Today’s Animal Voices presents two interviews. First, we welcome Paul York of the University of Toronto Animal Rights Club. With a focus on anti-vivisection work, UT-ARC has a formidable task ahead: the University of Toronto uses 90,000 animals every year, including rats, mice, dogs, and monkeys. And while the university once promised to stop using monkeys, it quickly caved to pressure from researchers and reneged on that promise.

UT-ARC also works to bring guest speakers to campus, to lobby for vegan food options, and to inform science students about their right to refuse to experiment on animals and assist them in adopting out animals instead of killing them at the end of a study. Just recently, 8 mice made their way from a lab to caring homes through UT-ARC’s efforts.

As further reading, York recommends David Sztybel’s critique of the Canadian Council on Animal Care’s ethics code.

Next, we speak with the multi-talented Greg Bennick: keynote speaker, filmmaker, singer for the bands Trial and Between Earth & Sky, and founder of the relief organization One Hundred For Haiti. Bennick shares insights about violence that he gleaned while working on two projects: Flight From Death and the Legacy Project. The film Flight From Death explored the psychological roots of aggression and domination, while the Legacy Project, which involves taking student groups to sites of atrocities, explores means of healing and leaving violence behind. Bennick also discusses how veganism fuels his work, how we can all listen more effectively, and the importance of getting out a message with integrity and sincerity that people can connect with.

Listen right now: [audio http://av.shows.s3.amazonaws.com/20121106_york_bennick.mp3]

or download an mp3 of the show.