Sentient Planet

Guests Kate McIntyre Clere and Mick McIntyre come on the show to discuss a difficult topic – the commercial killing of wild kangaroos and their joeys. Kate and Mick are an Aussie filmmaking duo with Second Nature Films. Back in 2018, they released a shocking and damning expose about Australia's secretive kangaroo killings – the largest land slaughter of wildlife that happens anywhere on the planet. In this interview, they talk about progress being made to end this inhumane industry since the release of their film, Kangaroo: A Love-Hate Story [https://kangaroothemovie.com/]. It needs to happen soon, before the slow-breeding kangaroo is pushed to extinction. The U.S. and Europe are the two main markets for kangaroo meat and skins, although most consumers don't realize their products are made from this beloved global icon. Calls to Action 1. Watch Kate and Mick's informative film, Kangaroo: A Love-Hate Story [https://kangaroothemovie.com/]. 2. Boycott kangaroo meat and skin products, especially prevalent as "exotic" meat and in pet foods and footwear in the United States. 3. Support the new non-profit organization Kangaroos Alive [https://www.kangaroosalive.org/]. You can also follow @kangaroosalive to stay abreast of promising efforts to ban kangaroo products in the European Union. That’s a wrap for Season 3. Our Sentient Planet team thanks you so much for listening and supporting the podcast on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/sentientplanet]. Most importantly, we are grateful for the actions you take on behalf of the humans who fight so hard to end the suffering of non-human animals. The best place to find our suggested Calls to Action is in each podcast's show notes. We'll be back in a few weeks with a new season about how we can live in harmony with the incredible sentient beings with whom we share the Earth. It's an endless topic! Credits Sentient Planet [https://www.sentientplanetpodcast.com/] is an independent production created on the traditional land of the Nisqually Tribe in the Pacific Northwest, USA. Please consider supporting our work on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/sentientplanet]. Thank you! Intro music: "The Spaces Between" by Scott Buckley. Interstitial music: "The Divine Cosmos" by Stellardrone [https://stellardrone.bandcamp.com/].

If you've ever thought about rescuing and providing sanctuary to an animal in need, this episode is for you! Guests Kate Tsyrklevich and Hope Hilman run Heartwood Haven [https://heartwoodhaven.org/], a popular microsanctuary for farmed animals in Gig Harbor, Washington, USA. Pigs and roosters are their preferred rescues. Many of the hundreds they've saved come from appalling conditions, including cockfighting busts. Unfortunately, the cruel and illicit multi-billion-dollar cockfighting industry operates underground in neighborhoods throughout the United States. Roosters and pigs are highly sociable and charismatic non-human animals who can thankfully recover and live healthy lives when removed from abusive and traumatic situations. Microsanctuaries such as Heartwood Haven are springing up across the world to reset public misconceptions about these and other farmed animals, whose lives are just as worthy as our much-revered dogs and cats. CALLS TO ACTION * Kate and Hope have kicked off a"Valen-Swine's" fundraising campaign [https://heartwoodhaven.org/valenswines] to raise the monies needed for a new barn for their smaller pigs. * They have a significant social media following you can join @heartwoodhaven. * Coming to Washington State? You can book a tour of Heartwood Haven here [https://heartwoodhaven.org/visit-our-animal-farm-in-gig-harbor-wa/]. * Cockfighting is a felony in most states and countries. Help end it by contacting local law enforcement If you suspect this activity is occurring in your community. CREDITS Sentient Planet [https://www.sentientplanetpodcast.com/] is an independent production created on the traditional land of the Nisqually Tribe in the Pacific Northwest, USA. Please consider supporting our work on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/sentientplanet]. Thank you! Intro music: "The Spaces Between" by Scott Buckley. Interstitial music: "Ascent" by Stellardrone [https://stellardrone.bandcamp.com/].

In British Columbia, Canada, an elusive animal has been adapting to co-exist with the world's largest remaining inland temperate rainforest since the last ice age. They're the gentle and beautiful mountain caribou, and our guest this week is perhaps their loudest defender. David Moskowitz, [https://davidmoskowitz.net/] renowned nature photographer, wildlife biologist and tracker, introduces us to the highly endangered mountain caribou, whose herds have plummeted to just 1,100 individuals due to the ongoing logging of their old-growth home. He helps us understand how a combination of blockades, education, Tribal rights and community forests could bring these caribou them back from the brink. David is based in the North Cascades of Washington State, in the traditional territory of the Methow people. His photography has appeared in numerous outlets, including The New York Times, NBC, Outside Magazine, Science Magazine, Natural History Magazine, High Country News and more. He is the author and photographer of three books: Caribou Rainforest, Wildlife of the Pacific Northwestand Wolves in the Land of Salmon. He is also co-author and photographer of Peterson’s Field Guide to North American Bird Nests. David's next project will document the entire Columbia River Basin of North America. This massive photographic undertaking will support multiple environmental campaigns and become a book and interactive display. Calls to Action * Take online actions and/or make a donation [https://caribourainforest.org/act-today]to save the inland temperate rainforest of British Columbia, home to the last herds of mountain caribou. * Watch David's breathtaking film, Last Stand: The Vanishing Caribou Rainforest [https://caribourainforest.org/film]. * Purchase your own copy of David's acclaimed coffee table book, Caribou Rainforest: From Heartbreak to Hope [https://caribourainforest.org/the-book] (Braided River, 2018). Credits Sentient Planet [https://www.sentientplanetpodcast.com/] is an independent production created on the traditional land of the Nisqually Tribe in the Pacific Northwest, USA. Please consider supporting our work on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/sentientplanet]. Thank you! David's photo: Courtesy of Sarah Rice. Intro music: "The Spaces Between" by Scott Buckley. Interstitial music: "The Edge of Forever" by Stellardrone [https://stellardrone.bandcamp.com/].

From grassroots to policy, we want to follow up on last week's popular podcast by introducing listeners to another amazing ambassador for the oceans – Sue Fisher, of Portland, Oregon. Sue is interim marine policy director (international) for the Animal Welfare Institute. She's been advocating for greater protections for cetaceans through the International Whaling Commission (IWC) for the past 30 years, and she is one of the main authors of a brand new 50-year vision for the IWC. As the organization turns 75, dozens of international animal welfare groups are urging its 88 member governments to adopt the vision and accompanying recommendations for saving whales and dolphins from extinction. Sue says there's no better time for the IWC to exert its influence and expertise to clean up the mess we humans have made in the world's oceans with plastics, pollution and over-fishing. Calls to Action * Download the 50 Year Vision for the IWC [https://iwc50yearvision.org/] and watch the launch event. * Support the Animal Welfare Institute's incredible work by easily taking action here [https://awionline.org/compassion-index#/] on dozens of campaigns for sentient, more-than-human animals. * Reduce or eliminate your seafood and plastic consumption. Sentient Planet is an independent production created on the traditional land of the Nisqually Tribe in the Pacific Northwest, USA. Please consider supporting our work on Patreon. [https://www.patreon.com/sentientplanet] Thank you! Intro music: "The Spaces Between" by Scott Buckley. Interstitial music: "Gravitation (Remix)" by Stellardrone [https://stellardrone.bandcamp.com/].

Environmental artist, activist and teacher. Free-spirited surfer and voice for her beloved whales and dolphins, whom she's dubbed The Cetacean Nation. Oh, and skateboarding sensation on the famous Zephr ("Z-Boys") competition team from the mid-1970s in California. She's the one and only Peggy Oki, and we're thrilled to have her on the show in this exclusive interview. Peggy talks about her recent encounters with sperm whales in the Caribbean. She updates us on her dogged campaigning on behalf of Tokitae (Lolita), the Southern Resident orca who's been held captive in the Miami Seaquarium for the past 51 years. (We covered Tokitake's plight and the efforts to free her in Season 1, especially in the episode Bringing Her Home: The Lummi Claim to a Captive Orca [https://www.sentientplanetpodcast.com/episode/bringing-her-home-the-lummi-claim-to-a-captive-orca].) And she shares how the likes of Jacques Cousteau, Sir David Attenborough and Jane Goodall have inspired her life of advocacy for the ocean and the beings who call it home. Peggy’s original artwork has been displayed in 21 one-woman exhibitions, 40 group exhibitions, and more than 80 private and commercial collections. She is the director of the Origami Whales Project – a curtain of tens of thousands of paper whales created to raise awareness about the death toll from modern commercial whaling. We talk about that, too! Calls to Action Here are three quick things you can do after listening: 1. Watch “Seaspiracy” [https://www.seaspiracy.org/] and join the movement to transform the world's oceans back to health. 2. Sign Peggy's petition [https://www.change.org/p/raise-your-voice-for-tokitae-lolita-letter-to-mr-conni-jonsson-chairperson-eqt-partners-ab/w?source_location=petition_nav] to free Tokitae/Lolita, the captive Southern Resident orca in the Miami Seaquarium. (We covered Tokitae's plight in one of our first episodes, Bringing Her Home: The Lummi Claim to a Captive Orca [https://www.sentientplanetpodcast.com/episode/bringing-her-home-the-lummi-claim-to-a-captive-orca].) 3. Learn more about Peggy and her ocean campaigns on her website [http://www.peggyoki.com/activism/public-speaking]. Sentient Planet is an independent production created on the traditional land of the Nisqually Tribe in the Pacific Northwest, USA. Please consider supporting our work on Patreon. [https://www.patreon.com/sentientplanet] Thank you! Intro music: "The Spaces Between" by Scott Buckley. Interstitial music: "Tranquility" by Stellardrone [https://stellardrone.bandcamp.com/].