The Ant's Meow

A call for compassion toward animals

Promoting animal rights, plant-based diets and pets looking for forever homes.

The Reasons I Loved Trader Joe’s are Why I Avoid It Now

June 24, 2018 by The Ant's Meow in Conservation, Environment

Convenient and delicious foods. Who can object to that, right? But when rainforests equivalent to 300 football fields are being destroyed every hour (according to the World Wide Fund for Nature), and the critically endangered orangutans are being driven toward extinction due to the massively destructive palm oil industry … there’s a reason we should object to foods containing palm oil—no matter how delicious they are. And when the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is now estimated to be three times the size of France, the mounting problem of plastic pollution can no longer be ignored. We must abstain from conveniently packaged foods to reduce our single-use plastic footprint.

I Launched Earth Week at Work to Raise Awareness About Plastic Pollution

April 22, 2018 by The Ant's Meow in Environment

In honor of Earth Day, and after hearing that The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is now three times the size of France, I launched Earth Week at work to increase plastic pollution awareness and challenge coworkers to reduce their single-use plastic footprint.

Volunteering at Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT)

March 08, 2018 by The Ant's Meow in Volunteering, Animal Sanctuary

My husband and I just returned from volunteering at the elephant sanctuary and wildlife rescue center at Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT)—a dream of mine three years in the making. Being a volunteer there involves strenuous, physical labor in tropical heat and humidity, but it’s an incredibly rewarding experience that allows you to safely interact with animals in a responsible and meaningful way. You truly do make a difference in these animals’ everyday lives, majority of whom were rescued from decades of unimaginable abuse and mistreatment in the tourism and logging industries as well as the exotic wildlife pet trade.

Compassion in Action Conference 2017 Held by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

September 24, 2017 by The Ant's Meow in Animal Rights Activism

I recently attended the Compassion in Action Conference presented by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, or as some may know her best, 'The Joyful Vegan'. If there's anyone who can excel at living a vegan life full of hope and optimism; captivate a room with eloquence, warmth, humility and humor; and effectively advocate for animals by communicating truthfully, respectfully and compassionately, it's Colleen.

Every vegan activist—newbie or veteran—could benefit from hearing her speak.

The tagline for the conference was "Putting your values to work to change the world for animals."

Helping Our Wildlife Neighbors

September 03, 2017 by The Ant's Meow in Wildlife Rescue

I got home from work the other night and as I was pulling into my driveway, I spotted a seabird over a foot tall crossing my neighborhood street. I thought, this can't be normal. This bird must be disoriented, injured or lost to be wandering around in my neighborhood, which happens to be about a half mile from the beach and wetlands.

I knew that if I left the bird there, he would get run over by a car or get attacked by neighborhood dogs, cats or worse, a coyote.

Okja: The Film That's Inspiring Viewers to Examine Their Biases and Go Vegan

July 31, 2017 by The Ant's Meow in Animal Agriculture

Okja is a super pig genetically engineered to be unnaturally large in order to feed the world’s growing, unsustainable population. Sound familiar? It’s almost immediately evident from the beginning of the movie that its fictional aspect lies mainly in the adorable computer-generated mutant pig, while its parallels with reality is the driving force and haunting message of the film.

In essence, Okja is every factory farmed animal in our world today (minus the fact that she gets to live on a remote mountaintop for the first ten years of her life, unlike real farmed animals imprisoned in cramped, windowless pens with no room to turn around). Although the film’s writer-director Bong Joon-ho, a South Korean filmmaker, didn’t set out to create an exposé on the horrors of factory farming or a social commentary on people's hypocrisy, apathy and cruel nature (greed, yes), the outcome turned out to be just that. It left many viewers to reconsider their diets and search online about veganism and vegetarianism. Just take a look at people's comments and social media posts about the movie and you'll see the overwhelming trend in people declaring they want to go vegan or have gone vegan since watching Okja.

Cup of Compassion: elephantea Blends Bold Flavors with Activism to Save Elephants

December 22, 2016 by The Ant's Meow in Conservation

Spread love, joy and awareness this holiday season--and all seasons--with elephantea, the perfect stocking stuffer that blends compassion with conservation with every cup! elephantea is a groundbreaking range of premium tea products that's "ground shakingly good" for your tastebuds and for endangered Asian elephants.

For every elephantea purchase you make, a percentage of the profits fund Sri Lankan-based nonprofits dedicated to Asian elephant conservation.

'Render Loyalty' Exhibits Inspire Conservation by Creating a Connection with Endangered Species

December 13, 2016 by The Ant's Meow in Conservation

Art is transcendent. It has a way of creating an emotional and personal connection between the observer and subject. This powerful medium is what inspired photographer and conservationist, KT Merry, to raise global awareness and support for endangered species through fine film photography.

Her limited-edition series, Render Loyalty, premiered as one-night-only exhibits in New York City and Los Angeles, on November 17th and December 1st, respectively. All proceeds from the curated exhibits were donated to conservancy partners, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy (LEWA) and The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (DSWT), the world's two leading wildlife conservations located in Kenya.

In addition, 20% of all sales from renderloyalty.com will also be donated directly to its conservation partners.

Eco Friendly Holiday Gifts: Free Limited-Edition Bags by Freedom of Animals with John Masters Organics

December 12, 2016 by The Ant's Meow in Eco Friendly Gifts

Need eco friendly gift ideas for the holidays? Through a beautiful (eco)llaboration between John Masters Organics luxury beauty line and Freedom of Animals--maker of sustainable, cruelty-free luxury bags--comes exclusively designed, limited-edition makeup bags. They're FREE with purchase at johnmasters.com while supplies last.

Each design is specific to the John Masters Organics holiday skin care collection.

The Holiday Gift that Gives Back: glassbaby Votive for Elephant Conservation

December 08, 2016 by The Ant's Meow in Conservation

This holiday season, double your charitable deeds by giving the elephant lover in your life the gift that gives back: a newly released 'silver lining' votive by glassbaby. For every 'silver lining' sold, 10% of proceeds will be donated to Conservation International to support elephant and wildlife conservation efforts in Kenya.

In addition to the 'silver lining' proceeds, 10% of all glassbaby's December online sales (excluding single giving colors) will go to Conservation International in further support of their Sarara Initiative, a visionary partnership that uses a sustainable community-run model to protect elephants, their habitat and other wildlife in Kenya.

World Save Day: Bearing Witness to Pigs Delivered to their Deaths

September 08, 2016 by The Ant's Meow in Animal Rights Activism

Many people wonder why we give pigs water when they're about to die anyway. Well, imagine you were born to die. Your whole life has been nothing but violent abuse and mistreatment, and after enduring a long, arduous journey, the smell of death hits your senses. Your terror is heightened, your hunger, thirst and exhaustion is at an all-time high.

Then, out of the darkness, you see people--monsters--who are acting out of the norm. They approach your truck, speak to you in a soothing voice and give you something to quench your thirst as you're panting and foaming at the mouth. You wonder who these monsters are, and why they actually don't seem to be harming you for once. They reach out to you, you nuzzle their hands, suckle their finger, stick your nose out to try and connect with them. In that moment, you experience something you've never had before. What is it? And then, the moment is gone. These "monsters" step back, saying something to you in their soothing voices as the truck starts back up and you're moving again, closer and closer into the air thick with the stench of death--pierced only by the screams of your fellow species, knowing that you will soon share their fate.

My First Experience at the Animal Rights National Conference 2016

August 30, 2016 by The Ant's Meow in Animal Rights Activism

Last month, I attended the 2016 Animal Rights National Conference, which felt like a rite of passage as an animal rights activist. This year's theme was "Until their voices are heard, I will raise mine!"

It was Inspiring, Emotional, Transformative and Empowering.

My First Protest: Ringling Brothers ... The Cruelest Show on Earth

July 23, 2016 by The Ant's Meow in Circus Animals, Animal Rights Activism

“It’s fun for children. It’s not that bad,” said a woman with her several young children as they walked past our signs that read, “Cruelty is NOT entertainment”, “Ban Circus Animals”, and “There’s NO excuse for animal abuse.”

That got my blood boiling.

Last Sunday, I went to my very first protest: it was against Ringling Brothers ... the saddest and cruelest show on earth. For those who don’t know, their tagline is “The Greatest Show on Earth.” This is coming from a circus that punches its animals in the face, whips them and beats them with electric prods to get them to perform unnatural tricks. They also confine animals to tiny cages as they travel across the country for up to 100 hours straight (conditions so grueling that a 2-year old lion named Clyde died from intense heat after being transported through the Mojave desert). Kids can barely stand to be on the road for a few hours; now imagine what it’s like for a wild animal.

Awakened Compassion: Former Slaughterhouse Workers Turned Animal Rights Activists

July 07, 2016 by The Ant's Meow in Animal Rights Activism, Animal Agriculture

There is no shortage of accounts of former slaughterhouse workers or animal farmers who had a change of heart after years of contributing to the mass slaughter of innocent animals.

These ex-slaughterhouse workers have seen hell on earth, and managed to avoid being eternally consumed by the voracious fires of apathy, sadism and depravity. Even they were able to reawaken their compassion and empathy, snapping out of their trance and truly seeing the horrors of the meat, dairy and egg industry.

What the News on the End of Male Chick Culling Reveals About Consumers

June 12, 2016 by The Ant's Meow in Vegan, Compassion for Animals

It’s eye-opening how the news of male chick culling coming to an end in 2020 (at least among 95% of egg producers in the U.S.) has horrified people. Just read people’s reactions and comments to this news on social media. For most people, the practice of male chick culling is breaking news alone. It just goes to show how many people are still in the dark about the horrors of the meat, dairy and egg industry.

Grinding, gassing and suffocating male chicks to death is disgustingly cruel, but it’s also just a fraction of the violent and sadistic abuse, mistreatment and deaths that billions of farmed animals endure every day—from the moment their born, to the moment their slaughtered.

Full, Half or No Churro? Blurred Lines in Veganism

June 05, 2016 by The Ant's Meow in Vegan, Compassion for Animals

My mom is my biggest supporter. Although she’s not vegan, and doesn’t always share my view on animals, she has always shown her support.

However, we were at Disneyland recently and when I refused to eat half a churro, she said something that struck me, “Not eating half a churro isn’t going to save an animal’s life.”

So if I ate only half a churro, does that make me less guilty than if I were to eat a whole churro? Does that make me less guilty that maybe only one egg was used, versus two?

Why the Death of Harambe the Gorilla is Everything That is Wrong with Zoos

June 01, 2016 by The Ant's Meow in Animals in Captivity

I was scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed when I saw the headline, "Gorilla Killed at Cincinnati Zoo After Child Climbs in Enclosure". My heart sank--I couldn't get myself to click on the article knowing that the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach would boil over into anger and disgust.

After settling my emotions, I finally read one of the articles and all I kept thinking about was the persistent problem with zoos: wildlife in captivity, exploitation and people's lack of common sense, sensitivity and understanding. A lot of animal lovers are outraged by the mother of the child whose carelessness led to the child getting into the gorilla enclosure. However, the real issue here is the existence of zoos, which function first and foremost as a business, ultimately caring more about profit than safety and their animals.

To the Haters of the Study Suggesting Veganism Saves Lives & the Planet

May 06, 2016 by The Ant's Meow in Vegan, Environment

Recent headlines about a study that suggests going vegan would save 8 million lives and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% has, as expected, brought out all the haters: all the haters of plant-based diets, but especially of vegans.

Cue the chorus of excuses found in the comments sections of articles on the aforementioned study:

“Animals are meant to be eaten.”

“So do plants’ lives not matter?”

“Eating vegetables would still require deforestation.”

“That stat is inaccurate so I’m going to keep eating meat.”

The concept of meat consumption causing species extinction will probably unfold the same way climate change has. There will be a lot of resistance and denial, but more and more people will slowly begin to accept that it’s a real issue, as its symptoms become increasingly evident and can no longer be ignored or dismissed.

Earth Day: Everyday Things We Can Do to Care for Our Planet

April 22, 2016 by The Ant's Meow in Environment

In honor of Earth Day today (and every day), let’s do what we can (big or small) to reduce our negative impact on the environment. We have so much to gain when our planet is healthy.

I’ve put together a list of everyday things we can do to help ensure our planet’s health.

Even small changes made by a great number of people can make a big impact.

Donate to Support “The End of Suffering” – a Film to Save the World

March 28, 2016 by The Ant's Meow in Animal Rights Activism, Compassion for Animals

One of the articles that really struck a chord with me and inspired me to move toward veganism was by Tracey Glover, a lawyer-turned-animal-rights-activist. It was about why she chooses to help animals when there is so much suffering in the world. In fact, it was her article, which I shared with my boyfriend nearly a year ago that compelled him to become vegetarian overnight.

When Tracey was in law school, she worked with refugees, domestic violence victims, and as a humane rescue and cruelty officer with the Humane Society of Huron Valley. Even with all the human suffering in the world, she recognizes that animal suffering is unparalleled in terms of their numbers and the degree of torture they endure … but more importantly, because there are so few people working to help them.

“The End of Suffering” is a documentary that Tracey is trying to put together using funds she hopes to raise through Indiegogo. This film delivers the “message of universal compassion and the truth of our interconnection with all other beings with whom we share this planet.”

“This is a film about suffering and the end of suffering.”