The search for home is something most people can relate to, at some point in their lives. Regardless of circumstance, that need for the place that is yours, surrounded by the people you love, and the sense of wellness that comes with it, is a universal desire. And it’s not just for humans.

Animals bred and kept as livestock – or farmed animals – have similar feelings and needs. And one incredible group of people is helping make sure that a forever home exists for those they can help. A Home For Hooves Farm Sanctuary is a haven for animals on Vancouver Island, where pigs, goats, horses, chickens, and other domestic animals can live out their days with love, peace, and serenity.

The first Canadian farm sanctuary to be accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, A Home For Hooves was founded in 2017 and cares for over 170 animals. To share the story of how the sanctuary was born, how the location is managed to protect wildlife and the sanctuary animals, and how a big pig named Cyrus led to an even bigger move, Defender Radio is joined by A Home For Hooves founder and director Michelle Singleton.

SHOW NOTES:

Episode photo shows Sanctuary residents Penny and Buddy. Photo provided by A Home For Hooves.

A Home For Hooves website: https://www.homeforhooves.org/

Meet the Animals: https://www.homeforhooves.org/meet-the-animals.html

Sponsor an Animal: https://www.homeforhooves.org/sponsor-an-animal.html

A Home For Hooves on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ahomeforhoovesfarmsanctuary/

A Home For Hooves on Instagram: https://instagram.com/homeforhooves

Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio? Reach out to us at DefenderRadio@Gmail.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael) or Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio). 

Defender Radio is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Twitter (www.twitter.com/furbearers) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree). 

Making an emotional connection to a non-human animal is a defining moment in many peoples’ lives. It could be the family dog, a squirrel who hops past a window every day, or a black bear known to meander through a local forest. It’s that connection that can help people understand the depth of non-human animal emotion and make changes in how they view the world around them.

Dr. Marc Bekoff knows a thing or two about this connection – and has revisited a classic publication to show how far science and society have come in understanding animal emotions. Dr. Bekoff is a celebrated ethologist, best-selling author, professor emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, and along with Dr. Jane Goodall, a co-founder of Ethical Treatment of Animals: Citizens for Responsible Animal Behavior Studies. His popular book, The Emotional Lives of Animals, was originally published in 2007 to great response.

Seventeen years later, Dr. Bekoff has updated and revised the book with new studies, anecdotes, an updated foreword from Dr. Jane Goodall, and more. Dr. Bekoff joins Defender Radio to share what he’s most excited about in the newly revised book, if recognition of animal sentience is the finish line for advocates, and where he sees hope for the future.

SHOW NOTES:

Episode photo of a coyote by Donna Feledichuk / Getty Images

Find Dr. Marc Bekoff's website at https://marcbekoff.com/

Animal Emotions blog at Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/animal-emotions

Dr. Marc Bekoff on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarcBekoff

Emotional Lives of Animals (book): https://newworldlibrary.com/product/the-emotional-lives-of-animals-revised

Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio? Reach out to us at DefenderRadio@Gmail.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael) or Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio). 

Defender Radio is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Twitter (www.twitter.com/furbearers) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree). 

Investigations into farms by animal advocacy groups is an essential tool to exposing serious, systemic abuses of animals, failures to follow basic policy, and have led to criminal charges. But the Ontario government wanted to stop that – and introduced Bill 156 in 2020.

The Bill, Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act, was challenged in court by Animal Justice, with applicants Jessica Scott-Reid (a journalist) and Louise Jorgensen (an advocate with Toronto Cow Save). Intervenors who joined Animal Justice included Animal Alliance of Canada, the Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University, and The Regan Russell Foundation.

After some serious legal work by the aforementioned team, Justice Markus Koehnen of the Superior Court ruled that elements of the law and its regulation violate the right to freedom of expression guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Camille Labchuk, Executive Director of Animal Justice, joins Defender Radio to share the background and impact of Bill 156, the significance of defeating elements of it in court, and how that will make a difference for advocates and animals in Ontario and across Canada.

SHOW NOTES: 

Animal Justice Court Decision Media Release: https://animaljustice.ca/media-releases/court-strikes-down-ontario-law-banning-hidden-camera-farm-investigations

Animal Justice Court Decision article: https://animaljustice.ca/blog/animal-justice-defeats-ag-gag-law

Read the transcript of Justice Markus Koehnen's decision: https://animaljustice.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Animal-Justice-et-al-v-Attorney-General-of-Ontario-2024-ONSC-1753.pdf

This episode's artwork features a rescued cow from Wishing Well Santuary in Bradford, Ontario. Photo by Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals Media.

Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio? Reach out to us at DefenderRadio@Gmail.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael) or Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio). 

Defender Radio is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Twitter (www.twitter.com/furbearers) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree).