Mittermeier President, Conservation International Arlington, Va., To the Editor: “ Watching the Numbers and Charting the Losses—of Species ,” by Verlyn Klinkenborg (Editorial Observer, Oct. 15), is precisely on the mark regarding the urgency and importance of today’s plant and animal extinction crisis. MORE

An Arlington, Texas, municipal judge ruled that the animals suffered from neglect and cruel conditions, and an appeal by the company's owners to a higher court was denied last weekend. Holy cow! That's HUGE. It was an exotic animal importing firm (why the eff do those even exist?) that was allegedly mistreating its animals. A lot of these animals are reptiles, spiders and amphibians, which explains the large number. This rescue is the result of a PETA undercover investigation. MORE

Years later, after he had gone off to teach at Northern Illinois University and I had gone off to teach at the University of Texas at Arlington, we discovered that we had a shared interest in animal rights. Here is a profile of my friend and co-blogger Mylan Engel Jr. We went to graduate school together at the University of Arizona. I didn't like Mylan at the time, and I'm sure he didn't like me. Mylan worked in epistemology. I worked in ethics. MORE

If I visit Arlington Cemetery, do I give my tacit consent to the various wars that produced the graves? For an explanation of this feature, click on “Moral Vegetarianism” at the bottom of this post. The Argument from Actual Practice Still, it may be objected that this is to overlook actual practice. In fact, animals used for food do suffer a great deal. Not only are they killed in cruel ways, but it is well documented that they are raised in ways that cause them great discomfort and agony. MORE

Jonathan is a philosophy major at the University of Texas at Arlington , where I have been a professor since the fall of 1989. This blog has a new member: my former (and perhaps future) student Jonathan Hubbell. Like many people (including me), he fell in love with the discipline almost as soon as he discovered it. Love, of course, isn’t sufficient for being a philosopher (it may not even be necessary), but Jonathan has a genuine aptitude for philosophy. MORE

Jonathan Hubbell, a philosophy major at the University of Texas at Arlington, is the newest member of the Animal Ethics blog, and once again, I would like to welcome him aboard. Like Keith, I think it will be interesting and instructive to observe as Jonathan works through his views on the myriad of ethical issues that surround our current treatment of animals. MORE

It will be in Arlington, VA at the end of October. This sounds wonderful. Someday, if it becomes an annual event, I hope I can go. link]. farm animal welfare farm sanctuary MORE