Our Hen House: Vegan & Animal Rights Movement | Stories from the Frontlines of Animal Liberation

This week, Mariann finds herself in a suspiciously good mood despite a roster of horrors: ag-friendly lawmakers are departing Washington, Western states are busy “euthanizing” wolves in the most creative misuse of that word yet, and 2,400 pigs died in a barn fire that somehow produced “no injuries.” On the bright side, Gen Z is apparently ghosting pork, the hog market is in freefall, and a new report confirms what everyone already suspected—Big Beef knew about its climate impact back in the ’90s and chose deception. Also: cancer-causing fire retardant in your fish meal, supermarkets begging governments to stop yanking every last mackerel out of the sea, and your tax dollars hard at work building a dairy industry in a country full of lactose-intolerant people. Plus, a shout-out to Cat Phipps, the grassroots activist proving one person can actually ruin a multi-country live animal export operation. Farm lobby loses its Congressional cheerleaders: Dozens of lawmakers with big ag ties are leaving Washington, and the industry is very sad about it, which is a promising sign for anyone who isn’t a factory farm Shooting wolves is not euthanasia: Colorado and other Western states are reintroducing wolves and then killing them the moment they do what wolves do; calling it euthanasia doesn’t make it euthanasia Gen Z is not buying pork: Hog market hits “historic lows” as younger consumers cut their per-capita pig consumption, and industry veterans find this “puzzling” Big Beef’s ’90s climate disinformation campaign exposed: Newly surfaced documents show the National Cattlemen’s Association knew about livestock’s methane problem decades ago and opted to lie about Cancer-causing fire retardant in fish meal + US dairy expansion in lactose-intolerant Indonesia: Because nothing says “agricultural innovation” like poisoning farmed fish and exporting lactose to a country that can’t digest it We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read this episode's interview. _____________________________________________ Thank you for listening to the Our Hen House podcast! If you enjoy our podcasts, believe in our mission to effectively mainstream the movement to end the exploitation of animals, find community and solace in our shows and resources, and would like to show your support for vegan indie media, please make a donation today. Contributions of any amount will go towards our fundraising goal and are hugely appreciated. Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcatcher, and don’t forget to leave a 5-star review! Check out Our Hen House’s other podcasts: The Animal Law Podcast, The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and the Antiracism in Animal Advocacy Audio Series. Follow us on social media! You can find Our Hen House on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, or Bluesky. The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.

In this episode of Our Hen House, Mariann Sullivan speaks with Cat Phipps of Southampton Animal Action about their remarkable grassroots campaign that convinced Brittany Ferries to end live animal exports between Ireland and France. Cat breaks down the history of live export protests in the UK, how a small local group used consistent, legal, and disruptive tactics over more than a year to force a major ferry company to stop transporting animals on 18-plus-hour journeys, and what this victory means for the broader animal rights movement. They also discuss the resurgence of grassroots campaigning, bridging the gap between welfarist and abolitionist approaches, and what’s next — including a new push against Irish Ferries and ongoing campaigns targeting MBR Acres, Barclays, and pet retailers. The Brittany Ferries campaign: How Southampton Animal Action organized weekly protests at Portsmouth Port, used banner drops and megaphones inside the port, and maintained legal but disruptive pressure to persuade CEO Christophe Mathieu to end the company’s live animal export operations. Live exports explained: The grim reality of live animal transport in Europe, including unweaned calves and sheep shipped for 18+ hours without food or water, and how the UK’s 2024 ban on live exports post-Brexit left EU routes as the remaining battleground. Abolitionist messaging within a welfarist coalition: How a vegan-led grassroots group partnered with Compassion in World Farming while refusing to compromise their demand for a complete end to live exports, proving that welfare-to-abolitionist coalitions can work. The ripple effects: How Brittany Ferries’ decision sent the Irish animal agriculture industry into crisis, triggered political panic among Irish MEPs, and left Irish Ferries as the sole remaining live export operator on the route. Grassroots strategy and what’s next: The role of in-person community building, why small protests can be powerfully effective, how single-species campaigns like MBR Acres can serve as gateways to broader animal rights awareness, and Southampton Animal Action’s upcoming campaigns targeting Barclays, Pets at Home, and more. ABOUT OUR GUEST Cat Phipps is an animal rights activist with Southampton Animal Action (SAA), a grassroots group campaigning for animal freedom across Hampshire, UK. She led SAA’s campaign against Brittany Ferries, who restarted live animal exports in 2025. The campaign included regular protests outside Brittany Ferries in Portsmouth, UK, and culminated in a direct meeting with Brittany Ferries’ CEO, Christophe Matthieu, in July 2026. The following week, Brittany Ferries announced its decision to stop transporting animals. The win demonstrated the impact that persistent grassroots campaigning can have on corporate decisions and animal protection. _____________________________________________ Thank you for listening to the Our Hen House podcast! If you enjoy our podcasts, believe in our mission to effectively mainstream the movement to end the exploitation of animals, find community and solace in our shows and resources, and would like to show your support for vegan indie media, please make a donation today. Contributions of any amount are hugely appreciated. Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcatcher, and don’t forget to leave a 5-star review! Check out Our Hen House’s other podcasts: The Animal Law Podcast, The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and the Antiracism in Animal Advocacy Audio Series. Follow us on social media! You can find Our Hen House on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, or Bluesky. The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.

In this episode of The Hen Report, Jasmin and Mariann discuss groundbreaking news: New York City’s horse-drawn carriage industry may finally be coming to an end under Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration. They trace the decades-long grassroots fight to ban carriage horses in NYC—from protest carols at Columbus Circle to the strategic political organizing that made this moment possible—while highlighting the activists and organizations, including Voters for Animal Rights and the work of Allie Feldman Taylor, who helped build the political power behind the bill. The conversation also explores the vital role of grassroots activism in the broader animal rights movement, the upcoming City Council vote on October 22nd, and what this iconic victory could mean for animals far beyond New York City. NYC Horse-Drawn Carriage Ban: Mayor Mamdani announced the industry is coming to an end, with the City Council vote expected on October 22nd and a potential phase-out date of June 1, 2028. The bill includes humane disposition requirements for the horses. Decades of Grassroots Organizing: The hosts reflect on their personal history with this campaign, including Christmas carols rewritten as protest songs, and explain why this long-fought battle is a testament to the power of persistent grassroots activism. Key Organizations and Activists: A spotlight on the groups that made this possible—including Voters for Animal Rights, NYCLASS, Equine Advocates, and the ASPCA—with special recognition for Allie Feldman Taylor, who now heads the NYC Mayor’s Office of Animal Welfare. The Catalyst and the Context: The tragic death of a young man from India after a carriage accident helped trigger this moment, but it was the years of organizing beforehand that made the movement ready to act when tragedy struck—drawing international press coverage from the UK, Australia, and India. The Broader Grassroots Movement: The discussion expands to celebrate grassroots activism across the animal rights movement, including the upcoming interview with Cat Phipps about live export protests in the UK, the March to End Animal Testing, and a reminder that local, in-person advocacy remains essential to creating lasting change for animals. RESOURCES Animal Law and Policy Institute at Vermont Law & Graduate School The Effects Of Digital Advocacy: What A Single Exposure To Digital Animal Advocacy Can (And Can’t) Do New York City’s iconic horse-drawn carriages expected to take their last trot Horse-drawn carriages in New York City expected to be outlawed _____________________________________________ Thank you for listening to the Our Hen House podcast! If you enjoy our podcasts, believe in our mission to effectively mainstream the movement to end the exploitation of animals, find community and solace in our shows and resources, and would like to show your support for vegan indie media, please make a donation today. Contributions of any amount will go towards our fundraising goal and are hugely appreciated. Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcatcher, and don’t forget to leave a 5-star review! Check out Our Hen House’s other podcasts: The Animal Law Podcast, The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and the Antiracism in Animal Advocacy Audio Series. Follow us on social media! You can find Our Hen House on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Bluesky. The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.

In this episode of Our Hen House, Mariann and Jasmin sit down with Alex Bury, Vice President of Development at Vegan Outreach, and Stacy Shepanek, Director of Communications at Vegan Outreach and co-lead of Knox Vegan, to talk about grassroots vegan activism that works. They dig into Vegan Outreach’s massive leafleting legacy (22 million booklets and counting), their 10 Weeks to Vegan online program with 1.8 million signups across 18 countries, and the star of the show — the Vegan Chef Challenge, a month-long campaign that gets local restaurants to create brand-new vegan menu items in cities where plant-based options are scarce. Along the way, they discuss why grassroots outreach remains essential in a movement that has shifted toward corporate advocacy, how the Chef Challenge transforms dining scenes in places like Anchorage and Knoxville, the one-day MacDown mac and cheese competitions, and how volunteers can bring the Vegan Chef Challenge to their own communities. How the Vegan Chef Challenge works: 10–30 local restaurants create new vegan specials — typically an appetizer, entrée, and dessert — for a month, with customers voting for their favorites. The majority of participating restaurants had zero vegan options before, and many keep vegan dishes on the menu year-round. Grassroots vegan activism still matters: Alex and Stacy make the case that while corporate advocacy and legislative work have their place, person-to-person outreach — from college leafleting to restaurant challenges — is an irreplaceable way to create lasting change for animals. Global reach with local flavor: Vegan Outreach’s 10 Weeks to Vegan program operates in 18 countries with culturally adapted recipes and resources, and their India team has helped replace over a million pounds of meat with plant-based options through the Green Tuesday initiative. Getting involved: Volunteers can bring a Vegan Chef Challenge or MacDown to their own city. Visit veganchefchallenge.org to fill out an interest form, or email [email protected] to explore volunteer opportunities ranging from leafleting to organizing a full month-long restaurant challenge. Community building beyond the food: The Vegan Chef Challenge doesn’t just create vegan options — it creates community. From Anchorage’s growing network of vegan women to Knoxville’s meetup culture, the challenge has become a catalyst for lasting local connections that help new vegans stay vegan. ABOUT OUR GUESTS Alex Bury (she/her) has been a professional fundraiser for animal rights and animal welfare nonprofits for over 20 years. Before that, she was a CIA-trained professional chef who ran a vegan restaurant in Northern California. She shifted her career to more direct ways of supporting the movement against animal suffering, raising the funds activists need to do their work, and has worked for PETA, the PETA Foundation, HSUS (now A Humane World), and her current organization, Vegan Outreach. She’s a member of Women Funders in Animal Rights and Indivisible, and a proud board member for People & Pets Project, Open Sanctuary Project, and Beyond Population. Alex lives and works remotely in Anchorage, Alaska. She and her dog Goldie love to hike, cross-country ski, and stay up too late reading science fiction. Stacy Shepanek is Director of Communications at Vegan Outreach. She went vegan in 2012 and became a community organizer in Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina. She joined Vegan Outreach in 2017, leafleting college campuses and doing graphic design, and she’s since organized three vegan Mac Downs. She’s been on the Knoxville Vegan Chef Challenge organizing team since its first year and co-runs Knox Vegan, sharing local vegan food finds and organizing community events. Stacy believes in supporting local restaurants with strong vegan options, because the vegan in the group is often the one choosing where everyone eats, and one thoughtful menu item can bring a whole table of new diners through the door. She lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, with her partner and their rescue dog, Cookie, and loves hiking, cycling, climbing, and just about anything that gets her outside. She has worn many hats over the years before working for Vegan Outreach. She spent 10 years in Civil Engineering and 8 years as a professional potter before coming to Vegan Outreach. _____________________________________________ Thank you for listening to the Our Hen House podcast! If you enjoy our podcasts, believe in our mission to effectively mainstream the movement to end the exploitation of animals, find community and solace in our shows and resources, and would like to show your support for vegan indie media, please make a donation today. Contributions of any amount are hugely appreciated. Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcatcher, and don’t forget to leave a 5-star review! Check out Our Hen House’s other podcasts: The Animal Law Podcast, The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and the Antiracism in Animal Advocacy Audio Series. Follow us on social media! You can find Our Hen House on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, or Bluesky. The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.

In this episode of The Hen Report from Our Hen House, Jasmin and Mariann dig into the tension within the animal protection movement over anti-factory farming messaging that stops short of asking people to eat fewer animals. Inspired by Mariann’s Substack piece Expanding the Tent and Jasmin’s experience at an op-ed writing workshop, the two trace this strategic issue through historical parallels — from abolition and women’s suffrage to civil rights, gay rights, and prison reform. Mariann outlines four distinct factions operating within the farmed animal movement today and makes the case that, with so little progress achieved so far, activists should be pushing every approach forward rather than tearing each other down. Anti-factory farming vs. diet change: Mariann argues that ending factory farming inevitably means animal products become expensive and scarce, so the movement can’t skip the hardest conversation. Lessons from social justice history: Jasmin draws parallels to abolition, women’s suffrage, civil rights, gay rights, environmentalism, and prison reform, noting that internal divisions between radicals and moderates often helped movements succeed when both camps pushed simultaneously. Four factions in the farmed animal movement: Mariann identifies anti-factory farming reformers, animal modification advocates (like Aidan Kankyoku’s headless chicken proposal), diet change organizations (Good Food Institute, Vegan Outreach, Greener by Default), and the focus on the animals — each with overlapping but distinct goals. A call for unity over infighting: With insufficient progress after decades of advocacy, activists should need to advance every promising approach at once. RESOURCES Expanding the Tent _____________________________________________ Thank you for listening to the Our Hen House podcast! If you enjoy our podcasts, believe in our mission to effectively mainstream the movement to end the exploitation of animals, find community and solace in our shows and resources, and would like to show your support for vegan indie media, please make a donation today. Contributions of any amount will go towards our fundraising goal and are hugely appreciated. Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcatcher, and don’t forget to leave a 5-star review! Check out Our Hen House’s other podcasts: The Animal Law Podcast, The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and the Antiracism in Animal Advocacy Audio Series. Follow us on social media! You can find Our Hen House on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Bluesky. The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.