End the Use of Chimps in Research

The Humane Society of US, March 05, 2009

A nine-month-long undercover investigation by The HSUS has exposed the mistreatment of nearly 300 chimpanzees and other primates at the New Iberia Research Center (NIRC) in Louisiana. These chimps, living lives of deprivation and misery, are among the more than 1,000 chimps languishing in laboratories across the United States. Chimps, our closet genetic relative, are complex, social, and long-lived creatures. Many chimps currently warehoused in research facilities have lived for decades behind bars. Especially heartbreaking are stories of the 26 elder chimps at NIRC, who were taken from their mothers in the wild. Read more...

Eating less meat could cut climate costs

Cutting back on beefburgers and bacon could wipe $20 trillion off the cost of fighting climate change. That's the dramatic conclusion of a study that totted up the economic costs of modern meat-heavy diets.

The researchers involved say that reducing our intake of beef and pork would lead to the creation of a huge new carbon sink, as vegetation would thrive on unused farmland.

Read the full article...

Arne Naess, Norwegian Philosopher, Dies at 96

NY Times, January 14, 2009

Arne Naess, a Norwegian philosopher whose ideas about promoting an intimate and all-embracing relationship between the earth and the human species inspired environmentalists and Green political activists around the world, died Monday. He was 96. Read more...

CONFERENCE: Animals: Past, Present and Future. April 16-18, 2009

Animals: Past, Present and Future. April 16-18, 2009
Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Questions? Contact Georgina Montgomery, Conference Organizer, at animalsmsu@gmail.com

This conference will explore past, present, and future human-animal relationships from interdisciplinary and international perspectives. Speakers from both the humanities and sciences will present research concerning issues such as animal husbandry, pet keeping, animal experimentation, environmental ethics, and anthropomorphism. The conference promises to provide an intellectually rich and diverse discourse in human-animal relationships and an opportunity for community-building within the interdisciplinary field of animal studies. Keynote SpeakerHarriet Ritvo, Department of History, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Guest SpeakersTom Tyler, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Culture, Oxford Brookes University, United KingdomTerry O'Connor, Department of Zooarchaeology, York University, United Kingdom.

The registration form and the preliminary program are now available.
Information for presenters can be found here.

This conference is a sponsored event. Thank you for your help!

Orangutans learn to trade favours

BBC News, December 24, 2008

Orangutans can help each other get food by trading tokens, scientists have discovered - but only if the help goes in both directions.
Researchers from the University of St Andrews found orangutans could learn the value of tokens and trade them, helping each other win bananas.
An article in Biology Letters, claims it is the first evidence of "calculated reciprocity" in non-human primates. Read more...

From Rhesus to Spartacus

The news – and more specifically, the photos – of three monkeys beating up a man in China who was abusing them to make them perform has again provided an opportunity to look at how we treat animals. Read more...

Test reveals dogs' jealous side

BBC, December 08, 2008

Scientists in Austria say they have found a basic form of jealousy in dogs. The Vienna-based researchers showed that dogs will stop doing a simple task when not rewarded if another dog, which continues to be rewarded, is present.
Writing in the journal PNAS, the scientists say this shows a sensitivity in dogs that was only previously found in primates. Read more...