What immediately hit me after getting so emotional about this is how nature is kind in comparison to the horrible cruelties humans impose on non-human animals, especially “food&# animals. Sometimes being an animal rights advocate is emotionally exhausting. Today is one of those days. Last night I was watching Animal Planet, as I often do, and the show was about polar bears in the wild. There was a mama polar bear and her 2 cubs who were not yet full grown, but also not tiny. MORE

We take a look into how man’s best friends see and how good their vision really is in comparison to that of a human’s. Dogs are incredibly intelligent animals, learning tricks, words and even learning how to push their owner’s buttons to get that much-deserved treat! MORE

Only soy-based inks used for all package printing - Soy-based inks require substantially less energy to produce in comparison to standard petroleum-based inks, and also help reduce air pollution. MORE

Regarding accusations of anthropomorphism (which arise frequently and did in Bekoff's previous book, as well) and also evolutionary continuity, which provides for symmetry in comparisons, the authors write: "It isn't that we set out looking for humanlike traits in animals and hope to find some. MORE

It may also be the case that their rights (if they have any) are, because of the nature of their interests, so insignificant in comparison with those of humans that they hardly deserve the appellation. ( One aspect of the question of whether animals have rights may now be treated. If animals have rights, then these are welfare rather than option-rights. My pet turtle does not exercise, at his option, any rights over itself, things, or people. MORE

It spotlights the Humane Society, but I think it's a pretty universal comparison. This article pretty much sums up how the two agendas are simply at cross-purposes. Compassion is perceived to hurt profits. MORE

Here's my concern: Though I think the game is disgusting and cruel, it sort of pales in comparison to what comes next for the lobsters. My self-appointed job in this blog is to think critically about how our human lives intersect with those of sentient nonhumans, in action and thought. Yesterday I received an e-mail alert from the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida (ARFF) regarding " a coin operated game that uses live lobsters at the Royal Palm Ale House in Royal Palm Beach. MORE

The German constitutional court has ruled that animal rights organisation PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) must end its campaign in which it draws a comparison between the Holocaust and industrial farming. PETA wants to run a campaign that compares factory farming to the Holocaust. Touchy subject there in Germany. MORE

If they are "only" animals, if they are beasts which abstract not, then my comparison is a piece of sentimental foolishness. I particularly question the use of chimpanzees in medical research. From what I recall, chimpanzees share at least 95 percent of human DNA, although the number that floats around the most is 98.6 percent. The following is from The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan. MORE

By comparison, Bangor University used 1,464 mice and 664 fish, Aberystwyth used 289 cattle, 153 mice and 102 sheep and Swansea used 1,208 fish. Here's an article about an increase in animal experiments at Cardiff University in Wales. According to a Wales on Sunday investigation, the number of animals used at Cardiff has risen by 13 percent since 2006. MORE

Here are the tips and stats that they sent us: Nearly 2,900 letter carriers were bitten by dogs last year, yet that pales in comparison to the 4.7 Did you know that May 16-22 is National Dog Bit Prevention Week? Neither did we! That is, not until we got an email from the USPS. Now that we know, we are happy to spread the word. They are working hard to help spread that word about how to prevent dog bites. MORE

The comparison to Nazi marches and racist hate speech fails to acknowledge a critical distinction—speaking out in favor of criminal activity versus the carrying out of criminal acts. To the Editor: Re “ Animal Cruelty and Free Speech ” (editorial, Oct. 6): I do not agree that “anyone with an appreciation for the First Amendment” must conclude that “crush videos” or videos of vicious dogfights are protected speech and that the federal law in question should therefore be struck down. MORE

When he spends what seems like an eternity discussing cockfighting and the people who participate, mostly to set up the comparison to how the chickens we eat are treated and the lack of outrage over that, I respond, “What is wrong with you? MORE

Outside of Australia, the bilby is a little-known animal that occasionally draws comparisons to Star Wars’ Yoda character. In Australia, however, the endangered marsupial is making a comeback, due in large part to a recently launched “Save the Bilby&# fund. MORE

A price comparison on money supermarket for dog insurance showed that it can cost as little as $14.31 According to the RSPCA, in 2008 there was a 57% increase in the number of animals abandoned by their owners in the UK. A similar problem is also occurring in the United States, where the Humane society of the United states claims that up to 8 million animals enter animal shelters each year, showing that this is an international problem. MORE

This is a great response to his recent complaining that the NFL is colluding against Vick and his insulting comparison of Vick to Jackie Robinson, the African American who broke the race boundaries in major league baseball. Jesse Jackson is just a nut I think. The defense is not from an animal rights perspective, but it's still good, especially in exposing the lame attempt to make this a civil rights issue. MORE

An accurate quantitative comparison of the value he gains with that which the lamb loses is really impossible. But an accurate quantitative comparison of how he feels about eating them and about letting them live is made every time he chooses between these alternatives. Love demands, as every interest demands, that it should dominate life completely. MORE

Force, coercion, and manipulation, by comparison, are inferior on each score. I foresee a day, perhaps not far in the future, in which it is illegal to raise cows, pigs, and other animals for food. The ground for this will not be animal welfare, as you might expect, but environmentalism. Lawmakers, perhaps as a result of an international treaty, will prohibit the intensive rearing of at least large hoofed animals for food, on the ground that it is damaging to the natural environment. MORE

But by presenting that example to the reader, the author positions herself to then present an alternative that is worlds better by comparison. Bea sent me a link to an article in Gourmet called " Humane Slaughterhouses ," by Rebecca Marx, that is absurd. And the absurdity is in the reality that the author and the featured person who kills sentient nonhumans for a living, think they're onto something. MORE

Consequently, a comparison between moral vegetarians and meat eaters at large is hardly fair. A relevant comparison would not be between moral vegetarians and nonvegetarians in general but between moral vegetarians and nonvegetarians who eat meat after moral reflection, that is between moral vegetarians and what might be called moral nonvegetarians. For an explanation of this feature, click on “Moral Vegetarianism” at the bottom of this post. MORE

For we must realize that the question is whether this justifies the eating of animals in comparison with alternatives. What the utilitarian who defends human carnivorousness must say, then, is something like this: that the amount of pleasure which humans derive per pound of animal flesh exceeds the amount of discomfort and pain per pound which are inflicted on the animals in the process, all things taken into account. Is this plausible? I am not persuaded that it isn't, as far as it goes. MORE

By comparison, there were only 727 white male inmates per 100,000 white men. Something interesting happened when I read New York Times columnist Bob Herbert's article about the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., called " Anger Has Its Place." Allow me to jump down to the paragraph that startled me into forced contemplation for several reasons: Black people need to roar out their anger at such treatment, lift up their voices and demand change. MORE