Rising Anxieties: Animal Activism Advances

This episode stacks the deck with bad news for factory farming and even worse takes from the people defending it — from the closure of Ridglan and the animal research industry’s growing panic, to UK farmers openly contending we “need” factory farming, to the EPA quietly permanently shelving Clean Air Act enforcement against mega-farms. Plus an upcoming interview with Kristin Dunn of the St. Francis Institute for Animals on the untapped activism potential inside Catholicism. The fight is on, folks.

• Animal activism goes mainstream: Ridglan’s closure, federal oversight from HHS and USDA, and the industry’s own commentators admitting something has shifted — public opinion is turning.
• UK factory farming on defense: Project Slingshot’s London Underground campaign forced the UK government to propose banning CO2 pig stunning, and British farmers are now openly defending factory farming as a “food security” necessity. 
• EPA gives factory farms a pass: The agency suspended efforts to enforce the Clean Air Act at mega-farms, citing two decades of “studying” the problem. Meanwhile, ammonia, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds keep pouring into rural air.
• The law firms are circling: Shook, Hardy & Bacon (yes, really) warns agribusiness that animal rights and animal welfare are no longer separate silos — pet custody cases, legal advocates for cruelty cases, and even welfare regulations are bleeding into livestock territory.
• In an upcoming interview, Catholicism as an activism frontier: An interview with Kristin Dunn reveals a structured, institutional pathway within the Catholic Church for advancing animal issues — and the potential is, in the host’s words, mind-blowing.

We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read this episode’s interview.

_____________________________________________

Thank you for listening to the Our Hen House podcast! If you enjoy our podcasts, believe in our mission to effectively mainstream the movement to end the exploitation of animals, find community and solace in our shows and resources, and would like to show your support for vegan indie media, please make a donation today. 

All donations made before December 31 will be DOUBLED, up to $25,000 if we reach our goal. Contributions of any amount will go towards our fundraising goal and are hugely appreciated. Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcatcher, and don’t forget to leave a 5-star review!

Check out Our Hen House’s other podcasts: The Animal Law Podcast, The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and the Antiracism in Animal Advocacy Audio Series.

Follow us on social media! You can find Our Hen House on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, or Bluesky.

The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.

Join hostesses Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan on this unique and fun award-winning podcast that focuses on changing the world for animals.

SUBSCRIBE: iTunes | Android | Google | Stitcher | RSS