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November 10, 2009 When The Fight Is Over: Cockfighter Rehabilitation With Miriam Jones 
Photo from Eastern Shore Sanctuary website Cockfighting is major news in the United States these days, with almost weekly reports of police raids on the illegal fighting and gambling operations. What happens after the raids, rescue and relocation? On this week’s program, we catch up with Miriam Jones from the Eastern Shore Bird Sanctuary who tells us about the politics and practice of fighting rooster rehab. Though the process can be long and difficult, Jones gives us a clear picture about why it is vital that we don’t give up on animals who have been trained to fight. From the Website: “Founded in a rural region dominated by the poultry industry, the Eastern Shore Sanctuary and Education Center provides a haven for hens, roosters and ducks who have escaped or been rescued from the meat and egg industries or other abusive circumstances, such as cockfighting. We work within an ecofeminist understanding of the interconnection of all life and the intersection of all forms of oppression. Thus we welcome and work to facilitate alliances among animal, environmental, and social justice activists.” The Eastern Shore Statement on Backyard Birds: News links:
Download mp3s of the interview: June 2, 2009 Why Cockfighting Must End: Views from the United States and Puerto Rico 
Photo from Wikimedia Commons by Superbass The ubiquity of cockfighting is shocking. Even in places such as the United States where the practice is illegal, underground fighting continues to be a lucrative (and inherently cruel) industry. Before a fight, roosters (or gamecocks) have their spurs cut off without anaesthetic, and metal or plastic razor-sharp blades (known as gaffs) are attached to their legs. Sometimes their beaks are sharpened. In the cockfighting pit, a pair of birds are provoked and pitted against each other. Trained to be violently aggressive, the roosters may be further stimulated with drugs, such as methamphetamine. The battles involve intense injuries and bloodshed, which cause incredible pain for the birds, and often result in at least one death. In this interview, we hear two different perspectives on cockfighting, one from the United States and one from Puerto Rico, where the practice remains legal but enmeshed in criminal activity. Tune in to hear about the relationship between cockfighting and crime, more about the activity, arguments by proponents and opponents, and how positive change is happening. Dana Campbell is a lawyer with the national nonprofit organization, Animal Legal Defense Fund. She also started her own animal law practice in Rochester New York. She teaches Animal Law as an adjunct professor at Cornell Law School in Ithaca New York. Leisha Swayne is the Vice President of the Humane Society of Puerto Rico, and an Animal Cruelty Investigations Consultant for the AdopciónMascotas.com. She is also a member member of the Animal Rights Commission of the Bar Association.
Download mp3s of the interview: Tags: Animals in Entertainment
May 29, 2007 Different Ways of Knowing: Birding, Aquariums, and the End of Suffering? Part II 
Photo © LexnGer Traci Warkentin and Gavan Watson join us in studio again for Part II of "Different Ways of Knowing: Birding, Aquariums, and the End of Suffering?" In this conversation, Traci and Gavan describe the work of some of their influences, including environmental philosophers Neil Evernden, Val Plumwood, Donna Haraway, David Quammen, among others. They also provide a brief introduction to sensual world of phenomenology. Gavan and Traci stress the importance of staying open and attentive to animals, and talk about how we might meet animals like squirrels on their own terms. Turning to a discussion about "trash animals" and "food animals", they draw together such themes as contamination, invisibility, and Otherness. Gavan ends with a description of his challenging work on the Ring-billed Gull, and Traci closes with a question to our listeners: Do we have a moral imperative to support the genetic engineering of industrial "food animals" if it means they will suffer less? News links:
Download mp3s of the interview: Tags: Animals in Entertainment | Captivity
April 24, 2007 Different Ways of Knowing: Birding, Aquariums, and the End of Suffering? 
Between peering into binoculars and keeping meticulous checklists, for some outside the activity, bird watching may seem perplexing. Why do people enjoy it, and what does the practice reveal about human-animal relationships? Or, consider aquariums, with their carefully choreographed performances and animal-touching activities. What ideas about animals and conservation are encouraged through such institutions, and what insights might be drawn from academic critique? Join us as we explore these, and other questions, with Traci Warkentin and Gavan Watson, doctoral students in the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University. Including themes of ethics, representation, and phenomenology, Warkentin and Watson's respective research is both challenging and engaged. Watson, a naturalist, works at the intersection of animal studies, environmental education and natural history, while Warkentin's scholarship draws together environmental ethics, education, and animal geographies from a feminist and interdisciplinary approach.
Download mp3s of the interview: Tags: Animals in Entertainment | Captivity
May 23, 2006 Animal advocates are sometimes accused of being physically removed from, and unrealistic about, the animals they try to help. Challenged as city folks who have never depended on animals for livelihood, activists are dismissed as sentimental and woefully ignorant of natural life cycles. In anticipation of such concerns, Animal Voices welcomes Dr. Peggy Larson to Tuesday's program, to share her perspective on this week's topic: rodeos. As a former rodeo competitor and a veterinarian who has treated rodeo animals, Dr. Larson provides an insider look at an industry that many call cruel and outdated. On this week's show, hear why this past rodeo participant retired from riding and later founded of the National Spay and Neuter Coalition. Then, we'll check in with Peter Fricker, a Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) spokesperson, who will tell us about the historic Vancouver City Council decision to prohibit a number of inhumane practices associated with rodeos, effectively banning the events city-wide. "Rodeo is based on animals' reactions to pain, fear and stress...It's animal abuse, plain and simple. We're glad it will never happen in Vancouver again," says Fricker. Want to find how and why the ban happened? Wondering how to encourage other cities to follow suit? Fricker will share some sound advice with our listeners. Likewise, Kamila Monroe from Wild at Heart will tell us about another way to kick up some dust. Wild at Heart is organizing a protest against "The Great Markham Rodeo" and you can get involved. Get your road-tripping music-mixes out, and gear up for a bus ride to Markham on May 27th. Tune in Tuesday to find out more about this new, ambitious group and how to reserve your spot on the bus. Download mp3s of the interview: part 1 (3.28 MB) and part 2 (2.74 MB) Tags: Animals in Entertainment
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