School of Law, join us to delve deeper into the topic of teaching animal rights courses in law school and how these can affect the legal landscape for nonhuman animals. We'll discuss their theories, the courses they are teaching, what courses are currently being taught in law schools elsewhere, and the conceptual shift in animal law that they are spearheading in their classrooms.

Download mp3s of the interview: part 1 (2.27 MB) and part 2 (2.33 MB)

November 22, 2005

Bob Barker & Taimie Bryant: Animal Rights in the Classroom and the Courtroom, Part 1

Bob Barker & Frederico

Taimie L. Bryant

First, Bob Barker, venerable host of The Price Is Right for the past 34 years, explains his motivation for donating 1 million dollars each to the law schools of Stanford, Columbia, Northwestern, Duke, UCLA and Harvard to fund animal rights law courses. A passionate animal advocate, Bob also set up the DJ & T Foundation in honour of his wife, Dorothy Jo, and his mother, Matilda (Tilly) Valandra, to fund low cost spay/neuter clinics and voucher programs as a way to help relieve animal over population.

Then we speak with Taimie L. Bryant, PhD, professor of law at UCLA who has taught classes in animal law since 1995. In 1998, she was the lead drafter of California state legislation to shift animal sheltering from killing to saving lives. More recently, Professor Bryant is utilizing the literature of social justice activism in feminism and disability rights areas in order to inform activism for animals. In particular, she seeks to combine the approaches of radical feminism and social justice activism in her work on animal protection. She is also developing projects that combine social science with law with funds from a generous endowment by Bob Barker to UCLA Law School for the purpose of animal rights law teaching and scholarship.

Download mp3s of the interview:
lower quality / smaller: part 1 (1.89 MB) and part 2 (4.03 MB)
higher quality / larger: part 1 (3.76 MB) and part 2 (8.19 MB)

October 19, 2004

Dr. Martin Balluch and the Austrian animal rights movement

Interview with Dr. Martin Balluch, a prominent activist within the Austrian animal rights movement and President of Verein Gegen Tierfabriken (Association Against Animal Factories). He'll tell us about hosting Tierrechtsradio, an animal advocacy program. Then he'll give us an insider look into the development and texture of the current animal rights and animal liberation movements in Austria, as well as provide an update about the new animal welfare legislation within the country. Also, we'll hear about some recent open rescues and what it means to be veggie in Austria.

Download mp3s of the interview:
lower quality / smaller: part 1 (2.84 MB) and part 2 (2.63 MB)
higher quality / larger: part 1 (5.68 MB) and part 2 (5.27 MB)

October 25, 2001

Lawyer Lesli Bisgould talks about Bill C-15B

Download mp3s of the interview: part 1 (2.16 MB) and part 2 (2.3 MB)