Episode 20: Interview with Sandra Higgins of Eden Farmed Animal Sanctuary (Part Two)

Sophie the lamb with Sandra

This week's show features Part Two of my interview with Sandra Higgins, founder and director of Eden Farmed Animal Sanctuary in Ireland and Go Vegan World. (If you haven't heard Part One yet, you can find it here.)

This interview focuses on Eden Farmed Animal Sanctuary in Ireland. Eden is a vegan sanctuary that provides a home for nonhuman animals who were previously exploited by humans. Eden's residents can live out the rest of their lives in peace, free from exploitation.

In Part Two, we discuss the following topics:

• how Eden, as a vegan sanctuary, differs from non-vegan sanctuaries
• what Sandra has learned from the individuals who live at Eden
• the importance of  sanctuaries in the animal rights movement
• how Eden's residents inspired the Go Vegan World campaign
• ... and more!

After the interview is the song "The Core" by the vegan singer-songwriter Queen V.

Here are some more photos of Eden's residents, courtesy of Agatha Kisiel Photography...

Angel in a Go Vegan World advertisement

Fairy

Fairy in one of Go Vegan World's advertisements

Jenny

Maria with Genevieve behind her

Yoshoda

How to listen to this episode

There are two ways you can hear this episode.

1. Listen to the podcast on CKCU FM's website at https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/553/47484.html. Currently, the radio show hosts at CKCU 93.1 FM are not physically going to the station because of the coronavirus, so I was not able to broadcast this episode on the radio this week, but I did upload it to the website as a podcast.
2. Listen to or download the podcast from Archive.org at https://archive.org/details/afarmarch252020.

You can also find Always for Animal Rights on Facebook and Instagram.

Until next time!

Episode 19: The sociologist Roger Yates discusses rights-based animal rights and the importance of grassroots vegan activism

This week on Always for Animal Rights, I am pleased to present Part One of my interview with the animal rights advocate and sociologist Dr. Roger Yates.

Roger currently runs a blog called On Human Relations with Other Sentient Beings, and he is a co-founder and organizer of the Vegan Information Project in Ireland. His 2005 PhD dissertation, which you can read here, focused on the social construction of speciesism. He was also a Press Officer for the Animal Liberation Front in the 1980's.

Some of Vegan Information Project's banners, discussed on the show

In Part One of this interview, Roger told me about what he calls "rights-based animal rights", and he highlighted why our messaging needs to convey the idea of rights rather than welfare. He also spoke about what we can learn from the unique model of grassroots vegan advocacy that is currently being used in Ireland.

The article about Tom Regan and the rights-based approach, which I mentioned in the interview, can be found here.

It's a great interview, and I hope you'll take a listen! Stay tuned for Part Two in the near future.

How to listen to this episode

Currently, CKCU 93.1 FM's radio show hosts are not physically going to the station because of the coronavirus situation, so I wasn't able to broadcast this episode on air this week.

However, you can still listen to this episode on Archive.org (or download the MP3 or WAV file) at https://archive.org/details/afarmarch182020

(Update: This episode has also been published as a podcast on CKCU's website at https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/553/47483.html.)

If you would like to receive an e-mail every time there is a new post on this blog, you can subscribe by typing your e-mail address in the appropriate box in the right-hand sidebar. You can also find Always for Animal Rights on Facebook and Instagram!

The next episode of Always for Animal Rights will come out soon. I will try to keep producing episodes on a regular basis-- perhaps even more often than when I was broadcasting the show on-air. I am not sure when CKCU will be open again, but I very much look forward to the day when it is and I can broadcast my show live again!

I would like to thank my listeners (you!) for your continued encouragement and moral support. :)

Episode 18: Ronnie Lee on the importance of vegan education

This week on Always for Animal Rights, we heard Part Two of my interview with Ronnie Lee, founder of the Animal Liberation Front. (To listen to Part One of the interview, please check out Episode 16.)

In this episode, Ronnie outlines his strategy for what animal rights movement needs to do to work to end the oppression of nonhuman animals. This discussion especially focuses on the importance of local vegan education groups. Ronnie, who is the founder and an organizer of Wyre Forest Vegans, emphasizes the serious need for vegans to become activists and organizers. The success of the animal rights movement depends, to a significant extent, upon vegans educating the public to go vegan for animal rights.

After that, Ronnie explains how the current environmental crisis is caused by speciesism, and he answers my question about what he finds most rewarding about being an animal rights activist.

It's an interesting interview. I hope you'll listen to this week's show!

At the end of the show is the song "For the Innocent" by xTRUE NATUREx.

How to listen to this episode

There are two ways to listen to the episode.

1. Listen to the episode on CKCU's website at https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/553/47282.html.
2. Listen online or download the MP3 from Archive.org at https://archive.org/details/afarmarch42020.

You can also find Always for Animal Rights on Facebook and Instagram!

The next episode of Always for Animal Rights will be broadcast on CKCU 93.1 FM in Ottawa on Wednesday, March 18th, 2019-- and, of course, it will be available to listen to afterwards, as well.

Episode 17: Interview with Sandra Higgins of Eden Farmed Animal Sanctuary (Part One)

For Episode 17 of Always for Animal Rights, I am pleased to present Part One of my recent interview with Sandra Higgins, the founder and director of Eden Farmed Animal Sanctuary and Go Vegan World. (You may remember my previous interview with Sandra on Episode 5.)

In Part One of this most recent interview, Sandra told me about Eden Farmed Animal Sanctuary, the nonhuman individuals who live there and their unique personalities, and some of the challenges that come along with running a farmed animal sanctuary. One of these challenges is in treating the health conditions that result from the selective breeding that animal exploiting industries have imposed on farmed animals. We also spoke about the challenge of living in a speciesist world.

Sandra told me about several of Eden's residents in the interview; here are some photos of them... (All of these photos are courtesy of Agatha Kisiel Photography.)

Angel was rescued with other sheeps from a flooded yard beside a slaughterhouse

Fairy on the day she arrived at Eden

Maria

Genevieve with Maria in the background

Mamou with her daughters Ruth and Jane

Nora (RIP)

Penny and Connie

Pip and Cara

Razzle the blind rook (RIP) with Sandra

10 sheeps were rescued from a slaughterhouse field and now peacefully live at Eden

The rescued turkeys whom Sandra mentioned in the interview

We will hear Part Two of this interview in the near future. In the meantime, I hope you'll listen to this episode!

How to listen to this episode

There are two ways to listen to the episode.

1. Listen to the podcast version that I uploaded to Archive.org at https://archive.org/details/afarfebruary192020. You can also download the MP3 file from that page.
2.  Listen to the episode as it was heard live on CKCU 93.1 FM: https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/553/47069.html. Please note that, due to a technical error, the first couple minutes of the interview were played twice on the radio. However, after that, the rest of the interview played without a problem. If you don't want to hear the beginning of the interview twice, you can still listen to the Archive.org version.

You can also find Always for Animal Rights on Facebook and Instagram!

The next episode of Always for Animal Rights will be broadcast on CKCU 93.1 FM in Ottawa on Wednesday, March 4th, 2019-- and, of course, it will be available to listen to afterwards, as well.

Episode 16: Ronnie Lee, founder of the Animal Liberation Front, discusses ALF history and the new definition of veganism

This week, I am pleased to present Part One of my recent interview with the animal rights activist Ronnie Lee. Ronnie founded the Animal Liberation Front in the 1970’s, and he has been involved in various animal rights and vegan education initiatives over the years. The Animal Liberation Front, of course, is a leaderless non-violent movement that rescues animals from exploitation and damages the equipment and property of animal exploitation industries.
 
In Part One of our interview, Ronnie told me about the history of the Animal Liberation Front and some of its accomplishments so far. We also discussed the new definition of veganism that Ronnie co-wrote with Tony Harris in 2017. This definition, which is also known as the Vegan Flag definition, can be seen below.

“Veganism is a way of living that seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of animals, which extends beyond dietary considerations to the avoidance of all types of animal use or abuse, including harm to their natural habitats.

“It includes a moral duty to actively oppose animal exploitation by encouraging and educating others to become vegan, with the core aim being the eradication of speciesism.”

At the end of the show, we'll hear Queen V's song called "Wearing My Blood".

In Part Two, which we will hear on a future episode, Ronnie explained what the animal rights movement needs to do in order to end the oppression of non-human animals.

How to listen to this episode

There are two ways to listen to the episode.

1. Listen to the episode on CKCU FM's website at https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/553/46870.html. At the end of the show, there was a technical issue while Queen V's song was playing. The interruption doesn't last very long, though.
2.  Listen to the episode on Archive.org or download the MP3 file at https://archive.org/details/afarfebruary52020.

You can also find Always for Animal Rights on Facebook and Instagram!

The next episode of Always for Animal Rights will be broadcast on CKCU 93.1 FM in Ottawa on Wednesday, February 19, 2019-- and, of course, it will be available to listen to afterwards, as well.

Episode 15: Vegan Business, Veganism in Australia, Social Justice Connections, and Anti-Speciesist Language

Australian vegans protest against animal exploitation and
tell passersby to watch the documentary Dominion

For this week's episode of Always for Animal Rights, I interviewed the journalist Katrina Fox. Katrina is the founder of VeganBusinessMedia.com, host of the Vegan Business Talk podcast, and author of Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business. She has been a vegan since 1996, and she teaches vegan business owners about getting media coverage for their brands.

In our interview, Katrina spoke about her work, what to keep in mind when starting a vegan business, and how the vegan movement in Australia has been going.

After the interview, we’ll hear from the sociologist Corey Lee Wrenn, who will share her perspective on how animal rights and other social justice issues are connected.

Then, in an audio clip from one of Challenge Speciesism's videos, the founder of Challenge Speciesism will explain why we need to avoid euphemistic language when speaking about the violence that is committed against non-human animals.

Finally, at the end of the show we'll hear the song "One Species" by xTRUE NATUREx. It's an amazing song.

How to listen to this episode

There are two ways to listen to the episode.

1.  Listen to the episode on Archive.org or download the MP3 file at https://archive.org/details/afarjanuary222020.
2. Listen to the episode on CKCU FM's website at https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/553/46669.html.

You can also find Always for Animal Rights on Facebook and Instagram!

The next episode of Always for Animal Rights will be broadcast on CKCU 93.1 FM in Ottawa on Wednesday, February 5th, 2019-- and, of course, it will be available to listen to afterwards, as well.

Episode 14: Sociologist Dr. Corey Lee Wrenn discusses the impact of professionalization within the animal rights movement

For AFAR’s first episode of 2020, I am pleased to present Part One of my recent interview with Dr. Corey Lee Wrenn, Lecturer of Sociology at the University of Kent. As a sociologist, Corey studies the animal rights movement and the status of nonhuman animals in human society. She is the author of A Rational Approach to Animal Rights: Extensions in Abolitionist Theory (published in 2016) and Piecemeal Protest: Animal Rights in the Age of Nonprofits (published in December 2019). She has written more than thirty academic peer-reviewed journal articles (all of which are available to read for free online here) about the effectiveness of social movement tactics, and she is also the founder of the Vegan Feminist Network.

In Part One of our interview, Corey explains how professionalized animal advocacy nonprofits ignore and suppress the radical, abolitionist vegan message, and how this “watering down” of the vegan message is harmful to our movement. Corey also tells me what form of activism she believes will be the most effective, based on her research.

I believe it’s crucial for us, as activists, to understand how the vegan and animal rights movements are “selling out” to mainstream interests so that we can resist the pressure to soften our message. Instead, we must make the conscious decision to keep our messaging honest, abolitionist, and radical.

How to listen to this episode

There are two ways to listen to the episode.

1. Listen to the episode on CKCU FM's website at https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/553/46458.html.
2.  Listen to the episode on Archive.org or download the MP3 file at https://archive.org/details/afarjanuary82020.

You can also find Always for Animal Rights on Facebook and Instagram!

The next episode of Always for Animal Rights will be broadcast on CKCU 93.1 FM in Ottawa on Wednesday, January 22nd, 2019-- and, of course, it will be available to listen to afterwards, as well.