Since December 2023, WBI has published six articles discussing the use of animals in biomedical research and testing. These articles comment on a variety of government, industry, and academic initiatives aimed at reducing animal use in laboratories by transitioning to NAMs (Non-Animal Methods or New...
In the early years of this century, I met Jason Matheny, an early advocate for cultured meat and the founder of the cultured meat company, New Harvest, in 2004. Matheny asserted that meat cultivated from the cells of cattle, pigs, chickens, and other farmed animals...
Part 1 of this story discussed the recent actions of the Indian Supreme Court following the death of a young girl from rabies after a dog bite. The justices raised important questions about finding the right balance between human and animal welfare; however, they seemingly...
In 1992, I attended two conferences in Canada. The first was organized by the AAZPA (now known as the AZA – Association of Zoos and Aquariums) in Toronto. Animal rights philosopher Tom Regan participated in a panel discussion and was challenged on his views. In his...
These two books deal with the same topic, animal research and testing, in quite different ways. Both describe very personal explorations of the topic, grounded in the two authors' interactions with laboratory animals. Melanie Kaplan, author of Lab Dog and a journalist, adopted a beagle, Hammy,...
On July 28, 2025, the Times of India published a report titled "Hounded by Strays, Kids Pay Price" following the tragic death of a 6-year-old girl who contracted rabies after being bitten by stray dogs. This article caught the attention of two judges from the...
Introduction In the previous two parts of this WellBeing International Beaver series (Part 1 and Part 2), we examined the history of human exploitation of beaver and their partial recovery, and noted that, as they return, beaver are increasingly coming to be viewed in a positive...
Livestock and wildlife live along the Ewaso River in Kenya's northern rangelands, a region frequently affected by prolonged droughts. Livestock are existential for the Samburu people in the region. In the words of Lavias Lekuuk, a Samburu elder: "We are a pastoralist community. Cows are...
The true story, A Street Cat Named Bob, is an international best-seller about twin redemption: that of a homeless tabby street cat and a homeless Englishman who adopt each other and help one another heal, leading to celebrity status for both cat and human. The author,...
In the first part of this series, an ancient relationship between humans and beaver, largely exploitative, was noted., Almost gone from Western Europe by the early Middle Ages, beavers were found to be abundant and available in the New World. There, they were exploited for...
