MUSIC BONUS on this episode! Hope has a wonderful conversation with vegan musician Brent Ratkovich. A singer and guitarist, Brent has recently been focused on a recording project that will produce three animal rights, vegan themed songs. They will be released as an EP called Three to Set Them Free in October of 2026. Listen and enjoy two of Brent’s new songs on this episode!

Brent shares the challenges of writing vegan themed lyrics and his inspiration and process to create animal freedom songs. He also talks about activist burnout and the importance of finding balance and even joy in your life. He and Hope discuss how music and art can help us create the world we want to see, adding emotion and humane creativity to messaging.

Brent is a passionate animal advocate who launched his solo advocacy project, One Cow Army, in 2015 donning a cow mask and taking his message to the streets. Brent has worked as an animal sanctuary caregiver, co-founded an Animal Save chapter, and participated in multiple large-scale rescues of thousands of hens from egg farms. Now based in Eugene, Oregon, Brent continues his commitment to animal protection volunteering with numerous local sanctuaries, the Eugene VeganFest, and founding A.C.E. – Animal Compassion Eugene, organizing outreach events and protests.

Brent’s Social Media:

Band Camp

Bluesky, @elementalvegan.bsky.social

Youtube

Instagram

Facebook

Lyrics to Brent's Songs:

Trying

Searching for the perfect words
Hoping their voices will be heard, I’m trying
You’ll say anything to hide the truth,
cuz you don’t wanna know what they go through,
I’m trying
Knowing they never see the sun, suffer every day
to die so young, I’m crying
Why can’t you see, they struggle to be free?
Make a kinder choice, just hear your inner voice
I shouldn’t have to prove, they’re just like me and you
You’re hoping that the farmers treat them well
You’ll buy every promise they try to sell,
they’re lying
If you were in their place I’d fight for you,
Why’s it hard to see they’re friends not food,
they’re dying
Why can’t you see, they struggle to be free?
Make a kinder choice, just hear your inner voice
I shouldn’t have to prove, they’re just like me and you
I look into their eyes and someone’s there
Hoping for a world we all can share,
I’m trying

Brent Ratkovich
Copyright 2026

Not Enough

All they want is their freedom
For every reason, that you and I take for granted
Free to love and free to play
To live life their own way
But we enslave them every season
And they tell us every day
It's not enough to say humane
It's not enough that we can build a bigger cage
The billions pay the price, from all the welfare lies
The truth is there for you to see
We're told a story when we're young
Of happy farms that do no harm
And a sun that shines on everyone
But every label tells a lie
Cuz they're just babies when they die
And their fight for life is never won
Still they're screaming every day
It's not enough to say humane
It's not enough that we can build a bigger cage
The animals pay the price, through all the welfare lies
The truth is there for us to see
It's not enough to buy free range
It's not enough to hope they're killed a "better" way
We're free to say goodbye, to all the welfare lies
It's up to us to set them free
Set them free!

Brent Ratkovich
Copyright 2026

From environmental protection to animal advocacy, on this episode we explore the connection of protecting wild animals and places to a vegan ethic of nonviolence. Jack Gescheidt created his TreeSpirit Project to use art, advocacy and activism to raise awareness of our interdependence with trees, forests, wild animals and the natural world. A lifelong nature and animal lover, Jack turned professional photographer four decades ago, environmental activist two decades ago, and in the last decade, he is now a vegan educator.

Jack and Hope talk about the program of killing half a million Barred Owls to supposedly “save” the Spotted Owl in the Pacific Northwest and what “invasive species” really means. They also discuss the Pt. Ryes National Seashore Tule Elk issue where environmentalist and animal rights advocates came together to get the dairy cow operations out of this sensitive area, and won! They also talk about the problems with grass-fed animal products, rotational grazing, and how these forms of animal agriculture use extensive land and fencing that disrupt migratory animals. They share the importance of having reverence and love for nature and an ethos of protection and not destruction. But don’t worry, it’s not all doom and gloom, we end the episode with a love fest.

Jack will be speaking at Compassionate Living’s Sonoma County VegFest on Saturday, September 26. He will speak about how the human tradition of treating non-human animals as inferiors, and using them for our own purposes, is not only exterminating wild animals, but all life on Earth — and ourselves.

Resources:

TreeSpirit Project

In Defense of Animals- Owl Petition

Support this podcast:

Hope for the Animals Podcast

Compassionate Living

Social Media:

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We start this episode with a movie review from Hope of the new pro-animal film The Sheep Detective. Then we move into a conversation with Kathy Cullen, founder of Jolene's Retreat. Kathy and Hope discuss rescues and the residents of Jolene’s Retreat sanctuary. Kathy has rescued numerous small “companion” pigs and they discuss the problem of breeding “potbelly” and “teacup” designer pigs. They also talk about the importance of animal’s agency as well as friends and family units and how these are disrupted and broken up in animal agriculture and the psychological distress that can cause. But also how bonds of friendship form on sanctuaries and are not limited by species.

When Kathy Cullen was 19, she decided to go vegetarian for health reasons, but morality quickly took a front seat after realizing that she no longer wanted to be a part of animal suffering. Kathy began reading about the problems with animal agriculture and the unbelievable suffering animals endure for food, entertainment, clothing, science, etc. and decided to get involved. She joined animal rights organizations, attended animal rights conferences, visited animal sanctuaries, and finally decided to start her own sanctuary. She bought 10 acres of land in Occidental, California in and in May 2023, Jolene’s Retreat became a reality with their first rescue of a family of five pigs.

Kathy will be presenting at Compassionate Living’s Sonoma County VegFest on Saturday, September 26, 2026 in Santa Rosa, California.

Resources:

Jolene’s Retreat

Sonoma County VegFest 2026

Support this podcast:

Hope for the Animals Podcast

Compassionate Living

Social Media:

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube