Category: news

Published in In Our View on October 17, 2023 Originally printed in The Hour as a response to the paper’s editorial team tackling the dangers of artificial turf in “Grass vs. turf on school fields is no game” (Oct. 11, 2023).  Like junk food, artificial turf may seem like a convenient, easy fix. But think again. Astroturf is…

Published in In Our View on October 18, 2023 by Scott Smith, Communications Director One of the pleasures of living in the four-season climate of Connecticut is leaf-peeping season, with its kaleidoscopic display of autumn colors. As a dedicated backyard gardener, I also can’t wait for the trees to shed their foliage, for I see each falling…

Published in In Our View on November 10, 2023 By Scott Smith  There’s a beautiful patch of flowers outside the building that houses Friends of Animals’ offices in Darien, CT., thick with coneflowers, coreopsis, black-eyed susans and other perennials. It’s a delight to take a work break on a summer day and spend a few minutes outside…

Published in In Our View on December 18, 2023 On the frontlines  By Nicole Rivard  This fall I’ve had the thrill of having a few red foxes cross my path in Darien, Connecticut, where Friends of Animals is headquartered. They always seem so alert, present and sure of themselves, especially when mousing. That’s the pounce you see…

On Dec. 24, The New York Times ran a story on the groundwater crisis being fueled by American consumers’ appetite for chicken and cheese. In states like Arkansas and Idaho, farmers have drained groundwater to grow soybeans to feed chickens and alfalfa to feed dairy cows.  If that’s not enough to prompt a dietary shift away from…

January 5 is National Bird Day—a day to raise awareness about birds’ challenges and how humans can ease them. It’s a day dedicated to appreciating wild birds flying freely outside our windows, but also to reflect on the plight of birds native to other countries who are captured in the wild or bred in captivity…