Animal Friendly

The Human-Animal Alliance is a hugely impactful organisation that raises funds to grant directly to programs that share their belief in the power and value of the human-animal connection.  Equine-assisted therapy, Pet Pantry programs, support for humans and animals affected by hurricanes or wildfires, summer-camp scholarships, trauma-recovery programs and much more: since 2022 the organisatio...

Hamilton - or Hammy - is a beagle that was rescued from a research laboratory where he'd spent the first four years of his life. Melanie Kaplan adopted him and started on a journey to learn more about his past, as well as the broader world of animal research. In her book - Lab Dog: A Beagle and His Human Investigate the Surprising World of Animal Research - she investigates the breeding and t...

Wasseem Emam is the Director and Head of Research at Ethical Seafood Research. He holds advanced degrees in applied aquatic ecology and has spent over 15 years working iwth various organisations across the fisheries and aquaculture sector.  Drawing on this background, Wasseem recognised a critical gap: aquatic animals are the most numerically exploited yet the least protected animals in the f...

Laura Broxson has been deeply involved in Ireland’s animal rights movement for over two decades. They founded NARA – the National Animal Rights Association - in 2007. This is a voluntary, vegan animal rights group, working towards a world where animals are free from use, abuse, and exploitation.  In 2019, they successfully brought about a ban on fur farming in Ireland with a multi...

Harper Garrison is a high school student from Austin, Texas. She raised a lamb (who she named Onion!) through the Future Farmers of America (FFA) program. They soon formed a bond and Harper began to question Onion's fate; to be returned to the farm at the end of the program where she would be used as a 'breeder' and then sent to slaughter, once she was no longer profitable. Harper got help from LE...

Jack Morley has a background in media and advertising and he is now using those creative skills to illustrate and convey the beauty of Irish nature and wildlife, as well as some of the many challenges facing our native plants, insects, birds, fish and mammals. He wants to amplify the stories of the people around the country who are making efforts to restore and revitalise our natural environment a...

Billie Talyn Groom has worked with a wide variety of dogs for over three decades. She is an award-winning behavioural therapist as well as an author, a podcaster, a TEDx speaker and the founder of the Institute of Canine Psychotherapy. The Institute is an online educational platform which allows anyone to learn Canine Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, a method developed by Billie and one which can be...

Project Wild is a wildlife media company that promotes ethical wildlife tourism by showcasing the organisations that bring tourists and wildlife together in a way that respects the animals’ natural behaviours. I was delighted to talk to the founder, Connie Needham, about her years of experience in wildlife conservation and her studies in anthrozoology that led her to set up Project Wild.&nbs...

Kate Galli is a vegan health coach, author and master podcaster - with over 900 episodes of her podcast, Healthification. Listen in as we discuss how she draws inspiration from her guests, the painful pathway that led to her intention to lead with love, compassion and deliciousness, as well as some of her tips for defining your goals, dealing with overwhelm and developing confidence and consistenc...

FarmKind are on a mission to help people who love animals to help the animals most in need: those in factory farms.  They identify charities with the best track record of making farming kinder and help introduce them to you, the potential donor, with the aim of making your donation do as much good as it possibly can.  Thom Norman - one of the co-founders of FarmKind - spoke on the podcas...

It's that time when we start getting ready for one of the biggest festive celebrations of the year!  It's not what you think...I'm talking about Veganuary!  Veganuary is a celebration of veganism that happens in January (and throughout the year) and it's going from strength to strength. People from over 228 countries and territories have taken part and more than 2,100 new vegan products...

If you're thinking, hmm, I've never heard the word philzoothropy before, you're right! It's a totally new word.  Philzoothropy is a love of animals, especially as shown by contributing time, money, influence etc to their general welfare. It's a new take on an existing word (philanthropy) and makes us think about how we can spend money in more intelligent ways, that helps both animals and humans. ...

When millions of people were forced to flee their homes due to the invasion of Ukraine, they were unable to take their companion animals with them. An estimated one million dogs and cats were left homeless and living on the streets. Dan Fine heard about this from a Ukrainian friend in Vancouver, and he was moved to help. He teamed up with volunteers and animal charities to organise missions to vac...

In this episode I was joined by Pei Feng Su, the founder of ACTAsia, to talk about her autobiography which has just been published. Life of Pei: The Battle for Compassion takes us through Pei’s life from traumatic teenage years to her investigative work with the World Society for the Protection of Animals to the founding of ACTAsia, which aims to promote compassion for animals, people and the envi...

Julius Kirumira is a young vegan advocate from Uganda, who set up the organisation, Vegan Planet Africa, in 2019. They are committed to spreading awareness about the benefits of a plant-based lifestyle; not just as a dietary choice but as a conscious decision that aligns with their values of compassion, health and sustainability. We talked about his dog, Max, who first inspired him to seek justice...

Dog Advocacy Ireland is a dedicated group that campaigns for meaningful change regarding dog welfare protection in Ireland. There are thousands of dogs in puppy farms all around Ireland, to the extent that we are known as the puppy farm capital of Europe. These dogs lead utterly miserable lives while their pups are easily bought and then discarded after a few months or years. It is left to the Iri...

Eurogroup for Animals brings together 98 animal protection organisations with the aim of providing a voice for animals in the European Parliament. Their work encompasses many areas of concern, such as, animal use in science, trade and animal welfare, aquatic animals, wildlife, equines, farm animals and much more.  In this episode I talked to their CEO, Reineke Hameleers, about four main topics; th...

Mark Randell retired from the police as a Detective Inspector and has since dedicated his life to preventing animal crime, abuse and exploitation through education and investigation. His organisation – Hidden in Sight – helps law enforcement and animal groups investigate abuse, as well as training police around the world to integrate animal welfare protection into their work of safekeeping the com...

Welcome to the first native wild bee sanctuary on the planet, nestled in the south-east of Ireland.  I talk to Paul Handrick about the process of setting up a bee sanctuary, and what needs to be done to rescue the wild native bees of Ireland, and restore our wider environment in the process. We talk about letting gardens go wild; about farmers caught in an unsustainable system and their desire to...

Based on personal experience - sadly - this episode talks about the efforts made to try and find a lost cat; meandering around topics like the kindness of strangers, labyrinths, Yeats and Schrodinger's Cat.  The cat in question, Goldie, hasn't been found yet - this episdoe will be updated if/when he ever is. FOUND!!! Goldie was found after 14 months of living as a stray and is now home, eatin...

To raise awareness of the plight of the Galgos in Spain, Travis Patinaude decided he had to try and fake being a photographer in order to get into photography circles. To his surprise, he actually had a talent for it, and is now an award-winning and much admired photographer, or as he puts it, a photoactivist.  The Galgos are used for hunting in Spain and due to overbreeding and commercialisa...

Vets helping vets to help animals. Traditional conservation groups working with endangered species can sometimes miss the fact that local vets might not have had much training in wildlife medicine. That's where Wildlife Vets International comes in. This dedicated group of people - including biologists and veterinarians - use the knowledge they've gained though their training and experience to help...

Dave Goulson has spent his life getting up close and personal with bees, and many other insects along the way.  We chat about the various threats to insect life on the planet, the ramifications of insect disappearance and why we should all do our best to make our local environments a more hospitable place for our six-legged friends.  (And learn some 1920s dancing along the way). Dave is a Sunday T...

This episode tells the story of the near-extinction of Asian vultures. In the mid-nineties, millions of vultures began dying, all across the Asian subcontinent. Teams of scientists scrambled to find the cause and to save the remaining birds.  I talked to Chris Bowden of SAVE (Saving Asia's Vultures from Extinction) about this remarkable conservation effort - spanning decades - as well as the under...

Meet the HeroRats of APOPO - African giant pouched rats which are trained to sniff out landmines (in order to remove them and make land safe) and detect tuberculosis in lab samples. In this episode we learn about their training and their work, as well as some potential future projects. Hang out with Magawa, Ronin, Carolina and more - and change your perspective of rats forever!  APOPO website    H...