The Emotional Lives of Animals and Children; and The Slaughter of Cougars in BC

Listen to this show here!

We’re in the midst of a heat wave these days here in British Columbia, and to start the show, we give some reminders about keeping your dogs out of hot cars this summer, and what to do if you see a dog in a hot car. You can also listen to our past show from last summer here, in which we interviewed Lorie Chortyk from the BCSPCA about this subject.

Then we speak about an intense day of activism that Alison spent last weekend (also in the heat!) in which she ran a half-marathon to raise nearly $1000 for the animals! We discuss carrying out diverse forms of activism such as this in combining one’s varied skills and interests to help animals and raise awareness of animal issues.

Adrian Nelson, The (Unnecessary) Slaughter of Cougars in BC

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAFor our first interview, we have Adrian Nelson, Director of Communications of the Association for the Protection of Fur Bearing Animals to speak with us.

If you’ve been following the local news lately, you’ll know that when cougars are found inhabiting urban areas, the normal course of action by conservation officers is to shoot and kill them – simply for being present near people. But is this the only course of action that may be taken in these situations? The Fur Bearer Defenders says “no”, and Adrian gives us some info on these situations and alternatives to killing these animals that may exist.

The Fur Bearer Defenders are also calling upon our government to provide alternative solutions to killing, and are circulating a petition that can be found and signed here.

William Crain, The Emotional Lives of Animals and Children

girl&catFor our feature interview, we have William Crain on the show, who is a Professor of Psychology at The City College of New York, as well as a co-founder of Safe Haven Farm Sanctuary in Poughquag, New York, and the East Hampton Group for Wildlife.

The sanctuary provides a permanent home to over 100 animals rescued from slaughter and abusive situations. Bill is a social activist, and works to broaden access to higher education and to defend animals.

He has recently written a book called “The Emotional Lives of Animals and Children”, in which he shares many observations of the animals he has cared for and interacted with closely at the sanctuary, and compares their emotional behaviors to that of human children.

In this interview, he speaks to us about his findings in how the two interrelate. He also talks about childrens’ innate connection with nature and animals, and how this connection devolves over time to a state of desensitization towards animals that is common in our society.

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