Over the last twenty years (that is, this century), there has been an explosion of interest in measuring “happiness” and “subjective well-being.” These measurements are beginning to be used in the development of public policy. Bhutan is commonly regarded as a leader in the field,...
In an earlier ‘Letter from the President’ in WellBeing News (October 2020), we mentioned that the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) has predicted that the production of animal products would have to double to meet global demand in 2050. This prediction...
Once upon a time, there was a family of raccoons who lived in a suburban neighborhood. Their home was a beautiful tree (perhaps a hickory tree) with a large hole about halfway up and a mysteriously built wind breaker next to the entrance. It made...
Have you ever wondered what effect end-of-year seasonal rituals have on well-being? Here is a brief description of what the celebrations are about and where they occur. The end of the Western calendar year (Gregorian – established in 1582), based on the Earth’s revolution around the sun, brings a variety of...
The global growth of the number of internet users is remarkable. According to Internet World Stats, 63.2% of the world’s population used the internet as of October 2020. If children aged 0-4 are removed from the calculation, that percentage increases to 69.3%. If children aged...
Are suburban yards/gardens good for wildlife? If you are one of the 57 million Americans who feed and watch birds at home that question may seem a little silly. And that number does not include the additional 15 million people who say they enjoy observing...
There are many organizations, municipalities and individuals around the world dedicating time, resources and much attention and love to the well-being of dogs and ending dog homelessness. Often, these projects do not have sufficient resources to reach the number of dogs to have measurable impact...
In 2012, the cosmetics company Lush – self-described as a campaigning manufacturer and retailer of fresh handmade cosmetics with shops in 49 countries, started the Lush Prize project. The program bestows awards on scientists and animal advocates for advancing the science and also the cause...
In our September 2020 Tales of WellBeing, we wrote about the increased funding for domestic abuse shelters to expand their programs to include the pets of individuals seeking to escape from domestic abuse. Each year Domestic Violence Awareness Month is recognized in October. This October,...
On November 12, 2014, Oliver, an Asian Brown Bear, died in the Animals Asia bear rescue center in Chengdu, China. Animals Asia, who rescued Oliver from a desperate situation in a bear bile “farm” in Shandong, China in 2010, was around 37 years old when...
