I'm often asked: Do you really believe in change? And while I acknowledge that it's hard to be hopeful sometimes, I do, undeniably, believe that a better world is always possible. This is where documentaries play a significant cultural sociopolitical role. They are the narratives of our times.

An angry Huffington Post blogger has tried to build himself up by tearing down the work of The Humane Society of the United States. So we'll reply. On our terms. The red-in-the-face online writer thinks he could do a better job for animals if only he could command an organization as big and proud and as deeply rooted in our culture as the HSUS. Allow us, just once, to borrow from his own inelegant writing: "This is a complete crock."

I expect most people wouldn't send donations if they knew what the Humane Society of the United States actually was. It doesn't run any shelters. It has no veterinary clinics. A good deal of their funding comes from people who don't have the slightest idea of their real agenda.

And where's the "humanity" in defending animal rights? Like me, devout animal lovers and environmentalists (often one and the same) betray an underlying misanthropy, a profound disgust and disillusion with humanity. We can love animals because they aren't our competitors; they're dumb and easily used to serve our ends.

Nathan Winograd is the leader of the No Kill movement, a genuine revolution in animal welfare. Over three million healthy and adoptable pets will be killed next year in America's shelters. Not, however, if Winograd and his growing army have any say. I caught up with him a few weeks after the No Kill Advocacy Centre's annual conference in Washington D.C.

Animal activists say ticket buyers are part of the problem when it comes to the cruel treatment of animals at the Calgary Stampede. Prote...

MONTREAL - Quebec is in the doghouse again with the U.S.-based Animal Legal Defence Fund.The organization puts Quebec near the bottom of its rankings ...

People naturally assume that the animal rights movement is simply an extension of the human rights movement. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), however, is a political movement primarily focused on the right to determine when and how an animal should die. Those who donate to PETA are almost never aware of this.

Nice people, however famous and pretty, should not be taking off their clothes in the cause of euthanasia.

PETA advertises itself as the largest animal rights organization in the world, with over three million members and supporters. PETA stages "rescue" operations of abused animals, and can serve a useful purpose, which it is exceedingly adept at publicizing. What PETA does not publicize, however, it euthanizes -- kills -- some 85% of the animals it rescues.

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This is the story of two dogs named Rocky -- one which was unnecessarily euthanized by the OSPCA this summer, and the other being feted by the OSPCA at a fundraiser on Nov. 28 at Roy Thomson Hall. The owner of the euthanized Rocky feels the fundraising is being used to make them forget the botch-up with their dog.

Why do we object so vigorously to what these poor animals experienced, yet accept that had they not escaped from the trailer, the steers would have be slaughtered for food just hours later? The only difference is, we don't bear witness to these conditions -- the suffering goes on behind closed doors.

The ethical dimension of confining elephants in zoos has generated a great deal of debate in Canada. Elephants are intelligent, sensitive creatures whose physical, psychological and emotional needs simply cannot be met in zoos. Releasing them to sanctuaries is the best way to express our compassion for animals.