This article was written by Liam Pritchett on the PBN Website.
]]>The authors reviewed existing studies and found that “the environmental impact of owned dogs is far greater, more insidious, and more concerning than is generally recognised.”
Pacific Conservation Biology published “Bad Dog? The environmental effects of owned dogs” on Wednesday. Philip W. Bateman, an associate professor at Curtin University’s School of Molecular & Life Sciences, and Lauren N. Gilson, an academic researcher, ecologist, and conservationist, also of Curtin University, Australia, authored the research.
According to the research article, domesticated dogs kill and disturb “multiple species” directly, but their “mere presence” – even while leashed – also disturbs birds and mammals. Furthermore, their scent and excreta continue to disturb wildlife after the dog has moved on.
This excreta can also transfer zoonoses to wildlife, pollute waterways, and negatively impact plant growth. Dogs that physically enter rivers and streams may also pollute waterways directly due to the chemicals found in wash-off flea and parasite treatments.
Finally, the sheer number of “owned” dogs worldwide – approximately 900 million animals – contributes to the pet food industry’s extensive resource consumption and carbon emissions. The authors highlight the need for increased education around responsible owner behavior.
Read more: Plant-Based Diets For Dogs And Cats – What Does The Research Say?
As more people become aware of the significant negative impact the meat industry has on the environment, the pet food sector has also come under increased scrutiny. Producing animal-based food for dogs and cats makes up 30 percent of the meat industry’s environmental impact and releases millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs).
“The dog food industry should be included in any nation’s sustainability action due to its considerable environmental footprint,” write Bateman and Gilson in their research.
However, alternatives to traditional, animal-based pet food are increasingly competitive and available. The vegan pet food market could nearly double in value over the next decade, while cultivated pet food gained EU approval earlier this month. In February, a “world first” dog food featuring both plant-based ingredients and cultivated meat went on sale in the UK.
Read more: Is 2025 The Year Of Ethical Dog Food?
This article was written by Liam Pritchett on the PBN Website.
]]>This article was written by Adam Protz on the PBN Website.
]]>BioCraft Pet Nutrition was founded in 2016 by its CEO, Shannon Falconer. She left her post-doctoral research fellowship at Stanford University and a prestigious academic scholarship to pursue improving the lives of farmed and domestic animals. Her stated vision was: “Better nutrition for cats and dogs…that doesn’t come at the expense of other animals or the health of our planet.”
The process saw the company submitting to a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan. This was supported by BioCraft conducting studies with input from food safety, veterinary, and food science specialists. These studies concluded that BioCraft’s ingredients are all derived from stable, non-GMO animal cells. It also confirmed that the ingredients are free from bacterial pathogens, viruses, mycotoxins, and heavy metals.
Read more: What Is Cultured Meat? Here’s What You Need To Know
“Achieving ABP registration for an animal cell-based ingredient in the EU is a significant milestone for BioCraft and the industry as a whole,” said Falconer. “This comprehensive safety analysis goes well beyond regulatory compliance and provides a meticulous breakdown of our feed safety protocols, including stringent supplier verification processes, traceability documentation, risk assessments, and SOPs for every critical control point. We’ve implemented rigorous quality control measures and transparency across our supply chain, and the result is the highest industry standards for safety and integrity in alternative protein production.”
Third-party testing compared BioCraft’s cell-cultured ingredients against conventional meat slurry used in pet food. The findings confirmed that key nutrients, including taurine and lysine, were similar for the approval. The omega fatty acid ratio was found to be superior in the BioCraft ingredients against a conventional chicken slurry.
BioCraft’s product is created with mouse cells, the ancestral prey of both cats and dogs. The process of obtaining the cells in cell-cultured meat involves taking a small tissue sample from a live animal. It is a biopsy, similar to those performed on humans, and is supposedly a minimally invasive procedure. However, there are currently no regulations for the procurement of animal cells.
BioCraft, however, states that “BioCrafted Meat is produced from a single sample of cells from a single animal which is enough to produce meat forever. We also don’t need any animal products to grow the cells — no fetal bovine serum here.”
Read more: Cell-Cultured Meat ‘Likely’ To Make Up 40% Of Future Meat Intake, Finds New Survey
This article was written by Adam Protz on the PBN Website.
]]>This article was written by Liam Pritchett on the PBN Website.
]]>The market was valued at USD $10.3 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach approximately $19.7 billion by 2034, with an expected compound annual growth rate of 6.7 percent.
According to Market.us News, consumers are increasingly aware of the animal welfare, environmental, and health issues surrounding traditional meat-based pet food, in addition to the many potential benefits of feeding companion animals plant-based options instead.
Market.us News noted that “conventional” vegan food holds 63.2 percent of the market, while dry food holds 56.2 percent, and that supermarkets contribute 48.2 percent to distribution. This indicates that consumers prefer familiar, convenient, and widely available options.
Furthermore, dogs account for 72.3 percent of the vegan pet food market, indicating that plant-based diets for canines are more accepted and better established. Several studies indicate that well-planned meat-free diets can be optimal for dogs, and last year, the British Veterinary Association ended its longstanding opposition to meat-free canine diets.
“It is commendable that the BVA has finally ended its unscientific opposition to (nutritionally-sound) vegan dog diets,” said Andrew Knight, veterinary Professor of Animal Welfare, at the time. “It is now up to international veterinary associations to follow suit.”
Read more: The Environmental Impact Of Dog And Cat Food: What You Need To Know
Plant-based and cultivated meat-based foods are increasingly familiar for dogs, but Knight and other experts also say that these options are safe for cats, too. In 2024, plant-based brand Wild Earth launched “Unicorn Pate,” its first nutritionally complete wet cat food product.
While cats are obligate carnivores, complete foods like Unicorn Pate are fortified with all of the vitamins and minerals that cats need to thrive, including taurine. Also last year, Omni and Meatly announced a “world first” cultivated cat food, described as a “major milestone.”
Traditional pet food is a co-product of the meat industry, which means that it supports factory farming and all of the animal cruelty, environmental damage, and pollution it causes. Producing food for cats and dogs notably contributes up to 30 percent of the meat industry’s total environmental impact, releasing millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs).
Read more: Is 2025 The Year Of Ethical Dog Food?
This article was written by Liam Pritchett on the PBN Website.
]]>This article was written by Claire Hamlett on the PBN Website.
]]>The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has confirmed that the infection was discovered after repeat positive testing of the sheep’s milk. The sheep was on a site where bird flu had previously been present among captive birds. Following the spread of bird flu among dairy cows in the US, Defra has been monitoring farmed mammals on infected premises. No other sheep in the flock have tested positive for the virus and strict biosecurity measures have been put in place on the site.
Read more: First Human Case Of Bird Flu Confirmed In Nevada As New Strain Circulates
“While the risk to livestock remains low, I urge all animal owners to ensure scrupulous cleanliness is in place and to report any signs of infection to the Animal and Plant Health Agency immediately,” Christine Middlemiss, the UK’s Chief Veterinary Officer, said in a statement.
Most sheep in the UK roam in the countryside, with exposure to the elements and other animals. Some are moved between agricultural fields for grazing.
The case adds to the growing number of species that have become susceptible to infection with bird flu. The outbreak among dairy herds in the US has particularly worried health experts as it was previously thought that cows were unlikely to be infected.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said that the risk to humans is “very low,” according to Defra, while warning people not to touch sick or dead wild birds. Multiple people working on farms in several countries have been infected so far, with most making a recovery, including one person in the UK in January.
There has been at least one case of a person becoming infected without close contact with farmed animals. A teenager in Canada was hospitalized in November 2024 with bird flu. They did not work on a farm but had been in contact with reptiles, dogs, and cats.
Read more: US Zoos Are Reporting Animal Deaths From Bird Flu
This article was written by Claire Hamlett on the PBN Website.
]]>This article was written by Liam Pritchett on the PBN Website.
]]>The findings indicate that the dominant, pastoral image of animal farming in marketing does not represent reality. In fact, most farmed animals – around 85 percent in the UK – are raised on factory farms.
Food Chain Misinformation was published this week by The Animal Law Foundation, a UK-based legal research charity and lawyer collective. In a statement sent to Plant Based News, The Animal Law Foundation’s executive director Edie Bowles noted that “something has clearly gone wrong,” particularly when so many British consumers care about animal welfare. Posting about the report on X, Animal Law Foundation said Brits are being “systematically misled” about their food.
Relevant provisions under the Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumers Act of 2024 are due to come into effect from April 2025. The new act explicitly prohibits unfair commercial practices such as providing false or misleading information to sell a product. Its predecessor, The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, also prohibits misleading action and omission.
Read more: The ‘Shocking’ Rise In US-Style Mega-Farms In The UK
To produce the report, researchers reviewed the websites, advertisements, and products of 47 producers and processors of dairy and eggs, as well as chicken, duck, turkey, pig, and lamb meat. Only three of these did not use photos of animals on their website. Of the 44 producers that did use animals, 84 percent used imagery of animals living outdoors. While 61 percent showed images of animals indoors, all of the animals appeared healthy, and nearly 30 percent depicted spacious conditions. Forty-eight percent also used blurry, cropped, or unclear imagery.
All major supermarket websites feature images of apparently healthy animals living outdoors, and almost 67 percent used imagery of animals alongside farmers. Three out of the nine supermarkets did not show imagery of animals living indoors. Of those that did, the animals appeared to be healthy. The indoor imagery showed a cow alongside her calf, well-lit barns, and clean hay. Just two supermarkets depicted animals indoors in “what could be characterised as standard commercial conditions,” the report said.
According to Animal Law Foundation, dairy pooling, where milk from multiple farms is processed together, means that it is extremely difficult for consumers to find out if the cows that produced the milk they purchase were ever grazed outdoors, unless that milk is organic. Meanwhile, the law in England, Scotland, and Wales is set to be updated to loosen the requirements for a “free range” label due to bird flu. This means that a so-called free-range hen could potentially spend her entire life inside.
“Just as regulators are cracking down on greenwashing, we need urgent action to address ‘humane-washing’ in animal agriculture,” said Bowles. “Consumers must be able to trust the claims made on the food they buy, and authorities must ensure that those who partake in misleading practices are held to account.”
Read more: More Than Half Of Brits Unaware Cows Must Be Impregnated To Produce Milk, Survey Finds
This article was written by Liam Pritchett on the PBN Website.
]]>This article was written by Polly Foreman on the PBN Website.
]]>The YouGov survey, commissioned by animal rights group Animal Justice Project (AJP), found that 52 percent of the public was unaware that “cows are impregnated annually to enable milk production.” According to AJP, this survey highlights “a societal ignorance of the fundamental link between pregnancy and milk production.” Cows, like humans, are mammals who produce milk to feed their young. These findings build on a separate 2021 survey from charity Viva! that found that 59 percent of Brits don’t know cows must give birth to produce milk.
Elsewhere in the AJP survey, 83 percent of respondents were not aware that calves were removed from their mothers within 24 hours of birth. This is standard practice in farms, so humans can take the milk intended for them. Despite having a lifespan of 20 to 30 years, dairy cows are typically slaughtered when they are between five and seven years old, but only 82 percent of people were aware of this.
“In 2025, it is absurd that most people still don’t realise that, just like humans, cows must be pregnant to lactate,” said AJP founder Claire Palmer. “But it’s also no surprise, given the systematic disinformation the dairy industry has spread for decades.”
Read more: Anti-Dairy Ad To Be Screened At Cinemas In ‘UK First’
The vast majority of the UK consumes dairy products. But the reality of the industry has been well-hidden from the public. Children’s books often depict dairy cows in green fields being milked by smiling farmers, and industry marketing uses terms like “high welfare” and “humane” without giving any details about what actually happens to cows on farms.
When they are around 15 months old, dairy cows are impregnated through artificial insemination for the first time. After they give birth, their calf will be taken from them within hours. Cows form powerful bonds with their babies just like humans do, and they often cry out and bellow for days after they’re gone. If the calf is female, she will be put in solitary confinement and eventually raised for dairy too. If the calf is male, he may be killed or sold for meat. Lactating mothers are often hooked up to milking machines and milked regularly before they’re ready to be made pregnant again. This cycle will continue until her milk dries up, at which point she’ll be killed for low-grade beef.
Read more: New Exposé Shines Light On Lameness ‘Epidemic’ Among Dairy Cows
Multiple investigations have uncovered huge suffering on dairy farms, including cows being hit by workers, having their legs shackled, and being subjected to extreme temperatures. According to the AJP survey, only 17 percent of people agree that dairy companies provide consumers with enough information about how dairy is produced.
AJP commissioned the survey to mark International Women’s Day, which falls on Saturday, March 8, and the charity is urging the public to remember that “cows are mothers too.”
“Like human mothers, they love their babies immensely,” said Palmer. “The suffering they endure when those calves are torn away within hours of birth is unimaginable. We don’t need to consume milk – but baby cows do. It’s made for them, not us.”
Read more: New Investigation Warns Of Factory Farming’s ‘Silent Takeover’ In UK Dairy
This article was written by Polly Foreman on the PBN Website.
]]>This article was written by Claire Hamlett on the PBN Website.
]]>Cats from four separate households in Oregon and Washington have been infected with H5N1 since February. All had eaten raw poultry products made by Wild Coast Pet Foods. Two cats in one Oregon home and one cat in Washington had to be euthanized as a result
The US Food and Drug Administration issued an alert for the voluntary recall of Wild Coast’s frozen Boneless Free Range Chicken Formula on March 1. The alert warned people to look out for particular symptoms in their animals if they had fed them the recalled products. These include fever, lethargy, low appetite, reddened or inflamed eyes, discharge from the eyes and nose, difficulty breathing, and neurological signs like tremors, stiff body movements, seizure, lack of coordination, or blindness.
Read more: US Zoos Are Reporting Animal Deaths From Bird Flu
The US has seen almost 100 cases of cats becoming sick or dying from bird flu since 2022. At least a dozen died after drinking raw milk from infected cows on a dairy farm. It may be possible for cats to transmit the virus to humans.
All meat produced for human consumption must be inspected and deemed safe by the US Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). But a lot of meat produced for companion animals gets processed in other facilities without the same safety checks in place.
However, meat from poultry farms where outbreaks of bird flu had occurred are prohibited from being put in any food products. Investigations are ongoing as to how contaminated meat has made it into food for companion animals.
In November 2024, a US company selling raw milk for human consumption had to recall products after they were found to contain bird flu.
Read more: Is 2025 The Year Of Ethical Dog Food?
This article was written by Claire Hamlett on the PBN Website.
]]>This article was written by Liam Pritchett on the PBN Website.
]]>Velez-Mitchell noted that the yet-to-be-passed Farm Bill features “massive subsidies” to the industrial animal agriculture sector and that cutting them would represent a “significant opportunity” for both cost savings and intervention in the country’s “growing health crisis.”
In addition to her work as a journalist, Velez-Mitchell is the founder of UnchainedTV, an animal rights-focused nonprofit streaming network. Writing about the topic for UnchainedTV, she urged other people to write to Musk and provided a petition-style template email created by Their Turn.
“Taxpayers should not be providing corporate welfare to multinational corporations that emit more greenhouse gases than all forms of transportation combined and whose products harm our health, increase healthcare costs, and put the public at risk of deadly zoonotic disease outbreaks,” says the email. It also describes farming subsidy cuts as “obvious and sensible.”
Read more: Banks Urged To Stop Funding Animal Farms In New Open Letter
Newly re-elected President Trump seeks to reduce federal spending and has launched The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – overseen by Musk – to do so. DOGE’s activities so far have met with lawsuits, chaos, and accusations of errors and exaggeration.
Meanwhile, the US spends an approximate yearly average of $20 billion on agricultural subsidies or direct farm program payments. The majority of these subsidies go to animal farms, and 99 percent of all livestock animals raised in the US are factory-farmed.
“Lobbyists representing the animal agriculture industry have long played a pivotal role in shaping the Farm Bill, investing tens of millions of dollars to influence lawmakers,” explained Velez-Mitchell. “Data from 2019 shows that the wealthiest one percent of farm operators received nearly a quarter of total subsidies, while the top ten percent garnered nearly two-thirds. Small, independent farms often struggle to compete against these heavily subsidized agribusinesses, perpetuating an uneven playing field.”
A Congressional Research Report from 2024 predicted a 10-year baseline projection of $1.36 trillion for animal agriculture subsidies. Subsidies keep the price of animal products artificially low, instead of promoting nutritious, sustainable, and cost-efficient plant-based foods.
Factory farming has a direct, negative impact on human health, and subsidizing it costs taxpayers money every year. In contrast, investment in plant foods and alternative proteins can have significant economic potential, with myriad health and environmental benefits.
Read more: Elon Musk Falsely Claims Animals ‘Don’t Make A Difference’ To Global Warming
This article was written by Liam Pritchett on the PBN Website.
]]>This article was written by Liam Pritchett on the PBN Website.
]]>Nature groups will finally be allowed to release beavers into English waterways after years of rewilding advocacy and debate. According to the Guardian, it’s believed that Downing Street initially blocked beaver release plans because Labour government officials viewed it as a legacy of the previous Tory government that would “needlessly upset farmers.”
The Department for Environment, Food, & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and Natural England published a roadmap today that includes a detailed plan for licensing and long-term population management, including for already established beaver colonies.
“The beaver’s ability to transform and revitalize our degraded landscape is extraordinary,” said Stuart Otway, Principal Officer in Natural England’s Complex Cases Unit, and Delphine Pouget, Principal Officer in Natural England’s Species Recovery & Reintroductions Team.
“Natural England believes that their successful reintroduction will play a vital part in restoring rivers and wetlands, addressing the nature crisis, and contributing to the delivery of national biodiversity targets including the creation of wildlife-rich habitats,” they added.
Read more: UK Government ‘Won’t Be Commenting’ On Pre-Election Pledge To Ban Foie Gras
Beavers are large, semi-aquatic rodents. They were hunted to extinction nearly half a century ago, but 20 years of carefully licensed beaver releases into enclosures, several escapees, and some illegal rewilding created today’s thriving current population of around 400 animals.
Beavers are a keystone species, meaning they help to define their entire ecosystem, and their presence is extremely beneficial for the environment. The 30 families who now live in Somerset’s River Otter – previously the only licensed population in the country – have had a measurable positive impact on their home in the years since the trial began.
Research published by the University of Exeter in 2024 found that beaver-made wetlands promote other wildlife like kingfishers and otters. They also alleviate the impact of flooding and drought, with Devon’s four wild beaver territories storing over 24 million liters of water.
According to the Wildlife Trusts, beavers also clean their water and reduce siltation, something that England’s polluted, frequently lifeless rivers desperately need. Beaver wetlands also sequester carbon, another much-needed ecosystem service.
“After centuries of absence, beavers are beginning to reclaim their rightful place in the English landscape,” said Otway and Pouget. “These industrious mammals, once hunted to extinction, are now being returned to our rivers and wetlands, bringing with them a wealth of ecological benefits.”
Read more: UK Rewilding Group Could Bring Rare White Storks To London
This article was written by Liam Pritchett on the PBN Website.
]]>This article was written by Claire Hamlett on the PBN Website.
]]>If you want to put your dog on a plant-based diet, it’s now easier than ever. There are at least a dozen nutritious plant-based dog food brands to choose from, available online and in stores. Many also make plant-based treats. There are even cultivated chicken dog treats now on sale in the UK for the first time.
“There has been a huge interest in vegan and sustainable pet diets recently,” Veterinary Professor of Animal Welfare Andrew Knight tells Plant Based News. “Many pet guardians and pet care industry professionals are learning that nutritionally sound vegan commercial pet foods now exist, and that these can offer significant benefits for pet health and environmental sustainability.”
Has this momentum now gathered enough pace that 2025 could become the year ethical dog food goes mainstream?
With the growth in veganism among humans over the past few years, it’s not surprising that more people have become conflicted about feeding traditional meat to their companion animals. According to Statista, in 2019 around 10.4 percent of animal guardians surveyed worldwide were feeding their dogs a plant-based diet some of time.
Read more: ‘World First’ Cat Food Made With Cultivated Chicken Is Here
Again in 2019, one study of Canadian dog and cat guardians found that 35 percent would consider feeding a plant-based diet to their animals. Of guardians who were themselves vegan (who accounted for six percent of survey respondents), 27 percent had already cut meat out of their animals’ diets.
A 2022 report by the Vegan Society found that, in the UK, just under a quarter of dog guardians said they had bought vegan dog food in the past. Additionally, 45 percent said they were interested in vegan food for their dog. Of those, 32 percent said they would be interested in it if it was healthy. Being cost comparative to meat-based food was also of concern to 13 percent of respondents.
The vegan dog food market is expected to keep growing. According to analysis by Data Bridge Market Research, its value will rise to $31.48 billion by 2029, up from from $12.27 billion in 2021. That’s a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.5 percent.
Vegan dog food brands have been raking in significant investment over the past few years. UK brand Omni appeared on BBC’s Dragons’ Den on February 6, where it secured a £75k investment. The success came a year after OMNI hit its £400,000 crowdfunding target within 15 minutes.
In 2023, Good Dog Food, a cultivated pet food company that launched in 2022, raised £3.6 million in a seed funding round. German-made VEGDOG netted an investment of about €3.5 million in late 2022. It said it would use the funds to expand into new markets and boost production.
In addition, established meat-based dog food brands including Lily’s Kitchen and Pets at Home own-brand Wainwright’s have added plant-based lines. This indicates that mainstream dog food brands are investing in developing new plant-based products.
A growing body of research shows that dogs can be perfectly healthy on an appropriate vegan diet. In the face of this evidence, the British Veterinary Association (BVA) finally acknowledged in 2024 that it is “possible” to feed a dog a “nutritionally sound” plant-based diet. Knight’s website on the subject of plant-based diets for companion animals also stresses the importance of choosing food that meets dogs’ nutritional needs. It advises guardians to check product labels carefully, and make sure brands are working with vets or animal nutrition experts. As dogs are omnivores, getting all the nutrients they need is what matters rather than getting them from specific sources, such as meat.
Multiple studies have found that plant-based diets can have health benefits for dogs. These studies included both clinical studies and large-scale guardian surveys. Among them was a 2022 study of 2,536 dogs fed vegan or meat-based diets for at least a year, led by Knight. Dogs on vegan diets had good health outcomes, as reported by guardians.
The study did not control for demographic variables like the age and exercise levels of the dogs. So Knight led a follow-up study published in 2024. After controlling for many factors relevant to the health of the dogs, it found that dogs fed vegan diets still had good health overall. They were less likely to need medication or to visit the vet very often.
The study of Canadian dog and cat guardians “even showed that dogs live 1.5 years longer on average – equivalent to around 10 extra years, for a human!” says Knight.
A systematic literature review was also published in 2023. It found “no convincing evidence of major impacts of vegan diets on dog or cat health.” It cautioned that guardian surveys could include “subjectivity around the outcomes.” But the findings for the benefits of vegan dog diets “were relatively consistent across several studies and should, therefore, not be disregarded.”
Read more: Alternative Proteins Bring Huge Economic Potential For Germany, Study Finds
Feeding meat to companion animals has significant environmental impacts. In the US alone, cats and dogs account for a third of the meat consumption. This makes them responsible for up to 80 million tonnes of emissions of methane and nitrous oxide in the US.
“The sustainability benefits of nutritionally sound vegan pet diets are game-changingly large,” says Knight. Another of his studied shows that if all dogs went vegan, it would reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by more than that emitted by the whole of the UK. It would spare an amount of land the size of Saudi Arabia or Mexico. Such a change would also save as much freshwater as that used by all of Denmark. Vegan diets for dogs would also spare 1.7 billion land animals from slaughter every year.
A separate study assessed the lifecycle of vegan dog food. Compared to meat-based dog food, a can of vegan dog food has 37 percent lower emissions. It uses 97 percent less land, and reduces eutrophication by 300 percent.
Where does cultivated meat for companion animals fit into this picture? In the UK, it gained regulatory approval in 2024. The cultivated dog treats available at Pets at Home, made by cultivated meat company Meatly in partnership with vegan dog food company The Pack, are the first such product on sale in the world. It’s likely to become more readily available in future, including as part of complete food for dogs and cats.
Cultivated meat is made using animal cells taken from a living animal, egg, feather, or similar. The cells are put in bioreactors with a solution containing nutrients like amino acids, sugars, and vitamins. Over time, the cells multiply and turn into muscle tissue, which can be harvested and processed into a meat product. As cultivated meat is real meat, and often requires the use of an animal and animal products in its production, it is not considered vegan. But many vegans support it as a possible route out of traditional animal agriculture. The Meatly/The Pack treats were made with cells extracted from a single chicken egg.
The environmental impact of animal agriculture is the reason that many hope cultivated meat will replace conventional meat for both humans and companion animals. Life-cycle assessments have shown it could reduce agricultural land use by between 64 and 90 percent. It also leads to fewer emissions and causes less water pollution than conventional meat.
Barriers remain to the wider acceptance of alternative diets for dogs. The Vegan Society’s 2022 report found that 32 percent of people with dogs surveyed did not think it’s right to feed companion animals vegan food. Three quarters of those people said they believed dogs need meat to survive. Just under 15 percent said that dogs are carnivores. However, the report found that there are many factors that could make people more amenable to the idea of feeding their dogs vegan food. Once these were considered, the number who said they would never buy vegan dog food dropped to 14 percent.
“Many remain unaware of the recent developments [in plant-based dog food],” says Knight. “There remains a huge need to educate pet guardians and the pet care industry about the recent paradigm-shifting developments in this field.”
Read more: Company Makes ‘Ultra-Realistic’ Vegan Meat Using Tech Inspired By Textile Manufacturing
This article was written by Claire Hamlett on the PBN Website.
]]>This article was written by Claire Hamlett on the PBN Website.
]]>Neuroscientists at the University of Southern California anaesthetized mice and placed them back in their cages. Other mice in the cages would sniff and groom the unconscious mice. If they still didn’t respond, their mates would start licking their heads and pulling their tongues. The researchers describe the behaviors as “distinct and consistent” towards immobile and unresponsive friends that would stop once the unconscious mice woke up.
Mice were also observed engaging in these behaviors with mice who were dead for a time, but not with mice who were simply asleep. This indicates that mice can distinguish between different states of consciousness. Giving “first aid” tended to help unconscious mice, particularly tongue pulling, as it opened up their airways.
Read more: Wild Fish Can Tell Humans Apart By Their Clothing, Study Finds
The mice were much more likely to try to help a mouse they knew compared to ones they didn’t. “That familiarity bias tells you that the animal’s not responding in a reflexive manner to the stimuli that they’re seeing,” James Burkett, a neuroscientist at the University of Toledo who wasn’t involved in the study, told NPR. “They’re actually taking into account aspects of the situation and the identity of the animal when they’re forming their response.”
The study shows that mice, like other social animals, may innately want to help unresponsive group members, the researchers conclude. While this adds to the large body of evidence that animals are socially complex beings with rich inner lives, the research occurred because mice are frequently tested on in research laboratories. In fact, the researchers decided to test how mice respond to unconscious cage mates because they had observed the behavior anecdotally after doing tests on mice in the past.
Mice and rats account for around 95 percent of animals used in experiments; mice are the most commonly used animal in biomedical research. Mice are favored for their small size, which makes it easier and cheaper to keep them captive, their quick reproduction, and their ease of handling.
Depending on what researchers are testing for, animals can suffer anything from mild discomfort to severe pain and stress. Campaigners have long argued that even “mild” experiments can cause serious physical and mental harm to animals. Many animal organizations are calling on the scientific community to move away from animal tests in favor of cruelty-free alternatives.
Plant Based News does not condone the use of animals in research.
Read more: Crabs And Other Crustaceans Do Feel Pain, Scientists Say
This article was written by Claire Hamlett on the PBN Website.
]]>This article was written by Claire Hamlett on the PBN Website.
]]>White wrote to Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra about the issue following a new investigation into forced monkey labor by PETA. Investigators from PETA Asia captured footage inside “schools” where baby pig-tailed macaques, an endangered species, are “trained” to pick coconuts. They are forcibly removed from their mothers and chained by the neck, some without access to water, some unable to reach other monkeys from whom they want to seek comfort.
Read more: UK Government ‘Won’t Be Commenting’ On Pre-Election Pledge To Ban Foie Gras
The third season of The White Lotus was filmed on Thai island Ko Samui, which White described as “a beautiful place” in his letter. “But I was shocked to learn from my friends at PETA that there and elsewhere in Thailand, monkeys are forced to work for the coconut industry,” he wrote. “I urge you to end this exploitation of our fellow primates and ensure that Thailand’s entire coconut industry transitions to humane harvesting methods that don’t rely on forced monkey labor.”
Monkeys have been used to pick coconuts in Thailand for centuries because they can pick far more in a day than humans can. Thailand is the tenth biggest coconut-producing country in the world. PETA Asia has done multiple investigations into the Thai coconut industry, revealing that the exploitation and abuse of monkeys is rampant.
At the monkey “schools,” handlers intimidate and abuse the animals to make them obedient, PETA Asia has reported. Handlers use methods including hitting monkeys and dangling them by their necks. Once the monkeys are “trained” they are sold to coconut farms where they are kept chained up in isolation in unsanitary conditions when they aren’t picking.
The “schools” are promoted to tourists, with coconut-picking “demonstrations” put on with adult monkeys who have already been abused into submission.
Read more: Wales Announces Plans To Ban Greyhound Racing
“Thailand’s coconut-picking training schools trick unsuspecting tourists into supporting these pits of despair, where baby monkeys are snatched from their mothers, deprived of everything that’s natural and important to them, and chained until they lose their minds,” PETA Vice President of UK Programmes and Operations Elisa Allen said in a statement. “PETA is urging the Thai government to shut down these abusive training schools and calling on consumers to vote with their wallets and only buy coconut milk from countries where monkey labour isn’t used, such as India, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka.”
White has been a vegan since 2005. In a testimonial for PETA in 2011, he explained that he it was his dog who influenced his decision to become vegan. “You know I have a dog who looks a lot like a pig, and I would look at him and I’d think, you know I can not eat pig any more,” he said.
His 2007 film Year of the Dog follows a character called Peggy as she deals with the death of her dog. Peggy becomes vegan, starts supporting animal rights causes, and adopts an abused dog.
When White was a contestant on The Amazing Race in 2009 with his dad, he sometimes struggled to find food he could eat. But he remained true to his principles. “Mike is a vegan, and there was hardly any food that he could eat along the way and he didn’t compromise, so there were times where he hadn’t eaten for two days, anything solid,” White’s father Mel said in an interview after the race.
This article was written by Claire Hamlett on the PBN Website.
]]>This article was written by Liam Pritchett on the PBN Website.
]]>Researchers observed fish using visual cues like diving gear color to tell humans apart. The saddled sea bream and black sea bream used in the study possess “acute color vision,” which they successfully used to distinguish between divers with different colored clothing.
This phenomenon was observed at both a population level and within identifiable individuals. However, when divers wore matching gear, correct identification was “greatly diminished.”
Maëlan Tomasek of Germany’s Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour led the study, alongside Katinka Soller and Alex Jordan. The study – titled “Wild fish use visual cues to recognize individual divers” – was published in the journal Biology Letters earlier this month.
The new study noted that evidence from captive conditions suggests many aquatic species – such as octopuses and archerfish – can recognize different humans. In this case, however, researchers studied the bream within their natural habitat, the Mediterranean Sea.
Read more: Crabs And Other Crustaceans Do Feel Pain, Scientists Say
Speaking to the Guardian, Tomasek suggested that his team’s research could prompt a reconsideration of how humans treat fish and other aquatic animals.
“It’s very human to not want to care about them, but the fact that they can care about us, maybe it’s time that we can care about them, too,” said Tomasek.
Separate research from 2023 found that certain fish can recognize themselves in pictures and reflective surfaces, which the authors suggested could indicate self-awareness. Another study, also from 2023, indicated that individuals from the tiny, tropical bluestreak cleaner wrasse species may check their size in a reflection before attacking other fish.
In 2024, other scientists from the Max Planck Institute captured footage of octopuses and fish hunting cooperatively. Speaking to NBC at the time, the study’s co-author Eduardo Sampaio noted that humans are “very similar to these animals,” and “closer than we think.”
Read more: Aquaculture Kills More Wild Fish Than Previously Thought, Study Finds
This article was written by Liam Pritchett on the PBN Website.
]]>This article was written by Polly Foreman on the PBN Website.
]]>Authorities said that the “sport” – which is widely regarded as cruel – will be outlawed “as soon as practically possible.” No timeline has been announced, but an “implementation group” will work with ministers to flesh out proposals and look at countries that have introduced bans.
“There will be work to do in ensuring the dogs, their owners, and those involved in the industry around the racetrack can wind down from this activity while still protecting the welfare of dogs currently within the industry, the local community, and the local economy,” said Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies in a statement.
Read more: UK Government ‘Won’t Be Commenting’ On Pre-Election Pledge To Ban Foie Gras
The ban received cross-party support in Wales, and a Welsh Government proposal previously found that 64.69 percent of the population supported it. A 2023 petition calling for a ban gained more than 35,000 signatures.
Wales follows in the footsteps of countries including New Zealand (Aotearoa), which announced its own ban last December.
Using animals for sport is highly controversial, and greyhound racing has long been condemned by animal advocacy groups over concerns that it’s exploitative and cruel.
“Greyhound racing is inherently dangerous for the dogs involved, and running at speed around oval tracks causes significant injury to many dogs,” Dogs Trust said in a statement. “In some cases, the injuries are so severe that it is necessary to euthanize the dog.”
Read more: Why Isn’t Horse Riding Vegan? Everything You Need To Know
This article was written by Polly Foreman on the PBN Website.
]]>This article was written by Liam Pritchett on the PBN Website.
]]>Ongoing Brexit negotiations with Brussels over a veterinary agreement could potentially make such a ban impossible. Both the UK and Brussels aim to minimize the need for border checks – which have increased since the referendum – in order to boost economic growth.
The Guardian reports that animal rights groups are concerned a veterinary deal with minimal red tape will involve mutual recognition of animal welfare standards. Certain animal products, such as foie gras, are illegal to produce in the UK but remain legal in Europe.
Less than one year ago, current Environment Secretary Steve Reed told The Times that if Labour was elected, it would build on its “proud track record” on animal welfare by banning the commercial import of foie gras, “where ducks and geese are aggressively force-fed.”
Foie gras is French for “fat liver,” and the paté-like dish is created by force-feeding birds until their livers swell. Foie gras production has been illegal in the UK for nearly 20 years, but according to the RSPCA around 200 tonnes of the controversial food was imported in 2021.
Read more: Another French Town Has Ditched Foie Gras
Research conducted by Humane World for Animals (formerly Humane Society International) indicates that 77 percent of voters want a ban on animal products like foie gras with production methods that are already banned in the UK. Seventy-two percent want more laws to improve animal welfare overall.
Abigail Penny, Executive Director of Animal Equality UK, told Plant Based News (PBN): “The Labour Government made an electoral pledge to ban foie gras imports – a commitment that was met with widespread public support. This promise to the people cannot be broken; lip service won’t save animals, only action will. Animals used and abused for foie gras are already exploited so terribly, they cannot be treated as a political hot potato too. Public patience is wearing thin. We will fight to ensure this ban comes to fruition.”
PBN has reached out to the Department for Environment, Food, & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for comment. When asked about whether the government would commit to a foie gras import ban, a DEFRA spokesperson told the Guardian “We won’t be commenting on this one.”
Read more: Cultivated Foie Gras Company Submits Novel Food Application In Five Markets
This article was written by Liam Pritchett on the PBN Website.
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