You see something that you don’t understand, or that concerns you… Should you ask? Is there such thing as a naive question? The answer is ‘Yes’ you should ask. And ‘No’ there are no naive questions when the welfare of animals is at stake. Dare to ask, and engage in a respectful discussion with the […]
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Tag: Ethics
The Gift of Being Wrong —How to Enjoy &
“The more you are willing to examine your own assumptions and beliefs—and holds the possibility that you may be wrong—the more you can truly understand” (from The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling) Being a naturalist basically means being on a quest for knowledge (and having fun while at it!). There is such wonder […]
The Ort Reports —Thwarting Food Waste a
“Ooh, ahh, the Ort Report, I said a-ooh, ahh, Ort Report, Shakey shakey shakey…” (Repeat twice, and don’t forget to swish your hands in the air during the jiggy part.) This song’s goal is simple: reminding us to just eat enough. Not so little that we are hungry still after a meal, but not so […]
Zoo-ing Out: A First in the Travel Indus...
In April 2017, Responsible Travel became the first travel company to stop promoting any holidays that included a visit to a zoo. Their reasons are centered around the education value of zoos, how much is spent on conservation efforts and what percentage of zoned animals are endangered. This is a very courageous decision from a […]
The Red Apes of Bukit —How Ethical is Or
The Red Apes of Bukit —How Ethical is Orangutan Tourism? After 2 days flying across the world, we finally arrived! We were now few miles away from where some of the last Sumatran orangutans survive. Maybe a mother and her infant were even peeping through the canopy across the river right when we were opening the door of […]
Ecological Ethics A&A —From Awareness To
A friend and I were chatting ‘over’ ethics. The context was our species’ fascination of a limitless growth model, showcased for instance in our expectations with respect to our human biology (e.g., our quest for biological immortality), as well as exhibited in our modern economies and business practices. I remarked about our difficulties at defining […]
Eating Less Meat? It Matters & It’s Easy
If every person stopped eating meat and dairy for just one day a week, it would be the equivalent of removing 7.6 million cars from the road, or not driving 91 billion miles. That is incredible. Seems simple, right? Well the good news is that it truly is (simple)! And here I highlight why it matters […]
The Captivity Effects Denial Phenomenon
Our enthusiasm and indulgence for animal captivity is changing yet very slowly. But we can accelerate our pace, because it can only be a win-win for science, for the animals, and us as moral individuals… ‘Are zoo animals happy? There’s a simple empathy test we can apply‘ is a very good piece of journalism on a […]
The Rescues of Jogja
The weeks I stayed there watching the consequences that we as humans can have in an animal’s life made me think a lot about how selfish we can be, and how much more we have to learn and understand about how harmful our behavior can be. After an unforgettable experience wandering in the Sumatran jungle tracking and […]
Not ALL Zoos Are Bad… But How Do You Kno
Over the past few years, there has been a lot of talk about the captivity of animals and whether it is a good or a bad thing. With the instant reach of social media, people can be quick to jump on the bandwagon of “All zoos are bad” and “free all of the animals”. However, […]