Service and Support Dogs: Welfarism versus Rights

Posted by Lori Marino On May 15, 2018 in The Blog | 5 comments

Do we have a right to keep dogs and other animals in service for physical and emotional support? It’s a question that came to the fore in my mind at a conference at the Institute for Human-Animal Connection at University of Denver.

My attention was particularly taken by the number of service dogs who were present.

I left the conference wondering whether many of the psychological tasks the dogs were charged with were either unnecessary at best, or actively hindering the emotional development of both dog and handler at worst.

2017: What We Did

Posted by Lori Marino On December 21, 2017 in The Blog | 0 comments

Here are some of the highlights you made possible this year through your tax-deductible donations.

Our latest papers explore the cognitive, emotional and social capacities of chickens and cows.

At conferences and colleges from Barcelona to British Columbia, we have been bringing the message of the plight of captive dolphins and whales to wide-ranging audiences.

We are doing an expanded version of the scholar-advocacy program for students and young professionals at Superpod 6 in 2018.

We are working with the Canadian Senate to ban the display of dolphins and whales in captivity.

And at a ground-breaking symposium we explored the psychology behind our fraught relationship with our fellow animals.

Human/Nonhuman Chimeras: Saving Our Bodies, Losing Our Souls

Posted by Lori Marino On January 27, 2017 in The Blog | 0 comments

A new paper details the creation of a human/pig chimera.

The goal of the research program is to generate pigs and cows who would become, essentially, living containers for human organs.

The possibilities have many researchers giddy with excitement. But they also raise serious ethical dilemmas regarding the moral status of these part-human animals.

Earth is Not a Disposable Planet

Posted by Lori Marino On January 5, 2017 in The Blog | 0 comments

Steven Hawking argues that transporting the human population to other planets will save us from the problems we’ve caused here on Earth.

Not only is this notion wildly unrealistic as a panacea for our problems; it is dangerous.

Human-Nonhuman Chimeras: Do We Really Want to Go There?

Posted by Lori Marino On September 3, 2016 in The Blog | 0 comments

Proposed changes by the NIH to its research guidelines regarding human-nonhuman chimeras will result in things like pigs being implanted with human stem cells to create hearts, livers, pancreases and kidneys to then “harvest” and place in human beings.

The pigs will become, essentially, living growth chambers for human organs.

Superpod 5: Scholar-Advocacy at Its Best

Posted by Lori Marino On July 31, 2016 in The Blog | 3 comments

This year’s “Superpod” gathering was attended by scientists, filmmakers, authors, journalists, former trainers, naturalists, orca advocates and lay people.

A new feature, the Scholar-Advocacy Day, featured outstanding talks by students and young people applying their education and professional skills to marine mammal protection.