W. Bruce Cameron — the New York Times bestselling author of numerous books, including "A Dog's Purpose," made into a feature film starring Dennis Quaid —discusses how he decided to make Breed Specific Legislation, or BSL (in this case, Denver’s ban on pit bulls) a...
Ginger Kathrens —wild-horse advocate, filmmaker, and executive director of The Cloud Foundation—discusses the mustang, Cloud, who is the focus of three of her films, and the namesake of the Foundation she founded, whose stated mission is dedication “to the...
Stephen Wells—the executive director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund ALDF)—traces his intriguing, sometimes colorful, career path before joining ALDF, particularly his years in Alaska, where, among other developments, he formalized his commitment to becoming a...
Dr. Jennifer Conrad—the veterinarian and founder of The Paw Project, which has long educated the public about the painful and crippling effects of feline declawing, and who, as of this interview, has made more appearances on “Talking Animals” than any other...
Adam Sugalski—executive director of OneProtest, a Florida-based advocacy organization perhaps best known for its high-profile, successful effort to help halt the Florida bear hunt—recalls how he first stepped into the role of advocate when, as a professional...
About once a year, I jettison the chief component of the “Talking Animals” format—a long form interview with a single guest—to offer a debate or some other multi-guest panel discussion. As part of that periodic effort to rejigger the program, and a parallel desire...
Raymond J. Lesniak—veteran State Senator of New Jersey, who has a distinguished track record of working on behalf of animals and animal welfare—explains that he didn’t really harbor any political ambition while growing up, sort of wandering into that realm after...
Dr. James Keen—a veterinarian and scientist, and surely one of this era’s most significant whistle blowers in the animal welfare realm--describes the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC), a 55 square-mile livestock research facility in Nebraska, where Keen had...
Thomas Ponce—the 15-year-old activist and founder (at age 12) of Florida-based Lobby For Animals—recalls the circumstances that triggered his precocious interest in animal activism, as well as how hearing about the importance of lobbying at an animal rights...
Michele Lazarow—a Hallandale Beach city commissioner and activist who has helped pass numerous laws across Florida preventing pet stories from selling dogs that come from puppy mills—recounts the dreadful experience she had in 2004 after buying her dog, Alfie, from...
