Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy - 2017
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

Dr. Lori Marino, Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy, Inc.
December 2017

The mission of Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy is to apply the best science to the work of animal protection. Here are some highlights of our work in 2017.

Thank you so much for your support of the Kimmela Center this year. Our mission is to apply the best science to the work of animal protection, and this year, once again, we saw greater public concern over the plight of farmed animals and captive marine mammals.

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

The Someone Project

This joint Kimmela Center / Farm Sanctuary venture brings together the best scientific evidence for cognitive, emotional and social complexity in farmed animals.

Our two latest papers spurred media interest around the globe, particularly in the fact that chickens have a sense of self in relation to other chickens, and that cows have positive emotional reactions to learning and are fiercely protective as mothers.

Thinking Chickens: A review of cognition, emotion, and behavior in the domestic chicken.

The Psychology of Cows: A review of cognition, emotion, and the social lives of domestic cows.

Outreach for Dolphins and Whales

At conferences and colleges from Barcelona to British Columbia, we‘ve been bringing the message of the plight of captive dolphins and whales to the scientific, legal and student worlds, as well as to the general public.

Plans for Superpod 6

The scholar-advocacy program for students and young professionals at the Superpod 5 conference was such a success that we are doing an expanded version this year.

Legislative Efforts

Ending display of captive cetaceans in Canada: In March, our team testified on three occasions to a Senate committee on behalf of Bill S-203, which would end keeping of captive cetaceans on display in Canada. My own testimony focused on two false claims: that research with captive dolphins and whales is necessary for conservation work, and that animal displays in zoos and aquariums have educational value. The bill passed through the Committee and will be heard by the Senate in January.

And in Vancouver: The Vancouver Aquarium is trying to overturn a Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation bylaw amendment that bans future display of cetaceans at the Aquarium. We provided an affidavit to the B.C. Supreme Court on the scientific validity of the Park Board’s decision, and we expect a decision in February.

“I Am Not an Animal!”

The Kimmela Center organized a ground-breaking two-day symposium to explore the idea that at the core of our fraught relationship with our fellow animals is the deeply-rooted psychological need to tell ourselves that “I am not an animal!”. Held in Atlanta, the event featured leaders in the fields of psychology, ecology, ethics, philosophy, law and advocacy.

Your tax-deductible donation, large or small, will greatly help us to succeed in our mission to use the power of science to bring an end to the abuse and exploitation of nonhuman animals.

Thank you again, and have a safe and healthy New Year.

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