Letters from the President

Dec 31, 2021 Back to the Future and a Sustainable World

Posted at 12:56h In Articles, Global Awareness, Letter from the President, PAE Well-being, WellBeing News - By Andrew Rowan, DPhil

As we bid goodbye to 2021, the world continues its struggles with Covid-19 and its new variants. It is only natural to focus on the present and tempting to reflect on periods in the past – a concept encapsulated in the "back to the future"...

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Nov 29, 2021 Dog Homelessness and Development of WBI’s Global Dog Campaign

Posted at 09:52h In Animals in Our World, Articles, Companion Animals - Dogs, Letter from the President, WellBeing News - By Andrew Rowan, DPhil

On November 30th, we are holding the first webinar on dog homelessness and WBI's Global Dog Campaign (GDC), and it seems an appropriate time to review the background leading up to this moment.  In 1983, I started working on dog/cat welfare and demographics in the...

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Nov 01, 2021 Climate Change and COP26

Posted at 11:31h In Articles, Climate, Global Awareness, Letter from the President, WellBeing News - By Andrew Rowan, DPhil and Kathleen Rowan CEO, WellBeing International

The Letter from the President for September 2021 addressed climate change. This Letter is a follow-up to the previous Letter in September, but we revisit the topic because its importance and gravity to humanity cannot be overstated. We hope to provide a brief primer on...

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Oct 04, 2021 Climate Change, Food Systems, and Health Impact at the United Nations

Posted at 12:03h In Articles, Food & Agriculture, Global Awareness, Letter from the President, WellBeing News - By Andrew Rowan, DPhil

Three significant gatherings address various aspects of climate change, and global limits started in September and proceeded through early November. In September (21 to 27), the United Nations (UN) held its 76th annual meeting (also known as the General Assembly) in New York. During this...

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Aug 17, 2021 Animal Sentience, Public Awareness, and Public Policy

Posted at 11:52h In Animal Sentience, Articles, Law & Regulations, Letter from the President, WellBeing News - By Andrew Rowan, DPhil

Over the past fifty years, public concern for animals (and “animal sentience”) has prompted significant changes in public policy in many countries worldwide. It is not yet clear what has driven this concern. There had been a similar increase in public concern for animals in...

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Jun 28, 2021 Children Witnessing Violence Against Animals

Posted at 13:53h In Articles, Education - Humane, Global Awareness, Letter from the President, WellBeing News - By Andrew Rowan, DPhil

At the 87th Session of the UN Committee of the Rights of the Child held at the end of May 2021, Tunisia’s programs to address child protection were examined. The printed report of the session, issued on June 7, 2021, was fifty-five paragraphs long and...

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May 28, 2021 Cosmetic Testing on Animals: EU Takes a Step Back

Posted at 10:23h In Animals in Our World, Articles, Letter from the President, Research Animals, WellBeing News - By Andrew Rowan, DPhil

The European Union (EU) was the first major economic and political union to address cosmetics testing on animals. This legislative initiative took decades to come into effect. The path started in 1993 when the first EU Directive addressing the issue was passed. However, the Directive...

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Mar 30, 2021 Rhino Decline Shock

Posted at 13:56h In Animals in Our World, Articles, Conservation, Letter from the President, WellBeing News - By Andrew Rowan, DPhil

The Kruger National Park in South Africa is home to the largest wild rhino population in the world. But a 2019 census documenting a dramatic decline in the Kruger rhino population in just ten years has shocked rhino conservation organizations. The park last conducted a...

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Feb 26, 2021 “Making Peace with Nature”

Posted at 08:57h In Articles, Environment Well-being, Global Awareness, Letter from the President, WellBeing News - By Andrew Rowan, DPhil

This past month, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) issued a 168-page publication entitled Making Peace with Nature. The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, comments in a Foreword that “Humanity is waging war on nature” and “Making peace with nature is the defining task of the...

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Jan 29, 2021 Drug Company Research and Animal Use

Posted at 11:27h In Animals in Our World, Articles, Letter from the President, Research Animals, WellBeing News - By Andrew Rowan, DPhil

Over the years, the use of laboratory animals by drug companies and other commercial laboratories has elicited more than its share of criticism. In the late 1970s, animal advocates turned their attention to the testing of cosmetics and personal care products on animals, with particular...

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