Long live my dog! is not a quick, well-made summary of more or less wise advice for taking care of your companion’s health, but a very comprehensive book full of scientific references which explores, in a global approach, the main facets of the factors of longevity in dogs. Food, exercises, environment, exposure to stress… the latest scientific studies are invoked to help you see more clearly when it comes to making the best choices according to your animal and its living environment. Signed by a clinical veterinarian who is very active on social networks and the creator of the Planet Paws educational video page, the book can be frightening at first sight, with its 400 pages peppered with tables, diagrams and long passages filled with in-depth scientific explanations in small print (and again, all references to sources have been evacuated to a website to lighten the whole thing!), but the insertion of practical and popular summaries at the end of the chapter allows quick access to the essentials.
Let’s now move into the field of activism and essays, with Animal Autonomies, a work textured by a trio of committed authors, including Vipulan Puvaneswaran, rising star of the ecological movement. At the heart of the subject: the relationship of power and domination, reviewed through the prism of the animal condition. In fact, the editors establish a bridge between the latter and the struggles of workers and the oppressed of all kinds, placing all the issues in the global context of the living. Above all, they sign a manifesto for “a political autonomy where animals, their desire for freedom and the extent of the violence endured are taken into consideration”. Food “decolonization”, vegan agricultural practices, division of territories, animal exploitation in the capitalist mechanism… in a varied and well synthesized way, this book opens up many avenues of help while deconstructing past excesses.
Behind this intriguing and poetic title, How to speak whale, hides an in-depth investigation into the modes of communication of cetaceans. In his very first book, biologist and documentary filmmaker Tom Mustill traces a sea kayaking trip in which he almost died, when a humpback whale took a potentially fatal leap to his crew. From then on, he frantically leans on the question of animal communication, going from surprise to surprise, and much more complex than it seems at first sight. Would we be able to decode it, or even respond to it? Coated by a lively narration, as well as by solid scientific references, the work immerses us in a fascination close to that staged in Arrival, where a linguist seeks to decipher an obscure extraterrestrial language. But why search the far reaches of the galaxy for mysteries that lie right there, under the sea?
The Montreal SPCA has just launched the very first season of a new six-part podcast, Au nom des Animaux, hosted by Claudia Larochelle. Focusing on six animal species, their living conditions, their protection and their well-being, a range of experts, namely veterinarians, researchers, lawyers and ethicists, will enlighten listeners are resolutely contemporary issues. This first season focuses on farm animals. The new series is available on Spotify, Google Podcasts and Apple Podcasts, among others.
