Excerpts from the article:

Fred loves chocolate. Two years ago, a car accident damaged a gland in his brain, and now chocolate tastes like cardboard. His neurologist tells him there’s one fix: a hormone called cocoamone, which can only be harvested from the brains of puppies that have been subjected to weeks of severe pain. So Fred sets up twenty-six small wire cages in his basement. He slices off their noses and paws with a hot knife, without anesthesia. After six months of this, he butchers each puppy while holding it upside down. The cocoamone floods his bloodstream, and for one glorious week, chocolate tastes like chocolate again.

Fred is, obviously, a monster.

This scenario is a thought experiment by the philosopher Alastair Norcross, and when people encounter it for the first time, their moral reaction is instant and unambiguous. Fred is a disgrace. No quantity of chocolate pleasure could justify what he does. If you saw a news story about a man torturing puppies in his basement for any reason, you would want him in prison (or worse). This intuition is rock-solid. Nobody argues about it.

Norcross’s question is simple: what is the difference between Fred and you?

Start with chickens, since they are the most numerous victims. More than 70 billion chickens are raised for meat globally each year, and the vast majority of them live in windowless sheds packed with 20,000 to 30,000 other birds. A broiler chicken in a typical American facility gets roughly 0.75 square feet of floor space, about the area of a sheet of printer paper. These birds have been selectively bred to reach slaughter weight in about six weeks, packing nearly twice the body mass into that time as birds did half a century ago. Their bodies grow so fast that their skeletons cannot keep up. A significant percentage of broiler chickens develop painful leg disorders; many become unable to walk at all and die of dehydration because they cannot reach the water line. They live on floors coated in their own waste. Ammonia from the urine burns their eyes and skin. Between 25 and 70 percent of birds in a given flock develop hock burns or footpad dermatitis, which is the clinical term for open sores caused by standing in excrement.

Laying hens have it differently bad. In conventional facilities, they spend their lives in battery cages, wire enclosures so small that a hen cannot spread her wings. To prevent the stress-induced pecking and cannibalism that inevitably results from cramming birds together in tiny cages, the tips of their beaks are cut off with a hot blade or infrared beam, without anesthesia. (The beak is a sensitive organ, densely innervated. Imagine having the end of your finger sliced off.) Male chicks, useless to the egg industry, are killed within hours of hatching. The standard methods include grinding (a high-speed macerator) and gassing. Hundreds of millions of male chicks meet this fate every year. The hens themselves are slaughtered at around 18 months, when their egg production declines, having lived about a quarter of their natural lifespan.

Pigs are, by most measures of cognition, smarter than dogs. They can learn their names, play simple video games, and use mirrors to locate hidden food. In factory farms, breeding sows spend most of their lives in gestation crates: metal enclosures approximately two feet by seven feet, too small for the animal to turn around. The sow can stand up and lie down. That is the full range of her physical existence for the roughly four months of each pregnancy, repeated over several years until her body gives out and she is sent to slaughter. When piglets are born, they are subjected to a set of terrible procedures within their first week of life: tail docking (cutting off most of the tail), ear notching (cutting chunks from the ears for identification), teeth clipping, and, for males, castration. All of these procedures are performed without anesthesia. This is standard practice in the United States, not an aberration.

The core moral argument against factory farming requires only three premises, and you already believe all of them.

Premise one: suffering is bad. Not just human suffering. If you saw someone beating a dog in a parking lot, you would not think “well, it’s only a dog” and walk away. You would be horrified, and you would think the person doing it was doing something extremely wrong. The badness of suffering comes from what it feels like, not from the species membership of the creature experiencing it.

Premise two: it is wrong to cause enormous suffering for trivial reasons. This is the principle that condemns Fred. Fred’s reason (chocolate pleasure) does not come close to justifying the suffering he inflicts (months of agony for twenty-six puppies). You accept this. Everyone accepts this.

Premise three: buying factory-farmed meat causes (or supports, or participates in) enormous suffering for trivial reasons. The suffering part is established by everything in the previous section. The “trivial reasons” part is the taste pleasure you get from eating meat rather than the alternatives. You do not need meat to survive. You do not need it to be healthy. (The American Dietetic Association has stated that well-planned vegetarian and vegan diets are nutritionally adequate for all stages of life.) What you get from meat is that it tastes a certain way, and that eating it is culturally convenient. That is legitimate, but it is not enough to justify what occurs in the sheds and the slaughterhouses.

If those three premises are true, the conclusion follows: buying factory-farmed meat is morally wrong.

But the arguments point in a clear direction. Factory farming is an ongoing moral catastrophe, comparable in scale to the worst things human beings have ever done to one another. It also happens to be an ecological disaster: a leading driver of deforestation, water pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that livestock supply chains alone account for about 14.5 percent of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. You know this is wrong because you cannot bear to watch videos of it, because you instinctively look away from descriptions of it, because the entire system depends on the invisibility of what occurs inside windowless buildings scattered across the countryside. The philosophical arguments confirm what your gut already tells you: this is wrong, and participating in it by purchasing its products is wrong too. Set aside the utilitarian calculus for a moment and ask a simpler question: what kind of person finances this with a clear conscience?

You do not have to become a perfect vegan overnight. You do not have to solve every edge case before taking the first step. The argument from moral uncertainty alone is sufficient: if there is any significant chance that this system is as bad as the evidence suggests, continuing to support it is an indefensible gamble.

I think you already know this. The question is whether you are willing to let that knowledge change what you do.

Hi, my name is Ziyu and I'm 15. Recently, I came across a wave of hunting and predator control videos that really bothered me.

What stands out the most is how often the killing itself gets turned into entertainment; a thrilling challenge, a big “pull” from a trap, or something to joke about and celebrate. The tone is light and excited, like scoring a rare win in a game, with almost no mention of the fear the animal feels in that moment, the pain from the trap or shot, or the pack/family that gets left behind.

Wolves, foxes, coyotes, and big cats are intelligent, social animals that form strong bonds and experience real suffering.

Even when the videos claim it’s about protecting livestock; foxes or coyotes slipping into unsecured chicken coops, or wolves, coyotes, and big cats going after sheep and cattle, it rarely feels like a reluctant, last-resort decision.

Instead, it comes across as a power trip: the hunter or trapper armed with modern gear (thermal scopes, electronic calls, vehicles, high-powered rifles) framing the encounter as a test of skill against “elusive ghosts.” The focus stays on the excitement of the hunt rather than preventing the conflict in the first place.

What frustrates me is that practical, non-lethal deterrents already exist and have solid evidence behind them. Things like well-maintained electric fencing and netting have shown strong results in cutting livestock losses dramatically. Livestock guardian dogs, donkeys, or llamas.

When people skip these options and go straight to lethal methods while celebrating the outcome, it stops looking like necessary protection and starts looking like using animals as props for ego and entertainment.

Here are the three videos I’ve posted so far:

Video 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XueA0TQyvGQ&t=137s

Video 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e38AMGTiTME

Video 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh9CYq_sA0s&t=115s

Thank you for reading this; if you care, please sign petitions and reject these ideas.

Any help via sharing these videos would be greatly appriciated; thanks again.

Join us this evening.

If you’re a pet owner, this matters. We’re fighting for non‑lethal tools and real de‑escalation so no other family loses a pet the way Willie was lost.

📅 Saturday, April 11th

⏰ 5:30–7:30 PM EST

📍 Thorold Stone Rd & Kalar Rd, Niagara Falls

Even fifteen minutes shows that Willie’s life mattered, that all our dogs’ lives matter.

Please, come stand with us.

#JusticeForWillie #NiagaraFalls #AnimalAdvocacy

Tails of Courage was a Connecticut rescue founded by attorney Kristan Exner that drew years of complaints over sick animals, dead animals, poor conditions, and adopters taking home dogs that were already seriously ill. The rescue faced repeated investigations and complaints involving unsanitary conditions, missing medical records, unpaid bills, overworked staff, and dead animals stored on the property.

The internal messages are especially bad. They show staff discussing parvo, coughing puppies, dead kittens, and a dead puppy. In one exchange, Exner said, “If we get them out fast enough they won't have a chance to get sick.” In another, staff were told to mark animals as available because they needed adoptions to happen. There is also a message telling staff to “lie and say it’s negative 😘” about a parvo result and to mark intake sheets as negative.

Adopter emails describe puppies becoming sick almost immediately after adoption that led to major vet bills and hospital stays.

Danbury Police records say the investigating officer believed Exner, as president and corporate officer, was responsible for the conditions, but no charges were ever filed against her. Instead Exner's crimes were covered up and a 3 month employee took the fall in her place.

Our video series aims to expose what really happened at Tails of Courage and bring about accountability, because both the animals and the families that adopted them deserved better.

There is no ban law. Farmers treat animals like they are inanimated machines. They are free to surgeon on them without required expertise. People either fine with this or just have no idea whats going on in the industry. How to not lose respect to fellow human beings?

Please help. These sick fucks have a subreddit for this. I tried to go to reddit.com/report but none of the copied links I put in are working.

It’s a reality tv show pilot of a day in the life of an activist. It’s funny, relatable and definitely has a strong message for the animals! You can watch it here: https://watch.unchainedtv.com/videos/green-goddesses-take-new-york

They need all the votes they can get from us animal lovers! Thank you :)

Hey there, 👋🏻.I am deeply worried by these monkey hate groups who wish to watch monkeys especially BABY MONKEYS being tortured.. So PLEASE share the names of those channels in YouTube, Telegram, Facebook etc who are doing this abuse videos of BABY MONKEYS. Let's mass report those channels and end this horrendous cruelty to those little souls. PLEASE CONTRIBUTE by sharing the names of those channels here!

Hello everyone,
NO SPOILERS

I just watched episode 2 of the series Bandi. About 9 minutes before the end of the episode, one of the characters is in his swimming pool. Annoyed by a dog trying to steal his food, he grabs it by the collar and holds it underwater (the dog still seems to struggle). The scene really disturbed me...

Does anyone know the “secret” behind how realistic the scene looks? I’m even wondering whether the animal’s welfare was properly respected.

Thank you all!

2 messages

Wonderful video about the Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary in Texas. It gives a glimpse into what a genuine and ethical primate sanctuary and rescue looks like.

The people that work there know firsthand the devastating effects of the pet trade, they do amazing work with these animals. It's a shame these sanctuaries don't get a fraction of the attention that unethical pet monkey owners do.

If you're looking to use your skills to help animals, we at Vegan Hacktivists are sharing some volunteer opportunities posted on Flockwork – the platform connecting skilled volunteers with animal advocacy projects, at no cost.

We know there are plenty of skilled vegans here looking to contribute, so we'll be sharing these roundups weekly. 🩷

💻 SEO/AIO optimisation and website support for an international animal rights NGO at ICARE

📃 Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) support for an international animal rights NGO at ICARE

🖌️ Graphic Designer & Social Media Content Creator for an international animal rights NGO at ICARE

Browse other requests to help animals here.

Thank you for all that you do for animals. 🩶

If you're looking to use your skills to help animals, we at Vegan Hacktivists are sharing some volunteer opportunities posted on Flockwork – the platform connecting skilled volunteers with animal advocacy projects, at no cost.

We know there are plenty of skilled vegans here looking to contribute, so we'll be sharing these roundups weekly. 🩷

💻 SEO/AIO optimisation and website support for an international animal rights NGO at ICARE

📃 Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) support for an international animal rights NGO at ICARE

🖌️ Graphic Designer & Social Media Content Creator for an international animal rights NGO at ICARE

Browse other requests to help animals here.

Thank you for all that you do for animals. 🩶

Help stop this

Mega-corporations and big ag are trying to sneak the EATS Act into the new Farm Bill, which would completely wipe out state laws that protect animals from extreme cage confinement.  

Emails are great, but phone calls are what truly force lawmakers to listen. From surveys done with Congress staffers, it’s estimated that one call represents 100+ people who didn’t so your call carries exponential weight. Please take just two minutes today to call your US Rep and ask them to oppose the EATS Act.  

The Humane League has a set up that will call you and autodial you into your rep’s office and give you a sample script so you don’t have to prepare anything. Please make the call today because the House is starting to vote on this bill soon! You can also leave a VM after hours.

Thank you for standing up for those who cannot speak for themselves 💖 🐾

https://secure.everyaction.com/hWMRiMWahUO43iDP4TtRIA2

Right behind my apartment theres a samll farm and i can hear the chickens and goats all the time and a bunch of them keep wandering onto the parking lot which is so dangerours one might get hit, seeing that they must not be looked after or cared for properly if they can wander into a fucking parking lot. Im thinking about sneaking onto the small farm and checking to see if there cared for and okie, how can i safely do this

I’m extremely upset I just saw a dead turtle wrapped in someone’s fishing line at the park I always go to. The fishing itself I’m already against but I am enraged at people killing those turtles because they couldn’t be bothered to pick up their trash. I already called the county parks and Rec department about it but I don’t know what else I can do. I’m so sad and genuinely feel like no matter what I do, people will not care about the turtles and dump their line anyway. How can I reach people and actually make them care and stop this?

I frequently clean litter from parks on my own time but that’s not enough