Episode 75: For the love and respect of animals

~ Kathleen Collins
Bill and Leo

This episode is for animal lovers and for anyone who believes that our connection to non-human animals is much closer than most of us humans think. If this doesn’t describe you, take a risk on being convinced.

Bill Crain is a retired psychology professor from City College and co-founder with his wife, Ellen, of the Safe Haven Farm Sanctuary in Poughquag, New York. He is the author of several books, including The Emotional Lives of Animals and Children: Insights from a Farm Sanctuary. Bill is a gentle, soft-spoken activist who has been arrested and jailed numerous times for protesting black bear hunting in New Jersey. This article provides a good summary and features a visit from Daisy Dominguez. Daisy is a librarian and faculty member at City College and a good friend of Bill and the sanctuary. She took me there to meet Bill and the animals in April, and we got to help feed the pigs and commune with the goats, sheep, chickens, horses and donkeys. I was recording our conversation and the animals’ voices all the while – trying unsuccessfully to have one episode I could call Outdoor Voices – but unfortunately the wind swallowed up the sound. So instead, I had indoor conversations with Bill and Daisy after the fact and tried to recapture some of what we talked about.

This is a collage conversation: First you’ll hear Bill and me talking via Zoom about his life with animals and how it intersects with his teaching. Then Daisy tells me about her evolution to animal activism and veganism. In the final segment, Daisy and I talk again about her teaching and writing and her involvement with the IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee) at City College. Stick around to the end of the episode for some audible clips of our actual visit with Bill at the Safe Haven Farm Sanctuary.

Visit the Safe Haven website for more photos, videos and info about the rescued animals. If you are so inclined, please consider making a donation to the farm.

Listen to Episode 75 now!
(Apple Podcasts)

Learn more/follow:

Daisy;s future foretold
Daisy and Ginger