The hottest Animal Welfare Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Food & Drink Topics

Facebook Has an Animal Torture Empire

Webworm with David Farrier • 2496 implied HN points • 11 Feb 24
📰 News Animal Welfare Social media Investigation
  1. Animals are being tortured on Facebook, with hundreds of thousands of accounts engaging with the content.
  2. Facebook's algorithm plays a significant role in serving disturbing content to users, leading to increased engagement.
  3. Despite efforts to report and remove the content, issues of animal abuse videos on Facebook are still prevalent and widely accessible.

We Love Animals. Why Do We Torture Them?

Open Philanthropy farm animal welfare research newsletter • 799 implied HN points • 18 Jul 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Animal Welfare Animal Rights Advocacy
  1. People love animals and express it through care and societal norms, yet they allow significant animal abuse to occur, especially in industries like factory farming.
  2. There's a disconnect in how we treat different animals - from pets to those used for food or research - despite recognizing their sentience and importance.
  3. Many individuals remain unaware or apathetic about the mistreatment of animals, often due to lack of information, societal norms, and the inconvenience of changing habits.
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Jails Should Serve Only Vegan Food

Bentham's Newsletter • 471 implied HN points • 04 May 23
🏥 Health Politics Prison Reform Veganism Animal Welfare
  1. Prisons serving only vegan food can help deter crime by making the environment less enjoyable for inmates.
  2. There's a strong animal welfare argument for prisons serving vegan food to prevent the torture and consumption of animals.
  3. The idea of serving vegan food in prisons should be considered despite concerns, as the criminal justice system is inherently harsh and must be addressed realistically.

Europe’s animal welfare reforms are under threat

Open Philanthropy farm animal welfare research newsletter • 439 implied HN points • 28 Sep 23
🌍 World Politics Animal Welfare European Union Advocacy Legislation Reforms
  1. Europe's animal welfare reforms are at risk of being abandoned by the EU.
  2. Influential farm lobby groups and free traders are major factors in the potential abandonment.
  3. Advocates are mobilizing to push the European Commission to uphold its commitments and continue pursuing animal welfare reforms.

“An Innocent Recreation”: Shooting Pigeons for Sport

Bird History • 79 implied HN points • 18 Mar 24
💾 History Activism Animal Welfare Extinction
  1. Pigeon-shooting contests were popular in the 1800s but were shut down by animal rights activists, leading to the extinction of passenger pigeons.
  2. Trap shooting competitions used live pigeons as targets, with shooters aiming to hit them as they were released from traps, sparking tournaments that consumed thousands of birds.
  3. Controversy arose over the cruelty and wastefulness of live pigeon shooting, leading to the development and adoption of clay pigeons as a more humane and popular alternative.

Stories We’d Like to Publish

Asimov Press • 174 implied HN points • 03 Mar 24
🔬 Science Biotechnology Genetics Microbiology Predictive Models Animal Welfare
  1. Asimov Press is publicly sharing ideas for essays they'd like to publish and inviting writers to contribute by emailing them at [email protected].
  2. Topics in biotechnology range from synthetic blood development to artificial wombs and synthetic nitrogen fixation, showcasing the broad spectrum of innovative research being undertaken.
  3. Biotechnology advancements aim to address a variety of issues, such as animal welfare, predictive growth models for microbes, and challenges in protein structure prediction, highlighting the diverse applications and potential impact of biotechnological research.

Philadelphia's Stray Cats

The Weekly Gazette • 42 implied HN points • 11 Sep 24
🎭️ Culture Animal Welfare Community Engagement Urban Studies Volunteering History
  1. Philadelphia has a significant stray cat problem, with about 400,000 cats living outdoors. These cats often face dangers like disease, abuse, and harsh weather.
  2. Organizations like The Cat Collaborative are using trap-neuter-return (TNR) methods to help manage the cat population. This technique aims to reduce the number of stray cats over time.
  3. Despite some success, TNR has its challenges and critics. A large number of cats need to be trapped and fixed for it to be effective, and public awareness is key to improving the situation.

Links #6

Splitting Infinity • 39 implied HN points • 22 Dec 23
🔬 Science Evolutionary Theory Mechanics Animal Welfare
  1. Being an Honest Broker is important in a community to prioritize honesty and fairness.
  2. The connection between evolutionary theory and Newtonian mechanics is intriguing and may lead to new ideas.
  3. Exploring measurable animal welfare can lead to uncomfortable questions about balancing welfare across species.

How can we get the world to talk about factory farming?

Open Philanthropy farm animal welfare research newsletter • 6 HN points • 27 Jun 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Animal Welfare Media Influencers Narrative Advocacy
  1. Silence favors the status quo, making it vital to bring attention to issues like factory farming to create change.
  2. Media coverage of factory farming has not grown significantly, highlighting the need for innovative tactics to increase visibility.
  3. Engaging influencers, providing credible data, and focusing on newsworthy angles can help spark conversations about factory farming.

The sad tale of the Talking Fish

The Quack Doctor • 0 implied HN points • 22 Sep 23
💾 History Entertainment Animal Welfare
  1. In 1859, the 'Talking Fish' exhibition in London turned out to be a seal trained to do tricks, not actually talking.
  2. Despite skepticism, the seal named Jenny had admirers and was cared for by her keeper, Joshua Benshimol.
  3. The unfortunate reality was that the seal, unable to thrive in captivity, passed away in 1859, highlighting the ethical concerns of keeping marine mammals in small tanks.