Better Life for Animals

Animal protection laws can only help when they are enforced. Attorney Vanessa Shakib joins me, Cheryl Moss, to discuss how legal advocacy can expose hidden suffering, challenge unlawful business practices, and hold government agencies accountable. As co-founder and co-director of Advancing Law for Animals, Vanessa uses civil litigation to protect animals exploited in research and industrial food p...

What happens when an animal sanctuary becomes more than a place of rescue? In this episode of Better Life for Animals, host Cheryl Moss talks with Simone Scampoli, Executive Director of Capra Libera Tutti, an animal sanctuary in Italy where rescued farmed animals are given the opportunity to make choices, form relationships and live as individuals. Simone shares the remarkable story of how a forme...

Is cage-free really a victory for animals when hens are still being used as part of the same food system? Dan Shannon, CEO of The Humane League, joins Cheryl Moss to explore why the answer isn't as simple as yes or no. Dan explains what life is like for hens confined in battery cages, how cage-free systems can reduce suffering, and why incremental reforms can provide a strategic foundation for muc...

Five rescued pigs became twelve in just two months. For Kathy Cullen, founder of Jolene's Retreat, that unexpected turn was the beginning of a much bigger journey. Kathy spent 25 years as a teacher before animal advocacy changed the direction of her life. When five pigs suddenly needed somewhere safe to go, she wasn't prepared to take them. But when she learned they could otherwise go to slaughter...

What does it mean to truly see an animal rather than simply look and move on? Writer, animal photojournalist, and activist Diana Hulet joins Cheryl Moss to explore how photography and storytelling can help people recognize animals as individuals with full lives, relationships, and experiences of their own. Diana shares how her childhood connection with photography eventually became part of her ani...

Internationally recognized fine art photographer Robert Sturman has spent more than two decades documenting dignity, resilience and healing. His work has taken him into prisons, military communities and cultures around the world. Then a rescued coonhound named Otis entered his life and gave his work an entirely new purpose. Otis survived the laboratory-testing industry and still carries an identif...

What happens when the life you built no longer reflects what you believe? For Chiara Saitta, becoming vegan changed far more than what she ate. It prompted her to leave a career in fashion and film, help open Rome's first vegan patisserie, and eventually dedicate herself to caring for rescued animals in Portugal. In this episode of the Better Life for Animals podcast, Chiara shares the experiences...

A donkey can grieve so deeply after losing a bonded companion that they stop eating. That is only one of the powerful truths Amber Raleigh and Edj, co-founders of Donkey Dreams Sanctuary, reveal in this unforgettable conversation with Cheryl Moss. Donkeys are often dismissed as stubborn or treated like smaller versions of horses. But these intelligent, emotionally complex animals think, love, reme...

Young people care deeply about animals, but many don't realize how much power they already have to create change. In this episode of the Better Life for Animals Podcast , Cheryl Moss talks with Danielle Hanosh, co-founder and executive director of LEAP, Leaders for Ethics, Animals and the Planet , about helping the next generation turn compassion into meaningful action. Danielle shares how LEAP gi...

Pigeons are one of the most familiar birds in the world, yet they are also among the most misunderstood. In this episode of the Better Life for Animals Podcast, Cheryl Moss talks with Susan Joyce, affectionately known as "The Pigeon Lady," about how an unexpected encounter with pigeons changed the direction of her life. Susan shares how she went from working in veterinary practice to caring for hu...

What does it take to create real, lasting change for animals? In this episode of the Better Life for Animals Podcast, Cheryl Moss talks with Amber Canavan, Associate Director of Vegan Campaigns at PETA, about more than two decades of animal advocacy, vegan activism, corporate campaigns, animal rescue, legislation, and the persistence required to challenge industries that profit from animal exploit...

Most animal sanctuaries begin with compassion. Shy 38 Animal Sanctuary began with a single cow. She wasn't known by a name. She was simply Number 38 , one of dozens of cows grazing in a neighboring pasture. Yet by quietly observing her and the rest of the herd, founder Chris Taylor and her young children witnessed something that would forever change the course of their lives. They saw mothers form...

What does it really take to create a no-kill community and save more animals in shelters? In this episode of the Better Life for Animals Podcast, Cheryl Moss talks with Tawny Hammond of Best Friends Animal Society about the leadership, policies, partnerships, and community involvement needed to transform animal shelters and save lives. Tawny shares lessons from decades in public service and animal...

What happens when you meet a pig and begin to see someone instead of something? Suki Player, founder of Little Pigs at Home Animal Sanctuary in West Wales, shares how one pig changed the direction of her life and led to a mission of rescue, education, and changing hearts one pig at a time. In this episode of the Better Life for Animals Podcast, Suki talks with Cheryl Moss about the intelligence, e...

Why do an estimated 95% of drugs that pass animal testing fail in human clinical trials? If animal experimentation often produces poor results for people, why is it still widely used in medical research? In this episode of the Better Life for Animals Podcast , Cheryl Moss speaks with Meredith Blanchard , Senior Manager of Advocacy and Policy at the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) , about...

Foxes are intelligent, emotional individuals who form bonds, experience grief, express joy, and have unique personalities. Yet foxes continue to be bred and exploited for the fur industry and exotic pet trade. In this episode of the Better Life for Animals podcast, host Cheryl Moss talks with Nicole Navarro, founder and executive director of Pawsitive Beginnings, a fox sanctuary in Key Largo, Flor...

For more than four decades, Gail Eisnitz has gone where few people are willing to go. As Chief Investigator for the Humane Farming Association, she has spent her career documenting the hidden realities of factory farms and slaughterhouses, exposing cruelty that most consumers never see and many industries would prefer remain hidden. In this powerful episode of Better Life for Animals, host Cheryl...

Most people never see what happens behind the walls of animal testing facilities. In this powerful episode of Better Life for Animals, host Cheryl Moss sits down with animal advocate Pamela Smith to discuss her involvement in the widely publicized open rescue at Ridglan Farms, a Wisconsin facility that breeds beagles for laboratory testing. Pamela shares her personal journey from becoming an ethic...

Most people think animal advocacy begins and ends with awareness. But according to Amit Dhuleshia, lasting change for animals requires something much bigger: political action, grassroots organizing, and long-term strategy. In this episode of Better Life for Animals, Cheryl Moss sits down with Amit Dhuleshia, co-founder of Strategic Action for Animals and creator of the Action for Animals app, to d...

What if the animals in our lives are here to teach us how to heal? In this episode of Better Life for Animals , Cheryl Moss welcomes author, animal communicator, Reiki practitioner, and podcast host Stephanie Stephan for a powerful conversation about the emotional wisdom animals carry and the lessons humans can learn from them. Stephanie shares deeply personal stories about rescue animals, sanctua...

Can what we eat really influence the future of the planet? In this episode of the Better Life for Animals Podcast , Cheryl Moss speaks with Matthew Dominguez, U.S. Executive Director of Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) , about the far-reaching consequences of factory farming and why transforming our food systems has become one of the most urgent issues of our time. Matthew shares how growing up...

Most people move through life without questioning the systems around them. Then something changes. Maybe it's watching footage from a factory farm. Maybe it's meeting a rescued animal and realizing they are far more emotionally complex than we were taught to believe. Or maybe it's the unsettling realization that the products we once consumed without thought are connected to immense suffering hidde...

Chickens are often overlooked, misunderstood, and treated as commodities. But as Erica Camp of Second Hen'd shares in this powerful episode of Better Life for Animals, spending just a few minutes with a rescued hen can completely change the way people see these intelligent, emotional animals. In this conversation, Erica discusses the heartbreaking reality facing egg-laying hens, the work of rescui...

Why do so many people care deeply about animals, yet still struggle to connect the dots when it comes to farmed animals? In this compelling episode of the Better Life for Animals podcast, Cheryl Moss sits down with Ayelette Robinson for a conversation that goes far beyond veganism and advocacy slogans. Together, they explore the emotional and cultural barriers that shape how society views animals...

What does it really mean for animals to be safe, respected, and protected for life? In this powerful episode, we sit down with Jessica Harris, Farmed Animal Program Director at the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS), to explore what separates true animal sanctuaries from places that simply use the name. If you care about animal welfare, vegan living, or ethical treatment of farmed anim...