Dogfighting is often misunderstood as a relic of the past — or as a cruelty confined to the margins of society. In reality, organized fighting networks continue to operate across the United States, leaving behind a pipeline of animals who are brutalized, discarded, and in urgent need of highly specialized care.

In this episode of The Animal Wellness Podcast, host Joseph Grove examines the continuum between federal policy and frontline rescue work — and why both are essential to ending organized animal cruelty.

He is joined by Rochelle Steffen, founder of Mac’s Mission, a Missouri-based nonprofit rescue whose work “specializes in special.” Her organization focuses on dogs in severe medical crisis: neonatal puppies with congenital defects, survivors of extreme abuse, and animals whose injuries or conditions place them beyond the capacity of traditional shelters.

The conversation also explores the policy dimension of this work, including Animal Wellness Action’s advocacy for the FIGHT Act — federal legislation designed to strengthen enforcement against dogfighting, increase penalties, and disrupt trafficking of fighting paraphernalia.

Listeners will come away with a deeper understanding of:

• The modern reality of organized dogfighting
• The medical and behavioral challenges faced by surviving dogs
• How specialized rescues manage complex, resource-intensive cases
• Why federal legislation like the FIGHT Act remains urgently needed
• The emotional toll — and rewards — of this work on rescuers

Listeners may learn more at Animal Wellness Action and by visiting Mac’s Mission online.

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

Why do we love some animals as family while treating others as commodities?

In this episode of The Animal Wellness Podcast, host Joseph Grove is joined by Melanie Joy, Ph.D. — Harvard-educated psychologist, international speaker, and author of the landmark book, “Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows.”

Dr. Joy introduces and explores the concept of carnism — the largely invisible belief system that conditions people to eat certain animals while caring deeply for others. Drawing on psychology, sociology, and ethics, she examines how cultural norms shape perception, why systems of animal exploitation often go unquestioned, and why even compassionate people may participate in practices they would otherwise reject.

The conversation also reflects the perspective of Animal Wellness Action: an acknowledgment that many people eat animals, paired with a firm ethical insistence that animals raised for food deserve lives free from needless suffering. If there must be a “bad day,” it should be only one day — not a lifetime of cruelty, confinement, or neglect.

Together, Grove and Joy discuss moral dissonance, defensiveness, and how advocates can speak about animals in ways that invite reflection rather than resistance — offering listeners a thoughtful, humane framework for understanding both animal suffering and the belief systems that sustain it.

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

Despite the closure of U.S. horse slaughter plants nearly two decades ago, tens of thousands of American horses are still exported every year to Canada and Mexico for slaughter. The practice persists quietly, fueled by policy loopholes, weak enforcement, and public misunderstanding—while horses who once served as companions, athletes, and working partners pay the price.

In this episode of the Animal Wellness Podcast, we’re joined by Thalia Fischer, founder and director of All Seated in a Barn, a California-based equine rescue dedicated to pulling horses from the slaughter pipeline and giving them a second chance through rescue, rehabilitation, training, and adoption.

We’re also joined by Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action, who brings a national policy perspective to the conversation—explaining why Congress has repeatedly failed to halt live exports of horses for slaughter and what it will take to finally close that loophole through legislation like the SAFE Act.

Together, Thalia and Wayne connect the dots between what happens at auctions and kill pens, the grueling cross-border transport of horses, and the political choices that allow this trade to continue. This episode explores the emotional realities of horse rescue, the scale of the slaughter crisis, and the concrete actions listeners can take to help protect America’s horses.

Topics covered include:

• How horses end up in the export-to-slaughter pipeline
• What equine rescues face on the front lines
• The welfare concerns tied to long-distance transport and slaughter
• Why live exports persist despite public opposition
• How advocacy and legislation can end horse slaughter for good

If you care about horses—and about aligning U.S. law with our values—this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

Learn More and Take Action

Go here to read our thorough report on the state of horse slaughter, “Horse Slaughter in North America: U.S. Live Exports Fade as Foreign Demand Abates,” and go here to tell your elected officials you want to end the slaughter pipeline.

About the Show

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/

What if we could produce real meat—without animals?

For decades, the animal-welfare movement has worked to reduce suffering by changing laws, corporate practices, and consumer behavior. Those efforts have delivered meaningful progress. And yet, billions of animals are still raised and killed each year for food.

That reality raises an urgent question—one that would have sounded like science fiction not long ago: Can we fundamentally change how meat is made?

On this episode of the Animal Wellness Podcast, host Joseph Grove sits down with Paul Shapiro, a leading voice at the intersection of animal welfare, food innovation, and climate policy. Paul is the author of the national bestseller Clean Meat, which helped introduce and popularize the concept of growing real meat directly from animal cells—eliminating the need for factory farming altogether. In addition, we’re joined by Wayne Pacelle, who is a previous of colleague of Paul and the president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy.

In this conversation, we explore:

• What “clean meat” (also known as cultivated meat) actually is
• Where the cultivated-meat industry stands today—and what’s holding it back
• How clean meat differs from plant-based alternatives
• Why this technology matters for animals, public health, the climate, and the future of food

This episode goes beyond hype or fear-based narratives to ask deeper questions about ethics, innovation, and what real progress for animals might look like in the decades ahead.

About the Guest

Paul Shapiro is the CEO of The Better Meat Co., the author of “Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World,” a five-time TEDx speaker, and the host of the Business for Good Podcast. He has been recognized as a Most Admired CEO by the Sacramento Business Journal.

About the Show

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/

In early 2024, a video emerged from western Wyoming showing a wolf being chased down by a snowmobile, brought into a bar, tormented, and killed. The man at the center of the video, Cody Roberts, has since been criminally charged and pleaded not guilty—turning a viral act of cruelty into a legal test of Wyoming’s animal protection laws.

In this episode of the Animal Wellness Podcast, we examine where that case stands now—and what it reveals about Wyoming’s broader relationship with wolves.

Our guest is Mark Heinz, outdoors and wildlife reporter for Cowboy State Daily, who has covered wolves, grizzlies, and wildlife conflict across the Mountain West for decades. Drawing on on-the-ground reporting, Mark discusses community reaction in Daniel and Sublette County, the legal and cultural forces shaping the prosecution, and why wolves remain one of the most polarizing animals in the American West.

We also explore whether the Cody Roberts case marks a turning point—or simply another chapter in a long-running conflict over fear, cruelty, and coexistence.

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/

For decades, dominant narratives in evolutionary biology have told us that conflict, competition, and dominance are the fundamental drivers of social life — both in animals and humans. But what if that story is not only incomplete, but misleading?

In this deeply reflective conversation, host Joseph Grove sits down with Dr. Shirley C. Strum, the pioneering primatologist behind “Echoes of Our Origins: Baboons, Humans, and Nature.” Drawing on more than 50 years of field research observing wild baboons in Kenya, Dr. Strum shares how her long-term work uncovered surprising truths about social life in one of our closest animal relatives — truths that have profound implications for how we understand evolution, intelligence, and ourselves.

Rather than a world dominated by brute force, Dr. Strum’s research reveals:

• Baboons rarely use violence — and only when it’s strategically necessary.
• Social stability arises from predictability, cooperation, and enduring relationships.
• Female baboons are key to social continuity, not peripheral observers.
• Mistakes and adaptability — not “perfect optimization” — are part of survival.

Grove and Dr. Strum also discuss how human cultural assumptions about gender, power, and competition have shaped scientific interpretations of animal behavior — and why those assumptions deserve scrutiny if we hope to move toward a more compassionate, accurate understanding of life on Earth.

Whether you’re fascinated by animal behavior, curious about the ethical implications of science, or simply interested in what other species can teach us about coexistence and resilience, this episode offers fresh insights and profound takeaways.

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

This episode features Steve Dale, one of the nation’s most trusted voices on companion-animal behavior. For decades, Steve has helped millions of pet guardians better understand the animals who share their lives—through his long-running radio show “Steve Dale’s Pet World,” national television appearances, and more than a dozen books translating animal-behavior science into practical, humane guidance.

His newest book, “Ask the Dog!,” may be his most important yet—and it’s written for children. (It is available for purchase here and through other booksellers.)

At a time when dog-bite injuries are at historic highs and children account for a large share of those incidents, “Ask the Dog!” introduces a simple but powerful idea: before interacting with a dog, you don’t just ask the person holding the leash—you also “ask the dog.” Through an engaging story, the book teaches children how dogs communicate through body language, how to recognize consent and discomfort, and why respecting those signals matters.

Steve joins the show to discuss what dogs are telling us that we often miss—and how learning to listen can make children safer and deepen empathy on both ends of the leash.

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

In this year-end episode of the Animal Wellness Podcast, host Joseph Grove is joined by Animal Wellness Action leaders to reflect on major wins for animals in 2025—and the critical fights ahead in 2026.

The episode closes with Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action, who reflects on a banner year that included historic progress on ending animal testing, eliminating the school milk mandate, and reshaping corporate practices, while outlining the battles still ahead to protect wildlife and enforce new reforms.

Helping animals helps us all—and this episode shows how real change happens.

Mentioned in the Episode

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