By Lorrin Maughan I’ve always felt sad when I see Betta fish for sale in pet stores, floating dismally in solitary confinement in their plastic containers while they wait for someone to throw them in a plastic bag and take them home to some unknown fate. Even though I advocated against people consuming marine animals, and had grown to respect and honor fish (especially after reading “What a Fish Knows: The Inner Lives of Our Underwater Cousins” by Jonathan Balcombe), my sadness for pet store fish was still somewhat detached. I would mention to the staff how sad I was to see the Bettas that wa ..read more

For Immediate Release, June 17, 2021 Contacts: Rachel Bjork, Northwest Animal Rights Network, (206) 334-3742, info@narn.org Amaroq Weiss, Center for Biological Diversity, (707) 779-9613, aweiss@biologicaldiversity.org Jocelyn Leroux, Western Watersheds Project, (406) 960-4164, jocelyn@westernwatersheds.org Brooks Fahy, Predator Defense, (541) 520-6003, brooks@predatordefense.org Samantha Bruegger, Wild Earth Guardians, (970) 363-4191, sbruegger@wildearthguardians.org Bethany Cotton, Cascadia Wildlands, (503) 327-4923, bethany@cascwild.org $15,000 Reward Offered for Info on Wolf Poaching in Ste ..read more

By Brandon Juhl I consider myself an activist for the rights of animals—including human beings—and the environment. I think most people probably care, to varying degrees, about the same issues about which I am passionate, but I probably take action on these issues more often than most people do. That is in part because I feel an overwhelming sense of urgency and responsibility to try to end (or better yet, prevent) injustices and to protect the ecosystem that allows all life on Earth to exist. There is no doubt that our window of time to protect Earth’s ecosystem is relatively short, and that ..read more

By Audrey Lawrence May Day, or International Workers’ Day, is an annual day to celebrate the working class. It was founded in the late 19th century in support of the campaign for 8-hour workdays. One particularly influencing event was the Haymarket affair of 1886, where peaceful protests for the 8-hour workday starting on May 1st turned to violence, with multiple deaths and hundreds of injuries. Despite many workplace advances since the 1800s, there is still much worker exploitation today, as corporations across the globe put profit over workers rights. Similarly we see companies prioritizing ..read more

By Audrey Lawrence Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash Adopting a cruelty-free, vegan lifestyle has enormous benefits for the environment. Yet there’s no shortage of information that tries to discredit this fact. In honor of Earth Day, an annual event to support environmental protection, I decided to dig into a few of the claims that I’ve heard. What I found from this investigation is that the claims are more myth than truth. I hope that by the end of this post you’re also confident that going vegan is not only a great choice for animals but also for the planet! Myth 1: The production of non-d ..read more

By Audrey Lawrence In light of Women’s History Month, we’d like to take note of women’s out-sized role in the history of the animal rights movement. Women led many of the world’s first animal rights campaigns in the 19th century, and today women tend to outnumber men in many animal rights organizations. Studies from the 1990s found women made up 68-80% of animal rights participants, and within Peta, the world’s most well-known animal rights organization, women make up 80%. Why is this? There are different proposals for why women outnumber men in this movement. Some suppose it could be biologic ..read more

  Are you suffering from Compassion Fatigue or burnout? Compassion fatigue is an occupational hazard of being an animal rights activist. It has been described as the display of symptoms that are “a natural consequence of stress resulting from caring and helping traumatized or suffering people or animals” (Charles Figley, traumatologist). It is closely related to Secondary Traumatic Stress, experienced by witnesses to atrocities and traumatic events. Some symptoms of compassion fatigue include: Neglecting one’s own self care and wellbeing Emotional dysregulation including depression, anxi ..read more

Please contact your legislators about the bills below using this handy link that locates them using your street and ZIP code. Some of these bills have state House (HB) and Senate (SB) versions, so please contact your representatives in both places ..read more

Thank you so much for supporting the Northwest Animal Rights Network (NARN) this year! As you know, Northwest Animal Rights Network (NARN) advocates for the rights of all sentient beings- the right to choose, to be free from oppression and exploitation- by pursuing campaigns, facilitating education, and connecting Pacific Northwest organizations. And like for you, 2020 has been a challenging year for grassroots nonprofits like NARN. NARN is hosting its End of Year Membership Drive and this year we’re offering the opportunity to win some really great prizes when you sign up! * * * PRIZES INCLUD ..read more

By Josh Halladay Before COVID-19, the size of turkeys had never been an issue worthy of national attention. But like everything else in 2020, this year it’s different. In October, many national media outlets reported that turkey farmers and grocers are concerned their turkeys won’t meet consumer demands. This year, there will be fewer large Thanksgiving gatherings, with most people celebrating in smaller groups. Smaller groups mean demand for cheaper, smaller turkeys. This year, the turkeys hitting deli aisles will be too big. Few realize that the turkeys on their table have been growing for ..read more