Dr. Steven Amstrup—chief scientist for Polar Bears International, a polar bear conservation organization; before joining PBI, he was a research wildlife biologist with the United States Geological Survey at the Alaska Science Center in Anchorage, Alaska, where he...
Steven M. Wise—founder and president of the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP); an attorney, author, and legal scholar, Wise is leading NhRP’s pioneering effort to free an elephant named Happy from the Bronx Zoo through a writ of habeas corpus, aiming to change her...
Dr. Lisa Wiese—associate professor of Nursing at the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University (FAU), and co-author of a study conducted recently at FAU, which found that interacting with a robotic pet can serve as a boon to the health of...
As we’ve done twice before, today’s show involved setting aside the customary “Talking Animals” format in order to present the extended feature, “Ask The Trainer,” in which listeners are invited to call or email questions about their dogs or cats, particularly...
Dr. Jennifer Conrad—a veterinarian and founder of The Paw Project, and a tireless crusader against declawing cats for many years; I first interviewed her about it on “Talking Animals” in 2005, and she’d already been working on the issue for some time—recounts the...
Kitty Block—President and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), as well as CEO of Humane Society International, HSUS’ global division—discusses getting a precocious start working in animal welfare, in that her Mom was an animal activist. Block...
Coleen Ellis—an expert on pet loss and dealing with the kind of grief that results from losing an animal companion—recalls how the loss 18 years ago of her beloved dog, Mico, coupled with then working in the human funeral profession, inspired her to start the first...
Carol Buckley—a longtime expert in the care of captive elephants, who co-founded The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, moving on to found Elephant Aid International, a nonprofit organization “that creates innovative approaches to the care and management of captive...
Mary Keith—the field trip coordinator for the Florida Birding and Nature Festival, taking place Oct 15-17, based at the Manatee Viewing Center in Apollo Beach, Florida—recalls first becoming enchanted with birding decades ago, as the daughter of botanists, growing...
Erin Amerman—the founder of Critter Creek Farm Sanctuary, which across two facilities located in and around Gainesville, FL houses some 150 cows, making it, they say, the country’s largest cow sanctuary, while providing refuge to other rescued farm animals,...
