What began as one of the largest dog rescue efforts in American history may become a turning point in the movement to end animal testing.

In this special episode of the Animal Wellness Podcast, host Joseph Grove takes listeners inside the remarkable rescue of approximately 1,500 beagles from Ridglan Farms in Wisconsin, a commercial breeding facility that supplied dogs for laboratory experimentation.

Drawn from a record-setting national webinar, this episode features the voices of the people who helped make the rescue possible — including advocates, rescuers, policymakers, and public figures who are now working to ensure fewer animals ever enter laboratories in the first place.

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Together, they explore the rescue itself, the challenges of rehabilitating animals who have never experienced normal life, and the growing scientific and political movement to replace outdated animal testing with modern technologies.

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The rescue of these beagles captured national attention. But as our guests make clear, the larger mission is just beginning.

Listen now to hear how compassion, science, and public policy are converging to challenge a system that has remained largely unchanged for decades.

Take action! Visit this link today to tell your elected officials in Washington that you want an end to the use of taxpayer dollars spent on tests on dogs and cats.

Subscribe, rate, and share the Animal Wellness Podcast to help amplify the movement for a more humane future.

The Animal Wellness podcast is produced by Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. It focuses on improving the lives of animals in the United States and abroad through legislation and by influencing businesses to create a more humane economy. The show is hosted by veteran journalist and animal-advocate Joseph Grove.

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Ten years ago, Wayne Pacelle, head of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, made a disruptive case in “The Humane Economy: How Innovators and Enlightened Consumers Are Transforming the Lives of Animals.” He argued that the biggest gains for animals would come not just from laws, but from the marketplace—through corporate pressure, consumer demand, and economic incentives.

Today, that vision is being tested in a far more adversarial landscape.

In this episode, host Joseph Grove speaks with Pacelle about the state of the “humane economy” amid intensifying political and corporate pushback. While companies have made high-profile commitments on cage-free systems and alternatives to animal testing, powerful industry interests are now working to unwind those gains.

At the center of the fight: federal efforts to override state laws like California’s Prop 12 and Massachusetts’ Question 3—voter-approved measures designed to curb extreme confinement of farm animals. These battles raise a critical question: can market-driven progress endure when political forces intervene to reverse it?

They discuss:

• The growing backlash against animal welfare laws in Congress
• Corporate follow-through—and where companies are retreating
• The role of multinational corporations and consolidation in shaping outcomes
• Whether consumers are driving change—or being priced out of it
• Breakthroughs in plant-based innovation and non-animal testing
• Why voluntary corporate action has limits—and where regulation is indispensable

Pacelle also addresses a central tension: if the humane economy is working, why are we seeing such aggressive efforts to dismantle its gains?

This is a candid, high-stakes conversation about power, policy, and the future of animal protection in an era of competing economic interests.

The Animal Wellness podcast is produced by Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. It focuses on improving the lives of animals in the United States and abroad through legislation and by influencing businesses to create a more humane economy. The show is hosted by veteran journalist and animal-advocate Joseph Grove.

www.animalwellnessaction.org

www.centerforahumaneeconomy.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnimalWellnessAction

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/centerforahumaneeconomy/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AWAction_News

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHumaneCenter

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/animalwellnessaction/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/centerforahumaneeconomy/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/animal-wellness-action/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI_6FxM4hD6oS5VSUwsCnNQ

What if the idea that humans stand above all other animals isn’t a scientific truth—but a cultural myth?

In this episode of the Animal Wellness Podcast, host Joseph Grove is joined by primatologist and NYU professor Christine Webb, author of “The Arrogant Ape: The Myth of Human Exceptionalism and Why It Matters,” for a wide-ranging conversation about how deeply ingrained beliefs about human superiority shape our relationship with animals—and the consequences of getting that relationship wrong.

Drawing on her research into the cognitive, emotional, and social lives of nonhuman animals, Webb challenges the notion that humans are categorically different from other species. Instead, she makes the case for “continuity”—the idea that differences between humans and other animals are differences of degree, not kind.

Together, they explore:

• How anthropocentric thinking shapes science, language, and culture
• Why the belief in human superiority persists—even in the face of evidence
• What we gain—ethically and existentially—by rethinking our place in the natural world

If we are to build a more humane and sustainable future, it may begin with a simple but profound shift: seeing ourselves not above the animal world, but within it.

LEARN MORE

The Arrogant Ape: The Myth of Human Exceptionalism and Why It Matters is available for purchase here and wherever books are sold. To learn more about Christine Webb, visit her website here.

The Animal Wellness podcast is produced by Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. It focuses on improving the lives of animals in the United States and abroad through legislation and by influencing businesses to create a more humane economy. The show is hosted by veteran journalist and animal-advocate Joseph Grove.

www.animalwellnessaction.org

www.centerforahumaneeconomy.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnimalWellnessAction

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/centerforahumaneeconomy/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AWAction_News

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHumaneCenter

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/animalwellnessaction/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/centerforahumaneeconomy/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/animal-wellness-action/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI_6FxM4hD6oS5VSUwsCnNQ