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For those who live in animal agriculture country (such as the Fraser Valley in BC), you will be familiar with the common day foul odor of death and feces that permeates the air in your basic living surroundings. Co-host Alison certainly became aware of this volatile affront to both her smelling and breathing senses while at the Excelsior Hog Farm in Abbotsford earlier this year. And now, students at an elementary school in Abbotsford are suffering from the stench even more than usual, due to the poultry farm and “poultry litter storage facility” emissions from across the street, which we know to be highly toxic in ammonia levels.
This is obviously a very unhealthy way to be raising our children, forcing them to endure living in this type of environment. Surely, even the farming community, who make their livelihood from the animal ag industry, wouldn’t want this for their children. The kids at the school are nauseous, have headaches, plus respiratory issues due to the nearly unbreathable stench. We discuss this issue to open the show.
Camille Labchuk, Executive Director of Animal Justice, speaks on the fur industry in Canada, and other current Canadian animal advocacy issues
Camille Labchuk, animal rights lawyer and Executive Director of Animal Justice.
For our first interview, we welcome back Animal Justice lawyer and Executive Director Camille Labchuk back to the show. Animal Justice is a non-profit organization which leads the legal fight for animals in Canada. Its lawyers work to pass strong new animal protection legislation, push for the prosecution of animal abusers, and fight for animals in court.
There’s been a lot of animal rights and welfare issues making headlines across Canada these days that have implications in our law, and Animal Justice has been busy and involved in many of these issues. We have Camille on today to give us some updates and her legal opinions about what’s happening in the animal justice Canadian world.
We speak with Camille about the state of the fur industry in Canada, amidst a world where we are seeing city-wide (and even a California state-wide) bans on the sales of fur, more and more high fashions designers quitting fur from their lines, and now 14 European countries banning the trapping and hunting of animals for fur. So where does this leave Canada in what seems to be a progressive climate when it comes to shutting down the fur industry?
What can we see in the future for the fur industry in Canada (can it be banned as the keeping of whales and dolphins in captivity was earlier this year?)? And what are the possibilities of impacting the anti-fur crusade locally at the city level, as has been done now in several cities in the U.S.A.?
Camille also shares with us her legal opinion on the recent AgGag law put into place in Alberta, to dissuade animal activists from trespassing on farm properties with the intention of exposing the blatant cruelty of the industry. In BC, a similar law has just been proposed as a response to the “Meet the Victims” first Canadian action of its kind on April 28th, as well as alleged “death threats” towards the business Creekside Dairy, which it claims to have received this year from animal activists.
Camille also happens to be a co-host of Animal Justice’s fantastic Canadian animal law podcast called “Paw and Order”. Subscribe to it now!
And if you live in the area of either Vancouver, Toronto or Ottawa, be sure to attend one of Animal Justice’s three annual holiday parties, to celebrate the wins for the animals this year and to support the future work of this effective organization. You can find out more and rsvp here.
Eric O’Grey on finding personal transformation in the love of a dog named Peety
For our feature interview, we have author Eric O’Grey with us, whose newly updated paperback book called “Walking with Peety: The Dog Who Saved My Life” has just come out this month. You may remember the story of Eric and Peety when it was made as a 6 minute short film that went overboard viral several years ago, reaching over 100 million inspired people all over the world. It was then that I knew I wanted to have Eric on the show one day! The film was named by the New York Times as the #1 internet news story in California in 2016, and continues to be popular to this day.
Before and after finding Peety – with a lost of 150lbs and a gain of pure love and friendship!
Eric is an inspirational speaker with a bachelor of science degree in finance from San Jose State University and a Juris Doctor degree from Emory University. He is passionate about animal kindness, plant-based nutrition and gourmet cooking, and helping others reverse obesity, type 2 diabetes, and achieve their optimal weight and happiness, as he has done for himself in the story we will share with you today.
Eric also speaks about the life transformative benefits of companion animal adoption, where you might think that you’re rescuing an animal, but it turns out that they are rescuing you, as well.
Here is the 6 minute “Eric & Peety, a Mutual Rescue™ film”. Watch, enjoy and pass on!
