After the incredible 2018 Melbourne March to Close All Slaughterhouses, which had approximately 1000 people colouring the city red, I began pondering what a world without slaughterhouses would look like. Here's what I envision: Given animal agriculture is currently the leading cause of environmental damage, including air and water pollution, mass land clearance and habitat … Continue reading A world without slaughterhouses
As people who aim to protect animals with each meal we eat, identifying as vegan can become a badge of honour. It can permeate into so many aspects of our lives that we no longer see ourselves as simply living vegan, behaving vegan, or thinking vegan, but rather we see ourselves as being vegan. … Continue reading The first rule of vegan club: do not make it a club
During a recent presentation I gave about veganism, I was asked by a member of the audience during Q&A - "plants are living things too, so why eat plants?" I know many advocates roll their eyes at this question, and fair enough, many people ask it to be deliberately antagonising. But then there are … Continue reading Responding to the infamous ‘But plants have feelings too’
With the 2018 global March to Close All Slaughterhouses around the corner, I thought I would revisit and share with you my words from the Adelaide March in early 2017. As part of the grassroots activist team I co-coordinate (Animal Rights South Australia), we brought the March to Adelaide for the first time last year, … Continue reading March To Close All Slaughterhouses
Have you ever thought to yourself, "it's my choice to eat meat, stop forcing your choice on others" when faced with a vegan activist? This is a common thought, and in many respects, it's true. After all, people do have the choice to eat animals or not eat animals. And other than most multi-million dollar … Continue reading Eating animals and freedom of choice
Bearing witness to the suffering of animals can be powerful yet traumatic. Not only are we exposed to violence, but the empathy we feel for the victims can cause us to suffer vicariously. Add to that the vastness of the cruelty, and the knowledge that it is largely unknown or ignored by most of society. … Continue reading Coping after witnessing animal suffering
There is a very real risk among animal activists of developing a mental health condition that not many are talking about. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - a mental health condition initially understood predominantly in the context of war veterans, psychology has since come a long way to explain similar experiences in others who have … Continue reading PTSD and Trauma in Animal Activists
When you are talking to someone not only about a sometimes unpopular topic, but one that may also attempt to dismantle their lifelong beliefs, there are some important things to consider. As part of my team at Animal Rights South Australia, one of the more regular forms of outreach we engage in is street education. … Continue reading Street conversations: talking about veganism effectively
Authors: Apoorva Madan, Tania Signal, Nik Taylor Behind each story of a suffering animal is an individual who has witnessed and retold it. But the retelling of these stories carries a heavy burden: intimate knowledge of animal abuse. Human abuse of animals is deeply entrenched in our global cultures, what does this mean for … Continue reading Bearing Witness: Animal Activists and Compassion Fatigue
As an activist, I've seen a lot of animal suffering. From starved dogs during my work in a rehabilitation animal shelter, whose bones protruded from their skin after having been abandoned for weeks by their human adopters; to young cows running bewildered among a crowd of noisy onlookers as they were chased by a stranger with a … Continue reading A lasting image
Psychology & Veganism 