Basically, what FreeAnimalVideo.org does is provides high-quality clips of animals in all kinds of situations — animals in entertainment, animals in sports and fashion, farm animals, laboratory animals, wildlife, companion animals — and allows anyone to download and use them for free. The videos you can download include everything from general footage that can be placed into a larger context (like a nibbling lamb or a close-up on a goose), to absolutely horrific stuff, like a white fox being anally electrocuted. There are promotional videos for animal advocacy organizations as well. The videos are made available in either HD (suitable for TV), or lower-quality that will suffice for “the internet machine” (I stole that term from Rachel Maddow — who, now that I’m thinking about it, should totally use some of this footage and actually cover an animal story on her show). You can also submit videos, either by uploading them, or sending in physical tapes.

This brilliant activist resource is the brainchild of founders Sandra Mohr and Patty Shenker.

Here is an example of how the footage has been used. The clip below shows our friend Jane Velez-Mitchell (who was on our podcast last year), of CNN’s HLN show, “Issues With Jane Velez-Mitchell.”

Now, you can view the entire workshop for free on the Lewis & Clark website (just fyi — viewing it requires that your computer be up to date with Silverlight). It’s a good workshop to even have on in the background as you do house chores or the likes. In other words, you only really need to hear it.

Even more exciting for us (since we did, in fact, already attend our own workshop) is that the vast majority of the workshops presented throughout the weekend are now up on the Lewis & Clark site. We are pretty stoked to catch up on some of the ones we missed, and revisit the workshops we already attended. Some highlights include “Drawing Connections Between Animal Law and Other Disciplines” by Taimie Bryant and Maneesha Deckha, “Developing New Legal Theories to Help Animals: Benefits and Limitations” by Kathy Hessler and Matthew Liebman, and “Where Did Your Food Really Come From? A Guide to Food Labeling,” by Carter Dillard and Will Fantle.

Queenie Poster by Sue Coe

Our video-short takes you on a journey narrated by Sue herself, and features selections from her vast body of work. In it, she describes the impetus behind her life’s work – growing up next door to a hog farm and hearing the hogs’ screaming as they were led to slaughter. These experiences left an indelible mark on her. In turn, she leaves her own mark on the hearts and minds of anyone who views her images, which have been shown in galleries and museums all over the world. The unapologetically graphic nature of her work results in us, the viewers, bearing witness to suffering – a fate that began for Sue so many years ago – yet also leaves us feeling inspired to create change. For Sue Coe, and for many of us who take in her images, complacency is no longer an option. Though many vegans and animal rights advocates are already aware of these realities, even seasoned activists will be moved and inspired by Coe’s artistic explorations of animal suffering.

Now, we invite you to experience the revelatory images that document the reality of animal exploitation, and to learn first-hand from Sue Coe how her journey into this oftentimes dark, but very real world, manifested.

UPDATE:

Keep your eyes open for Sue Coe’s book, Cruel, which will be available from www.orbooks.com in Spring 2012.

Here’s the short version of how this venture started: Writer and filmmaker Lucy Cooke fell in love with Taz, a baby sloth who (get this!) she first learned about while watching a Youtube video! So Cooke traveled 5,000 miles to Costa Rica to meet him, which is when she got to witness, first-hand, the extremely touching stories of the world’s only sloth orphanage. According to Cooke, as reported on her website, at this orphanage, “Orphaned baby sloths whose mothers have been zapped by power lines or hit by cars are brought to the sanctuary to be cared for by legendary sloth whisperer Judy Arroyo.” Inspired and moved (duh!), Cooke made a short video called Meet the Sloths, which immediately became a huge success — so much so that it was covered in major media outlets worldwide, including making it into New York Magazine’s much revered ”Approval Matrix.” The next steps for Cooke in her quest to raise awareness about these glorious (and off-the-radar adorable) sloths was clearly a book deal (hello, Simon and Schuster!), and a full-length documentary based on her original short video, which is airing on Animal Planet in the United States tomorrow, Saturday, December 17, at 8 p.m. EST.

Is this an Our Hen House dream story, or what? Here you have a woman who was touched and moved by an animal story, so she took it upon herself to create smart, independent media about it. Awareness was raised (um, understatement of the year), the media caught on, and now, I’d imagine that The Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica will have a few donations coming in for the holidays (speaking of which…). And, most importantly, people (like me!) are learning about these precious creatures (prehistoric sloths stood up to 7 meters tall!). By the way, if you’re starting to think about your 2012 vacation, you might consider offering your services at the sanctuary’s volunteer program, which provides both room and board (not sure about the veganness of it, but obviously if they’re not there yet, that’s obviously something that you could bring to your conversation with these sloth-heroes).

Check out the trailer for Lucy Cooke’s sloth documentary… But make sure you turn your computer’s cute-meter off, because the needle might break your screen:

In Roxborough, a Philadelphia neighborhood, hundreds of toads migrate from nearby woods and gardens to the Roxborough Reservoir. Each year, more than a hundred toads are squished by cars on their way to the Reservoir. In Toad Detour, a community-wide project to save these toads’ lives, the first step was to make people aware of the problem.

Second, the caring people behind the Detour, along with a number of organizations — including the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education and Mobilization For Animals – banded together, got the cooperation of local authorities, and came up with a workable solution. During the migration season, a cadre of volunteers went out on the roads to establish a temporary road detour. Not only did they man (person?) the barricades to avert traffic, they armed themselves with signs and brochures to educate the community about helping the toads migrate safely.

Toad Detour

Third, they didn’t keep it to themselves. They created a website and a facebook page to spread the word.

You might think that all that is enough, but these folks took it to the next level. The fourth step was that filmmaker Burgess Coffield decided to make a film of the project, which will enable so many more people to learn about it and be inspired to apply it in their own communities. If you’re anywhere near Philly, a screening of the film will take place tomorrow, Saturday, December 10.

I am sure you are wondering what could possibly be fifth. Well, there will be refreshments served at the screenings, and all of the food will be vegan. A gentle reminder to all who come to find out about the toads, that all the animals need our caring.

Perfect.

Oh Canada!

Well, not to worry, Toronto’s food is outrageous. In fact, it’s so good that Jasmin had to get it into a video — A Vegan Taste of Toronto — so that when others, like you, are planning a trip, you will know exactly where to go. Luckily, since we only had a few days there, Jasmin managed to find two very vegan-savvy locals to show her the ins and outs. Jo-Anne McArthur is not only an incredible photographer and photojournalist who has devoted herself to capturing the lives of animals around the world and recording them in the ongoing project We Animals, but she is also a woman who knows her soy-chicken and waffles from top to bottom. And Karol Orzechowski, a filmmaker who is in the midst of production for his in-depth look at the animals, and people, caught in the trap of vivisection – Maximum Tolerated Dose – found some restaurants for Jasmin to visit that even other local vegans hadn’t been to yet.

We hope you enjoy this quick virtual trip to Toronto, which we made in collaboration with VegNews TV. We are sure it will inspire you to try the real thing very soon.

Captain Paul Watson

And now this message is about to get even bigger. Eco-Pirate: The Story of Paul Watson is a documentary that is now hitting the festivals and will soon be gaining wider exposure. According to Variety, the movie has plenty of human drama. While definitely portraying Watson as a hero, it doesn’t hide any of what some people might call flaws, and delves into some of the divisiveness between him and other environmentalists, prominently Greenpeace. But most importantly, and as is clear from the trailer, this human drama serves as the vehicle for telling the story of what is happening to the animals. As such, the “film is certain to attract devotees to the cause.”

Films that tell the truth about animals are the most powerful tool available to activists. It is exciting to find that another one will soon be available to help spread the word.

Well, those days are over. I am inspired. I am empowered. I am in awe. And, most importantly, I now know that, like every other worthwhile endeavor, knitting can be a form of activism. Vegan knitting has arrived.

When Jasmin set out to make this video — Vegan Knitting 101 — for VegNews TV with vegan knitting authority Beth Begany, we never imagined just how many beautiful vegan yarns were out there ready to be turned into wearable art. Beth’s skills are truly extraordinary — she not only seems to know every stitch ever invented but she can turn out a scarf in the time it takes me to put on my socks (which she also made, of course) — but even if I never get to her level, I know I will never again leave a project unfinished, wasting away in a drawer, waiting sadly for me to pick it up again. I now know that by finishing my projects and proudly wearing (or gifting) them, I am spreading the word that the beauty and comfort and tradition of knitting, like everything else in our world, can not only be cruelty-free, but will be better than ever once we learn how to leave the sheep in peace.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Sad picture:

A Fall From Freedom

A Fall from Freedom promises to be an important contribution to the fight to end the captive dolphin and whale industry. Featuring in-depth conversations with scientists, biologists, animal trainers and activists, it not only reveals the absolute necessity of wildness for these animals, and the impossibility of providing them with humane lives in captivity, it goes directly to the source of the problem, Sea World.

According to the film’s press release, “Sea World is responsible for the death of thousands of dolphins and whales, so states former Sea World biologist Dr. John Hall.” The film aims to reveal the role that Sea World has played in the tragedy of the captive marine mammal industry, and highlights the work of those who are fighting against it.

This film could not be more timely, with the annual dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan just getting under way. As with so many of the films that are emerging constantly on issues of crucial importance to animals, widespread distribution will ultimately rely on grassroots efforts. The film will be screened in September in San Rafael, CA, and can be streamed online or purchased online in DVD or MP4 format. Keep this movie in mind for potential screenings, whether at your local library, school, or just in your own home for friends and family. Marine mammals are very special and meaningful to so many people, even those who have not yet been enlightened regarding other animals. The more of them that can learn the truth, the less we will see of Sea World and its ilk.

Myq, not Mike

So, without further ado, we bring your our latest installment of the Our Hen House Art of the Animal Series, featuring Myq Kaplan. Art of the Animal explores the work of artists of all kinds who speak up for animals through their artform, and we’re thrilled to feature Myq, the first official funny person for our series. (Special thanks to Culture & Animals Foundation for making this possible.)

Photo at top of blog: “hahaha” embroidered shirt from Sacred Waste

As promised, you can now view the (abridged) version of this one-of-a-kind talk by one of our heroes, James McWilliams:

Special thanks to Dun-Well Doughnuts!

And, for old time sake (and since we love the design so much), here was the original poster:

And now, at long last, finding apt, timely, hard-hitting, and inspiring animal rights videos is even easier than enjoying a delicious vegan cupcake (which, duh, is clearly a no-brainer). VegVids, a new project by the wonderful people at VegFund, allows you to thumb through hundreds of vegan and animal rights themed short films, so that you can share them, learn from them, and even submit your own, making it a cinch to to truly utilize these videos to their fullest. According to VegFund’s Video Outreach Director, Adam Orand, VegVids is a “comprehensive source of vegan-themed videos from around the web — accessible by activists and the general public.”

Searchable categories include Advocacy in Action, Health & Nutrition, Just for Kids, Race & Equality, and many more. There’s also a featured section, in case you’re feeling lazy or want the luck of the draw. The videos that are posted include those from organizations (such as PETA and Farm Sanctuary) as well as individuals (perhaps those with a Flipcam and a Dream). Upon a quick perusal, I found eye-opening and touching videos including Veganism (A 7-Year-Old’s Perspective), John Robbins on Meals for Health Program, and Vegan Consciousness, Structural Racism, Solidarity: “It’s not about you as an individual racist.” 

This is one of the greatest aggregators I’ve seen with the goal of acting as an “invaluable resource for many forms of outreach and education.” As someone who is constantly on the lookout for new video tools with the power to reach people with varying interests (and therefore varying avenues into compassion), this website has quickly become a fave.

The fabulous folks at VegNews told us that just by voting, these are the fabulous prizes you will be entered to win;

Grand Prize: VEGAN CARIBBEAN CRUISE
Get ready to embark on an all-expense paid vegan vacation of a lifetime. You and one very lucky guest will sail on the breathtaking Italian luxury liner Poesia for a weeklong cruise with Holistic Holiday at Sea. Nourish your mind, body, and spirit as you traverse the clear-blue waters of the Carribbean, enjoying stops at St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas. While on board, enjoy artfully prepared organic vegan cuisine, morning yoga, cooking classes, educational seminars, evening parties, and so much more. In addition, you’ll enjoy dinner at the stunning all-vegan Sublime restaurant in Fort Lauderdale before setting sail. Bon voyage!

First Prize: YEAR SUPPLY OF COCONUT BLISS ICE CREAM
Imagine taking a bite of one of the richest, most decadent vegan ice creams available. Now, imagine having this indulgent dairy-free frozen dessert in your freezer 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for an entire year. With flavors like Chocolate Walnut Brownie, Ginger Cookie Caramel, and Pineapple Coconut, Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss is perfect for sundaes, milkshakes, or just right out of the carton. This coconut-based ice cream will leave you in a state of bliss, guaranteed.

Second Prize: VEGANTREATS DESSERT PARTY
Did someone say Peanut Butter Bomb Cake? We did, and we’re offering an entire party’s worth of cake, brownies, cookies, cannolis, doughnuts, sticky buns, and more from VeganTreats bakery just in time for the holidays. Think platters of Tahitian Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies, White Chocolate Pretzel Brownies, and Marshmallow Cream Doughnuts (and that’s just the beginning). One lucky winner will receive three dozen of VeganTreats’ very best, plus free tote bags, t-shirts, and buttons for the ultimate vegan dessert party. Let’s just say you’re going to need a lot of almond milk for this shindig.

Third Prize: VITAMIX BLENDER
Make silky-smooth soups, refreshing smoothies, and the perfect cashew-cheese sauce with a state-of-the-art Vitamix blender, a favorite of the VegNews staff. With a motor that packs some serious horsepower and blades spinning at upwards of 240 miles per hour, the Vitamix’s power and performance can’t be beat, and neither will the ice cream, bisques, and piña coladas you make with it (send photos!). This industry-leading culinary contraption is a must-have in every vegan kitchen.

Plus, Weekly Giveaways! CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE BOXES
Trust us, you’ve never tasted vegan truffles like these. Premium Chocolatiers’ 30-truffle boxes feature classic, decadent flavors such as “milk” fudge, coffee, Grand Marnier, raspberry, and salted caramel made with the company’s own soymilk-based pareve chocolate. Whether you’re spending the evening hosting a dinner party or simply relaxing at home, you will want these luxurious truffles by your side. (five winners)

It has long been our hope (and secret ambition!) to bring flash mob musical activism to AR. And, while they are not exactly a mob, we are thrilled to see that The Haymarket Squares, a “punkgrass” band out of Arizona, has done just that. After all, the essence of the flash mob is the music and the takeover of public space, not the number of participants. And The Haymarket Squares definitely took over the space that they chose to target, which just happened to be their local KFC. Here are some of the choice lyrics which they treated the customers to:

Meet the product of laboratory tests, Stuffed in cages, a maze of metal nests, Drunk on hormones, they grow till they’re grotesque, It barely passes for a life, And at the end the butcher’s knife. They’re just animals, what’s the harm? Another day of dirty work, down on the farm.

This is undoubtedly one of my favorite videos ever in the whole world. I particularly love the dancing chicken.

For those in Arizona, you can catch the band live on July 22 at the Hollywood Alley in Mesa. The rest of us will have to settle for liking them on facebook, listening to their album and, if you’re like me, for just playing the video over and over and (in spite of the gruesome lyrics) laughing out loud every single time.

After being involved in a car accident that caused him to tragically lose his leg on Christmas Eve 2002, the precious dog who would become known as Tiny Tim (after the inspiring Charles Dickens character) found his way to the North Shore Animal League, and eventually to John’s home and heart. As these little creatures frequently do, Tiny Tim inched his way into John’s world in capacities that John never thought possible, and now, Tiny Tim’s legacy lives on.

John founded The Tiny Tim Rescue Fund so that much-needed money and awareness can be raised about shelter dogs in life-threatening situations who are relying on our help. According to the website, “The money raised by the Tiny Tim Rescue Fund goes to providing these dogs with medical attention, foster parents and, eventually, a loving forever home — a place all pets deserve.”

The clothes that are part of the chic Tiny Tim collection feature the dog’s silhouette, and, in addition to supporting this vitally important cause (since a percentage of the sales from the collection are funneled into the Fund), also allow stylish wearers the added benefit of displaying their advocacy for all to see. I have no doubt that the striking design will spur conversations that will lead to opportunities to enlighten others to the plight of dogs in dire situations and the heroic work of those fighting to rescue them.

Let me just add that John Bartlett is one of my favorite activists ever. His love for Tiny Tim opened his eyes to issues affecting all animals — from shelter dogs, to animals exploited by the fur industry, to farmed animals. As he explained when we interviewed him, John intends to use his platform as a designer to change the world for animals, whether that means publicly boycotting fur and encouraging other designers to follow suit, to proclaiming in mainstream media that he “wants to be a 100% vegan designer,” to using his clothing line (and one might say life line) to speak up for dogs in shelters. John Barlett is as true blue as they come.

Check out John’s heartwarming video below for more about the Tiny Tim Rescue Fund.

TINY TIM RESCUE FUND from j bartlettny on Vimeo.

Photo courtesy Farm Sanctuary

This campaign also sets forth goals that are attainable by anyone, asking folks to pledge to be meat-free for a day, a month, or forever. So even your meat-guzzling Aunt Ida, who swears to the heavens that she eats vegan on Mondays, can take part. Hopefully her one-day pledge will grow into 3, 5, and maybe 7 days a week of veganism. That’s the goal.

Plate to Planet also includes a cute video, narrated by Jason Schwartzman, that walks through a day in the life of a dad who, throughout his daily activities, becomes enlightened to the necessity of veganism as a way to preserve our planet (not to mention all its inhabitants).

Me and my sweet pit bull, Rose.

Here in Our Hen House, we have approached pit bull issues and advocacy many times, including interviewing, for our podcast, the manager of animal fighting issues at HSUS, John Goodwin, all about the horrors inherent in dog-fighting and how to end it for good; documenting through video a pit bull vaccination clinic in Oakland California that BAD RAP was organizing; speaking with Best Friends’ lawyer Ledy Van Kavage all about breed discriminatory laws and how people can work to put an end to them; reviewing The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick’s Dogs and Their Tale of Rescue and Redemption; and publishing a variety of blog entries aimed at providing opportunities for animal lovers to get further involved with pit bull advocacy. Some of my favorite blogs we’ve published on that subject include Art for Pitties (featuring a NYC-based fundraising initiative that partnered with pit bull lovers and artists to create an animal-friendly art show to raise awareness); How to PACK a Punch (featuring a club comprised of kind-hearted volunteers who regularly run adoptable shelter dogs from Washington Humane Society’s adoption centers); and, of course, Rescue Chocolate (a totally vegan chocolate company that raises money for animal charities, with a strong bent toward pit bulls, as is evident from the gorgeous pit bull who graces the package of every Rescue Chocolate chocolate bar).

Now, a film that is due to come out this winter is next in line for shaking things up  in the pit bull activism world, doing its part to advocate for these precious creatures. “Guilty ‘Til Proven Innocent” is a new documentary created by River Fire Films that nobly touts the tag line, “Putting an END to Breed Discrimination.” The question raised on the film’s website is one that I hope anyone not yet enlightened to pit bull issues, and the gloriousness of these dogs, will consider: “Do we have a dangerous dog breed problem, or do we have dangerous laws targeting dog breeds?”

Check out the trailer below, and then stay tuned for this film’s distribution coming this winter. It will clearly be yet another tool for us to use to end violence, cruelty, and ignorance regarding pit bulls. Of course, the fact that this particular tool comes in video form makes me beam, since film is perhaps the strongest communicator for anyone working toward social change. As this film will hopefully demonstrate, the only thing dangerous about pit bulls are the misconceptions that surround them.

This is from the description of the event:

In this second Changemaking presentation, Our Hen House’s Jasmin Singer will speak from personal experience in the blogosphere – including the use of blogging to create social change. She will also tell you how she became a freelance writer – and how you can too… Most importantly, you will leave knowing how to take the first steps in using your written voice to raise awareness and compassion.

Held at NYC’s Mercy for Animals headquarters on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the event was packed with a roomful of writer-activists, both established and budding. It was a dense seventy-five minute workshop that covered the following categories: the importance of writing for animal rights; finding your voice; networking; letters to the editor; op-eds; writing to other media; writing to your legislators; blogging; magazine articles; fiction; non-fiction; getting an agent; and finding (and being) a mentor. I hope that by the end of the workshop, attendees felt equipped to take their written activism a step further — whether by writing one letter to the editor every week, or by working on that great American novel that focuses on animal issues. As a bonus, author John Yunker (The Tourist Trail) provided in-depth knowledge about writing fiction as a means of social change.

Excitingly, we experimented with live-streaming the workshop, and I can now say that I’m officially obsessed with live-streaming. Though, admittedly, the video, which is recorded with a web cam, doesn’t end up looking professionally produced, it is absolutely simple (and free) to live-stream, as we learned last night, and opens up the workshop to those who are eager to attend but can’t be there in person. If you get yourself a free subscription to Live Stream, which is what we used (as opposed to their expensive paid subscription), then the only two drawbacks are that commercials pop up from time to time, and only 50 people are allowed to view the video live. Still, it’s a great place to start, and you can access the video afterwards, which is a huge plus.

I am happy to share with you some of the handouts from the “Writing for Animal Rights” workshop, as well as the video recording of the workshop itself. Here are the handouts (in PDF form):

• OUTLINE_Writing for Animal Rights(a full summary of the workshop divided by subject; all you really need)
• JOHN_YUNKER_Interview (a Q&A on fiction-writing from author of The Tourist Trail, John Yunker)
• Exercise_for_Workshop (an interactive brainstorming exercise for attendees)
• Successful_Pitching_Tips (successful pitching tips from the managing editor of VegNews Magazine)

And here is the video of the presentation itself (which you can also view here):

The next Changemaking series will occur in June (date TBD but email Eddie at eddieg[at]mercyforanimals.org to stay looped in). The topic will be “Animal Law for the Non-Lawyer,” and it will be presented by my partner in crime, animal rights law professor (and Our Hen House co-founder) Mariann Sullivan.

The connections between the gay rights and animal rights movements has always been a very important theme in my own thinking about activism. Though I’ve written about it, and have even presented workshops at social justice conferences on the interconnections among social justice movements, my own thoughts on this subject are still a work in progress — something that I continue to explore and learn about. I’m very interested in others’ experiences with bridging social justice issues, including the LGBT/animal connection. In addition to the potential for awakening ourselves to others’ plights and fights — and having the opportunity to reach out to other communities with the animal rights message — exploring the connections can give us deeper insight (or perhaps our very first insight) into the dangers inherent in the “othering” mentality — you are different than me, which gives me the right to insert-the-blank.

Who better to start our Gay Animal series than Nathan Runkle, executive director and founder of Mercy for Animals? As we’ve previously talked about here in Our Hen House, Nathan — and Mercy for Animals — have been connecting the dots for years. But I want to stop rambling, because what Nathan has to say is thought-provoking, at-times revelatory, and poetic.

Welcome to The Gay Animal.

http://www.rational-animal.org/

With this innovative project, the people at Rational Animal work with volunteers to create comfortable homemade beds for dogs and cats at NYC shelters — animals housed in small cages, whose bedding usually consists of towels. They also make catnip toys for the feline variety. The kind people at Rational Animal then deliver the goods (as well as lots of love) to Animal Care & Control. According to their website, “To date, over 2000 beds and 1500 toys have been delivered to New York City shelters, providing comfort for thousands of animals.”

One of the coolest things about this project is that the volunteers who are pitching in to help gather together to do their stitching, providing a wonderful opportunity to meet new friends who share a compassionate outlook. If you’re in NYC and interested in helping, they are having a sewing event this Sunday,  March 27, in Park Slope, Brooklyn (info is available on their website). And if you’re not in NYC, howzabout creating a similar hands-on program in your community? You can even team up your own sewing event with some vegan snacks (or make it a potluck), speaking out for all animals in one fell swoop (or, as Mariann likes to say, “one swell foop”).

Check out this moving video that details Rational Animal’s “Mother Comfort Project.” Oh, and two vegan brownie points to them for creating this video in the first place… it’s such a perfect homage to the work they do. Oh, the power of video…

Turkey Resident at VINE Sanctuary

This got me to thinking about cooking videos. Television is obsessed with all things culinary, whether it be the Food Network, or reality shows centering around cooking, or chat shows featuring favorite chefs, etc., etc. Happily, vegans have come up on top in at least a few instances (winning Cupcake Wars not once, but twice!). But frequently, these shows are geared more toward food voyeurism than actual skill-building. If you’re like me, you don’t have a whole lot of fancy kitchen devices, even though you may love to cook. If you’re relying on reality shows to give you a 101, you’re probably screwed.

What VINE did — creating an online cooking class in an unpretentious and relatable way — is not only genius, but it’s inspiring. I rarely ever shut up when it comes to the power of a Flipcam and a Dream, and VINE is a perfect example of that. Of the three people responsible for creating their short masterpiece (Miriam, Aram, and their buddy Ed, who assisted with filming and some simple editing), none were “professional” filmmakers.

I’m telling you, as someone who taught herself how to edit in iMovie (and who is now learning Final Cut Pro), basic editing is really very simple, and is essential to propelling forward our movement’s online presence. Self-made, DIY media — like cooking classes — have enormous potential, especially when marketed correctly. And don’t get scared by the word “marketed.” I am referring to very basic things, like posting on your social networks, asking others to help cross-promote, and perhaps emailing a few vegan or animal rights blogs with a “press release” of sorts, alerting them to your new project. At the end of the day, we are a supportive community, wanting very much to do our parts in helping to spread the word and spread compassion.

You can also step outside the vegan box here. While sending around the new video you create, be sure to reach out to specialty blogs too. For example, if your cooking class will center around easy vegan chocolate concoctions (and please oh please will someone make that video?), be sure to send it to the oodles of chocolate-centric websites out there! That’s how you extend beyond the bubble.

So check out VINE’s video below (and, while you’re at it, do them a solid and “like” them on Facebook), and then, get yourself a Flipcam or something else like that, and do something with it that might – just might — advance the greater good. I cannot wait to see what you come up with. I can already taste the success.

Sanctuaries are, of course, very much at the heart of the animal rights movement. Though it’s frequently the big ones that wind up on our radar, it’s important to remember that less-talked-about havens like VINE exist — using their limited resources to provide the utmost care for animals, nursing them back to health so that they can live out the rest of their lives as naturally and peacefully as possible.

I am lucky enough to have visited VINE more than once, even interviewing co-founder Miriam Jones and sanctuary superstar Aram Polster for the Our Hen House podcast. I admire what these two (and so many other sanctuary workers) do; devoting their days and nights to providing care for hundreds of animals, and asking for nothing in return. With VINE, their sanctuary work extends beyond the actual grounds, from their informative and touching blog (you really must subscribe) to their pertinent education and advocacy work.

chickens perching on trees

At the sanctuary itself, it’s common for rescued chickens to burrow in one of the tall Evergreen trees. Many choose to sleep there, even through the cold Vermont winter nights, despite having warm barns available to them. It’s such a stark reminder of the freedom that we humans so selfishly steal from them; they want to perch and roost, socialize and interact with their bird friends. Several times during my visits, I would watch with horror as a chicken way high up in the tree would suddenly jump off her branch, wings extended. Though it looked as though the bird had a death wish, turns out she was just soaring. I swear, if you listened closely, you could hear her singing “WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee……”

Even despite their egregiously abusive histories (to say the least), the animals at VINE — birds and otherwise — can learn to relish life. In the case of Jack the horse, a former neglected “nurse horse” who wanted very badly to join Mariann and I on a snowy New Year’s hike, they can even learn to trust. It is so totally heartbreaking and heartwarming, at the same time.

For us activists, taking in rescued farmed animals and providing them with sanctuary is noble and important work. (Farm Sanctuary offers an extensive resource on establishing your own sanctuary.) But for those of who don’t have the bandwidth to care for farmed animals (or the space, zoning requirements, stamina or knowledge), supporting sanctuaries like VINE — both monetarily as well as through the virtual grapevine (follow VINE on Facebook and Twitter) — not only helps them to survive, but also provides them with the resources necessary to take in more animals.

I should mention that I’m also a big fan and friend of sanctuary co-founder, Miriam Jones. Below, you’ll see a short video I made during a recent visit where Miriam talks about everything from rehabbing roosters (something VINE is known for) to the meaning behind the new name — Veganism is the Next Evolution.

We at Our Hen House are lucky enough to be able to make videos for some Mayor’s Alliance events. One of my favorites has to be when CNN’s Jane Velez-Mitchell (host of Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell) adopted little Kennedy, a tiny chihuahua with a gigantic heart.

kitty

Today, I’m excited to bring you our newest video in collaboration with the Mayor’s Alliance. This video covered the remarkable event entitled “Architects for Animals,” which brought together some of the City’s brightest and best architects who worked on making warm, cozy homes for some lucky members of New York’s feral cat population. Of course, above all else, the event — which was organized by the New York City Feral Cat Initiative (part of the Mayor’s Alliance coalition) — was an awareness-raising extravaganza, opening eyes and hearts to the city’s fabulous and feral felines.

I hope you see this video not only as a way to help people learn about the feral cat issue, but also as a way to demonstrate how cutting-edge and cool advocacy can be. This event was swank and stylish. Not to be too brutally honest, but what was the last cat-awareness event you can say that about? It just goes to show you that if you think outside the box (the litter box? sorry…), you can make even the most seemingly hard-to-sell situation a fabulous opportunity to change the world. Oh, and get that on video.

Special thanks to Evan Creem for making this video pop.

At one point while I was editing this video, I sought help from the smart folks at the Mac store, who are much more adept in Final Cut Pro than I. After sitting with one of them for an hour, I noticed him start to tear up, and he told me how moved he was by Gretchen’s words. Her writing is profound, much like her passion. I’m thrilled to show you our newest Art of the Animal series video entitled “Gretchen Primack: Poetic Animal.”

We hope that you’ll watch our 8-minute end-of-year video, share it with your friends, and, if you’re able to, consider making a donation so that we can continue to reach more people through expanded outreach efforts and multimedia capabilities.

On behalf of Our Hen House, thank you for your compassion. Only by working together can we change the world for animals.

These facts (well, minus the one about me) are thanks to Farm Sanctuary’s Adopt-A-Turkey Project, which is one of my favorite campaigns ever. For those of you who are starting to feel the angst and sadness that is so common around Thanksgiving, a misrepresented holiday that has somehow become centered around dead animals, utilizing some of the tools that this campaign has can be an effective way to channel the icky feelings.

Courtesy Farm Sanctuary

In addition to actually adopting or sponsoring a turkey (and trust me, those certificates you get are a perfect addition to your family’s Thanksgiving table), and making some of the cruelty-free Thanksgiving recipes that their website boasts, you can also share one of the most important videos to be circulated this season…

According to the website, Thanksgiving’s Toll on Turkeys “exposes the truth behind commercial turkey production, explores why these sensitive, social animals are worthy of our protection and encourages viewers to adopt a new Thanksgiving tradition.”

Here’s how I myself used that video today:

The place where I get my eyebrows threaded (I know, I know…) sent out an email glibly saying “It’s almost TURKEY TIME!” and “Gobble gobble, enjoy your bird,” and other unfortunate things like that, which I of course found offensive and annoying. I emailed them a very positive, kind email (this is important folks, since if we are negative, people will shut us out), explaining that though I love the way they do eyebrows (my eyebrows are seriously fabulous), I do not appreciate being solicited with emails like this, and I am certainly not alone in abstaining from supporting such cruelty. I briefly explained that turkey production is not a laughing matter, and then I linked to the video (which Gmail then conveniently attached to my email — thanks, Gmail). I also pointed out that one of the reasons I patronize their establishment is because all of their products are cruelty-free, and they have a program where they donate a portion of their proceeds to non-profits for one day a week. It was an upbeat, accessible email, yet strong to my convictions, and hopefully made them open their eyes a little.

Will it affect them? I don’t know that. But since it frequently can take several “hits” of something before it sinks in, I like to think that even if this didn’t reach them, they heard me loud and clear, and maybe the next person they come across who advocates for animals will reach them, partly because I planted that seed.

So use this important video. Include it in your email signature, particularly around Thanksgiving. Share it on Facebook. Send it around to your family and then provide a yummy vegan dish so that they can see how truly delicious compassion can tatse.

New video exposing chicken cruelty acts as great activist tool.

The video reinforced for me the idea that sharing the stories of rescued animals — preferably through video — can put a much-needed face onto the otherwise “faceless” animals (50 billion of them worldwide each year) who are raised in misery, then slaughtered. For folks who aren’t able to make that connection in person at a sanctuary, documenting the animals’ stories on video can truly pack a punch. (Also see Sanctuary Tails, Farm Sanctuary’s shelter blog which includes videos and photos of rescued animals.)

unchaindogs.net

This video that captures one dog’s story truly touched my heart. It’s amazing how an entire life can be completely turned around because of the advocacy efforts of volunteers who open their hearts.

Rose and me. Photo by Jessica Mahady.

The result was a fun, educational, and resource-intensive event where dozens and dozens of precious pit bulls were given some extra care, as they gave us humans extra-warm fuzzies. BAD RAP — a group that aims to secure “the future of the American Pit bull Terrier as a cherished family companion,” has moved mountains in terms of bringing the true goodness of these perfect beings to light and working to bash the unfounded stereotypes that they don’t deserve. As the human companions to our little love-bug pit, Rose, Mariann and I are experts in understanding that all pit bulls want is a belly rub and cuddle time. Dog bless BAD RAP for bringing free resources and information to the Bay Area and the worldwide web. Let’s go to the videotape: