| Monday, August 17, 2020 | We, the people, are decidedly outnumbered. The score? Humans 7 billion to animals 20 quintillion, or thereabouts. Many animals we keep as pets, many we eat, many we try to avoid, but our relationship with animals has evolved considerably over the millennia — and is changing rapidly today. From fast-shifting American public opinion on animal personhood to the changing migration patterns of endangered leopards, animals are on the move. Today’s Daily Dose provides a wild look. |
| Daniel Malloy, Senior Editor | |
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| | 1. Companion Counting Furry friends can relieve stress and make up for loss of human contact, which explains the surge of pet adoptions and sales throughout the pandemic. It’s a boon for veterinarians, many of whom are hiring to conduct contact-free, drive-up clinics. Meanwhile, the human health care industry is taking a hit as people delay checkups to avoid coming into contact with others. So, for entrepreneurs and investors, the smart money these days is on the pet industry. |
| 2. Costly Canines As the doggy dental care industry has exploded, so too have the costs: American dog owners spend an average of $49.70 on a dog’s oral care annually. A dog’s toothbrush costs five times as much as the one you use. Still, the number of dog lovers who buy dental products for their dogs rose by nearly 50 percent between 2006 and 2016. We’re not sure whether that says more about pampered pets or our own dental hygiene. Read more on OZY |
| | 3. Fetch the Selfie Stick Everyone knows a set of pearly whites is critical for Instagram. So there’s a new fleet of — wait for it — “dogfluencers” gaining steam on social media. With everyone spending more time on their phones and pet brands booming, it’s a lucrative time for these tail-wagging stars. Major pet accounts can bring in $15,000 per sponsored Instagram post. Start staging your shot now for #TongueOutTuesday. |
| 4. Eagles of Instagram Maybe you prefer influencers who fly. If so, join us on a journey to Kyrgyzstan. For generations, nomadic herders depended on eagle hunting to survive during the winter. This traditional practice of using eagles to hunt declined during the Soviet years. But recently it has become more popular with young Kyrgyz people. Armed with a smartphone and a hunting dog at his heel, 23-year-old Salavat Aibekov represents the new age of eagle hunters, and he’s posting all about it on Instagram. Watch now on OZY |
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| | | 1. Law and Order Kevin Schneider is an elephant lawyer. He represents Happy, who made history in 2006 as the first elephant to pass a crucial intelligence test: recognizing herself in a mirror. Schneider, along with the organization where he serves as executive director, the Nonhuman Rights Project, wants Happy — who lives alone at the Bronx Zoo — moved to a sanctuary. The case was dismissed by the Bronx Supreme Court, but the judge said the pachyderm “may be entitled to liberty.” Happy is appealing — her advocates now include famed Harvard Law professor Laurence Tribe — as the case is considered a major step forward for America’s animal personhood movement. Read more on OZY | Do you think animals should have personhood rights? Take our Twitter poll. |
| 2. Argentina Out Front In a pioneering 2015 case, a judge in Argentina granted the rights of a “non-human person” to Sandra the orangutan, who had petitioned for better living conditions than her antiquated Buenos Aires zoo. She eventually found her way to Florida and this year celebrated her 34th birthday in an orangutan sanctuary. Sandra also found a male companion named Jethro, but her handlers report they’re taking it slow. |
| 3. Public Opinion Shift A Gallup poll in 2015 found that 32 percent of people said animals deserved the same protections as people — up from 25 percent in 2008. (A poll funded by the Nonhuman Rights Project in 2018 put the figure at 47 percent.) It’s all in keeping with declining meat consumption and declining support for animal testing in scientific research. About 5 percent of Americans identify as vegetarians, and 3 percent are vegans — though millennials could fuel an increase in those numbers. |
| 4. History Lesson So is the notion of animal personhood under the law some postmodern lefty invention? Hardly. Animals were put on trial essentially as persons and held accountable for their crimes in early modern Europe. In one case a 15th-century French sow was hanged for killing a 5-year-old boy, but her piglets were acquitted. |
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| | Today on ‘The Carlos Watson Show’ Meet the ‘OG Squad.’ Minyon Moore, Donna Brazile, Leah Daughtry and Yolanda Caraway have been the power brokers behind Democratic campaigns and policy for the past 30-plus years. Today, they join Carlos to discuss the historic nomination of Kamala Harris, the vilification of ambitious women, and the behind-the-scenes decisions of past campaigns. Be sure to subscribe to the OZY YouTube channel to be notified when it's live, and remember — new subscribers will be entered for a chance to win an invitation to a Zoom taping with a celebrity guest! Watch Now |
| So You Need to Move? No matter where in the world you are, moving can be a challenge — especially now. In OZY’s exclusive new video series in partnership with American Family Insurance, follow along with the ups and downs of one woman’s socially distanced search for shelter. Where will she end up? Watch Now | |
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| | 1. Reclaiming Their Territory Scientists are scrambling to study what impact the mass lockdowns — or “anthropause” — have had on the animal kingdom. Results so far have been head-turning, from rare animals like the güiña turning up in Chilean cities to loggerhead turtles laying considerably more eggs on empty beaches. But there’s a downside: The tourist trade has long funded conservation efforts, and now it’s crashing, with little sense of when it’ll return. |
| 2. Leopards Changing Their Spots New research shows that leopards are changing their tendency to roam widely after age 3. Scientists have found that an uptick in poaching and other threats are making male leopards stay closer to home. It’s a phenomenon that risks increased inbreeding, which could devastate the already endangered species. Read more on OZY |
| | 3. Unlikely New Home Serval cats, which reside in grasslands and wetlands throughout sub-Saharan Africa, are considered “near threatened” in South Africa as mass agriculture has remade the landscape. Luckily the animals found an unlikely place to grow and thrive: at the largest coal liquefaction (a process that turns coal into oil) plant in the world, Secunda, a company that is responsible for more greenhouse gases than the nation of Portugal. Read more on OZY |
| 4. Making Amends Sunita Dhairyam is making things right if a tiger kills your cow. Having ditched the rampant development in Bangalore, India, to buy a small piece of land on the edge of Bandipur National Park, she learned of a common practice: Villagers poisoning predators that killed their livestock. So Dhairyam decided that she would raise money to compensate the villagers in and around Bandipur — by selling her art. And villagers are starting to change their attitudes. Watch now on OZY |
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| utter cuteness Because, look, you need it right now. |
| 1. Undersea Pals Defying long-held misconceptions, a new study out of Indonesia finds that manta rays, those majestic ocean creatures, form social relationships. Watch them play here. |
| 2. Mission Impossible What’s cuter than a corgi? A corgi that teams up with two other dogs to steal food from the counter. Watch here. |
| | 3. Save the Painted Dogs Painted dogs (also known as painted wolves or African wild dogs) are notoriously fierce hunters, with a kill rate that bests that of the cheetah, but they’re now among the most endangered mammals in Africa. They’re also incredibly adorable. Now one organization in Zimbabwe is looking to save them. Read more on OZY |
| 4. Name Game When a local TV station in Virginia mentioned a shelter cat that was named Dennis Quaid, the actor himself called up and said he’d adopt the feline. “I’m out to save all the Dennis Quaids of the world,” said the longtime Hollywood fixture. Aren’t we all. |
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