Category Archives: Blog

Varda Mehrotra on Personhood: The Principle and the Practice

Posted on November 12, 2018 by Nik Taylor

PERSONHOOD: THE PRINCIPLE AND THE PRACTICE  Varda Mehrotra, Executive Director of Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) CONCEPT OF PERSONHOOD OF ANIMALS There is a growing debate as to what the legal classification of animals should be. Presently, within … Continue reading →

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Varda Mehrotra on India’s Animal Protection Movement

Posted on August 29, 2018 by Nik Taylor

From 1990 to 2007 I (Christine Townend) was living in India, as managing trustee of an animal protection organisation in Jaipur, and during this time I started two more animal shelters in Kalimpong and Darjeeling in the foothills of the … Continue reading →

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Jane Johnson – Dissenting Animals

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Nik Taylor

Dissenting Animals Oscar, my Cairn terrier, is a remarkable creature in lots of ways, including that he loves going to the vet. Although some pretty traumatic things have happened to him in his 14 years, Oscar seems to know that … Continue reading →

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Peter Singer – The Cow Who…

Posted on May 17, 2017 by Nik Taylor

MELBOURNE – Last month, a steer escaped from a slaughterhouse in the New York City borough of Queens. Video of the animal trotting down a busy street was soon featured on many media outlets. For those who care about animals, … Continue reading →

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Peter Singer – Are Insects Conscious?

Posted on May 17, 2017 by Nik Taylor

MELBOURNE – Last summer, a cabbage white butterfly laid its eggs on an arugula I was growing. Before long, the plant was swarming with green caterpillars, well disguised against the green leaves. I had other arugula plants, some distance away, … Continue reading →

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Five Propositions on Ferals Fiona Probyn-Rapsey.

Posted on January 13, 2017 by Nik Taylor

Five Propositions on Ferals Fiona Probyn-Rapsey. First published in Feral Feminisms,Issue 6, Fall 2016, http://www.feralfeminisms.com In September 2015, I gave a talk at Siteworks, an arts festival that takes place at Bundanon (see Bundanon Trust https://bundanon.com.au/) on the South Coast of New … Continue reading →

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Fiona Probyn-Rapsey on Australia’s war on feral cats

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Nik Taylor

Last week in Canberra I attended the Threatened Species Commission Community roundtable on the ‘feral cats’ strategy – the plan to eradicate 2 million feral cats by 2020, announced by Environment Minister Greg Hunt in July last year. Otherwise known … Continue reading →

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Ruminations of a Retiring Veterinarian –  Michael W. Fox

Posted on August 12, 2016 by Christine Townend

I grew up during World War 11 in the north of England surrounded by William Blake’s “satanic mills.” I came to respect the dignity of hard labor, the spirit of the Luddite and the virtues of frugality, self-reliance and serving … Continue reading →

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Rowena Lennox: Safe Place (Dingoes)

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Nik Taylor

On 21 June 2016 brief news reports appeared online stating that six dingoes had been found dead at Orchid Beach on Fraser Island (K’gari). All the reports (ABC, The Courier-Mail, Yahoo!7News and Sky News) noted that one dingo’s body was … Continue reading →

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Laura Jean McKay on Being wowed, being excited: about the Being Interdisciplinary in Animal Studies postgraduate symposium, Glasgow, 2016.

Posted on June 20, 2016 by Nik Taylor

It was a funny lot of creatures who gathered in Glasgow this May. Postgraduate researchers from history, science, media and visual arts, geography, archaeology, anthropology, sociology, English and literature. We were brought together by historian and, let’s face it, star … Continue reading →

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