Feeling Brave? July 17, 2009

Posted by Ryan at July 17, 2009 4:43 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 7 ) | TrackBack

Jane Taylor

We at peta2 have long followed the relentless efforts of the bad-ass pirates at the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

As watchers of the top-rated Animal Planet show Whale Wars will attest to, these warriors will stop at nothing to spare whales and other marine animals from being brutally slaughtered—often risking their lives to do so. This season alone, their boat was almost destroyed by an iceberg, a crew member fell overboard, and there was an anthrax scare.

And yet, in the middle of all that, crew member Jane Taylor took the time to chat with PETA about what drives her. As fans of the show will also know, Jane recently announced that she'll be taking some time off from her life at sea, but according to our recent interview, she may be back sooner than you think...

You can check out the full interview here, but here are some highlights!

What animal rights issues are you most passionate about?
It was very difficult to decide where to focus my efforts, but I thought Sea Shepherd was the perfect place since I have skills for ship-handling, guts for action, and a heart for humanity.

Immediately, I would like to work on getting Sea Shepherd another ship to use down in Antarctica. But in addition to focusing on marine life, I will also be concentrating my efforts on ending vivisection—another arena of extreme cruelty to animals.

Whale Wars can be a pretty intense show. Have you ever had a moment where you thought you couldn't keep going? What made you persevere?
There was never a moment when I thought I couldn't keep going. All the action was extremely intense with lots of adrenaline going through everyone's blood. The action became very addicting, and when we had to leave the whaling fleet, it was very, very disappointing. I was not ready to leave. We definitely need more ships out there.

...

Can we look forward to a third season of the show?
Oh, yes. There is a third season. Sea Shepherd has just merged with Earthrace, a round-the-world, record-breaking trimaran, so I suspect that the tactics next year are going to be completely different. Anything could happen when you bring a boat that looks like a spaceship [Ryan's note: Check out this picture!!] down to the Southern Ocean!

Will you be on deck again?
Oh, I got so addicted to Sea Shepherd's campaigns that I want to go on all of them! Before the merge, I met Earthrace in New Zealand and loved the boat, so I will be trying out to crew on it. With Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's new popularity, there are so many new, interesting, skilled, and keen volunteers, so I'm not sure if I will be selected, but my fingers are crossed!


Pretty incredible, eh?

What do you think, would you have the guts to get out there and defend animals against abuse on the high seas?

Who Wants Two Free Propagandhi Songs? February 9, 2009

Posted by Shannon Phillips at February 9, 2009 3:03 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBack

There aren't many things that I love more than Propagandhi. Less Talk, More Rock is always on regular rotation on my playlist, and after talking recently with vocalist Chris Hannah, I couldn't be more excited about their new album (out on March 10th!), Supporting Caste.

For their latest release, Propagandhi is giving fans two free songs for download with a donation to an organization that they feel really deserves it. Within these organizations are the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Partners in Health, and you guessed it... peta2!

Starting today, you can visit http://propagandhi.com/supporting-caste/download.php, enter an amount you wish to donate, pick an organization for your donation, and you will receive two new songs from Supporting Caste in exchange—"Supporting Caste" and "Human(e) Meat."

All of the organizations involved are fantastic, and we at peta2 are so happy to be a part of this!

Photo by Mandy Malazdrewich

If that wasn't awesome enough, check out what vocalist Chris Hannah had to say about Animal Rights when I spoke with him recently on the phone...

peta2: I have heard some rumors that there are some animal rights themed songs on the album [Supporting Caste], can you confirm or deny this rumor?

Chris: There are, yep, absolutely! One song is a response to the "happy meat" movement, where people somehow believe that there is a quote unquote "humane" way of acquiring the flesh or skin or secretions of another living creature. And I guess the premise of the song is—this may not sound gentle—but this is me killing and eating another person, but doing it "humanely" and honoring their strength and speed and such other nonsense, so the purpose of it is to point out how absurd it is to claim that you can humanely kill and eat another living creature, who has common interests and needs.

peta2: Speaking of animal rights songs, your song, "Apparently I'm a PC Fascist (Because I Care About Both Human and Non-Human Animals)" has been referred to as the peta2 office anthem—and I am not kidding when I say that—have you heard any stories of any fans maybe going vegetarian after hearing one of your songs?

Chris: Well, from traveling the little bit that we do or from the email or mail correspondence that we do, of course there's anecdotal stories of people turning vegetarian, but a lot of them seem to be more related to the intro to a song called "Purina Hall of Fame" which used actually something from one of the PETA sites which was the investigation into a hog farm, and it was audio from the video of that and I think the people that had written in—they had never heard of anything like that before, and it changed everything.

peta2: If a fan came to you and told you that they wanted to get involved in animal rights in general, but didn't know where to start, what would your response be?

Chris: I would refer them to a few websites, probably including one of the PETA sites. There's also a podcast that I really like called "Vegetarian Food For Thought" it's on the Compassionate Cooks website—Colleen Patrick-Goudreau is her name, and she does a really good podcast that deals with typical questions or typical arguments against vegetarianism, and she deals with them in a reasonable, empathetic, but no-nonsense sort of way, and a few people who I've recommended it to already have found it helpful.

*****

Like what you've heard so far? Make sure you check out the donation site, make a donation, and get two new Propagandhi songs! While you're at it, you can pre-order their new album, Supporting Caste by clicking on the banner below!

Watch 'Whale Wars' Tonight! November 7, 2008

Posted by Ryan at November 7, 2008 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 4 ) | TrackBack

I have four and a half words for you: Vegan pirates saving whales — yarr!

Yes, for too long it's been generally assumed that pirates do nothing more than seek out doubloons and say hilarious phrases like "shiver me timbers!" and "a-yo-ho-ho".

The good people of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society are changing all of that though. These people are the real deal, and using nonviolent methods of direct action, they have been fighting to defend the rights of sea animals for over 30 years.

Credit: ecorazzi / CC

Now, the friendly folks of Animal Planet will be highlighting the group's efforts in exciting detail as part of a new program called "Whale Wars", which starts tonight at 9pm (EST)!

To give you an example of the kind of remarkable work the group has done (and continues to do), check out this sweet trailer:



Make sure to tune in tonight, mateys!

- Ryan!

5 Questions with... The Red Paintings! October 15, 2008

Posted by Shannon Phillips at October 15, 2008 12:52 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 3 ) | TrackBack

I'm back with another installment of our "5 Questions With" blogs! This time, it's with the up and coming art-rock band, The Red Paintings, a new personal favorite of mine! Check them out, and if you want a great place to talk about all aspects of animal rights, visit their message board! - xo, shan

Photo courtesy of Gee Greenslade.

NAME OF BAND: The Red Paintings
BAND MEMBERS: Trash McSweeney
SOUNDS LIKE: Orchestral Art Rock

How long have you been vegetarian/ vegan and what made you start? I have only been a full-time vegetarian for the last six months, although I have been challenging myself to adopt a vegan lifestyle. I have found that veganism is a lot harder to maintain in Australia due to a lack of vegan restaurants and products.

I have been holding "Animal Rebellion Marches" in Australia over the past two years but it was not until our recent U.S.A. tour that I realized how important it was for everyone to stop eating animals. On that tour I met a lovely lady named Susan Weingartner who is actually on the Board of Directors for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. They are well-known for their work with rescuing whales from slaughter. I spent a few weeks with Susan in L.A. watching many animal rights films including "Earthlings" and "Lolita". We went to a farm sanctuary called "Animal Acres" to meet animals that had been rescued from cruel farming conditions or had been dumped on the streets.

Since those experiences my life has never been the same. Through Susan I was able to meet many animal activists and they helped me to see the animal holocaust around us and it is a very frightening realization.

Now, I feel it is my duty to speak up for all animals as they can not speak for themselves. The most effective and simple way to stand up for animals, I believe, is to stop eating them.

What's your favorite vegetarian/vegan meal? I was taken to some amazing vegan restaurants in L.A. I recall eating an incredible vegan pizza, but my favorite vegan food would have to be vegan burritos. I was lucky enough to have one recently, when I was invited onto the "Steve Irwin" Sea Shepherd ship for a vegan meal. It was great to spend quailty time with the crew on board and they seemed like such lovely, hardworking people who dedicate their lives to such a great cause.

Everyone involved in animal rights has an issue that really sticks out for them. What is that issue for you? I feel strongly about all of those issues, but the issue of factory farming has probably created the most impact on my lifestyle choices to date because it has made me stop eating animals for good. Of course, I am still learning so much every day about all of these issues and hopefully, in due time, I can help others understand these problems as well. It is important for us all to be more conscience of the effects of animal cruelty - not only on animals, but on people and the environment as well.

If a fan came to you with advice on how to get involved with animal rights, what would you tell them? Engaging in conversations with people about animal rights issues is so important for any action to occur. Whether a person is a highly experienced animal rights activist, or is thinking about these issues for the first time, it is through the exchange of their own knowledge, experience and ideas with others that instigates them to do something more.

Therefore, if a fan came to me with advice on becoming more active, or I was to give a fan advice, the best place to begin would be to share our thoughts. This is something I have hoped to achieve on my band website's forum where we have begun discussing animal rights issues with fans. The discussions have been quite productive with people sharing viewpoints from both sides and has also given the forum a lot of new energy and purpose. We are always looking for new people to join the discussions so please come take a look: http://trpboard.proboards24.com/

What's next for The Red Paintings? For the remainder of 2008, I have just locked the band in to playing our first animal rights festivals around Australia. But, I think our biggest achievement will be the Sea Shepherd benefit/farewell show in Brisbane, Australia. It is taking place a few days before they take off to tackle the Japanesse whaling ships. I'm a big supporter of what Captain Paul Watson and his crew have achieved in the oceans over the last 30 years, saving the lives of many whales. I am disgusted, however, that our Australian Government is charging the boat over $400 a day in berthing fees during its time in Brisbane before they leave on their next campaign against Japanese whalers. My aim is to hold a free event for the Sea Shepherd to help raise public awareness of the fees imposed on them and to raise funds for their cause.

Come 2009, we will be releasing our new album, "The Revolution is Never Coming", with many surprises in store.

www.theredpaintings.com
www.myspace.com/theredpaintings