Top Sites to become a Well-Informed Animal Lover

I always say people fighting for animals have a slightly tougher job than activists championing other causes. That’s because the group we’re trying to fight for does not, and will never have its own voice. Animals cannot speak for themselves, so they count on us to do the right thing.

This means we have an ethical responsibility to be aware of what’s happening in the community. Being in the know will help us become better and more effective communicators as we’ll be able to share the right facts, understand people’s questions or problems, and address their concerns better by finding win-win solutions for all parties involved.

Apart from reading books and watching documentaries, both of which I’ve covered on the blog, there are also some news sites you can follow to stay informed of current events and activities related to animal rights, animal cruelty, and veganism/ethical living.

These are small or lesser-known organizations so subscribing to their newsletters, or even just giving them a follow on social media will go a long way in supporting the brave heroes who have dedicated their lives to bringing the world’s attention to the plight of animals by pursuing careers in journalism.

Bookmark the sites and visit them on a weekly basis to stay abreast with the latest happenings. You can also use a personalized RSS reader like Inoreader, Newsblur, or Feedly to make your own “automatically updated live virtual newspaper” that combines the best stories from all your favorite news sources.

1. The Animal Reader

The Animal Reader is headed by an experienced communications specialist Prya Bisambhar, who lives in the Netherlands. She founded it during the pandemic in 2020.

Her small independent news team shares posts on animal-related issues on a daily basis. Operating remotely, they aggregate stories about animal cruelty and rescue cases, changes in laws and regulations in the West, and global updates on wildlife conservation efforts.

You can support their brilliant investigative work by making a small one-time donation of €5 (less than ₹500). If that’s not possible, please follow them on Instagram so they can bring more relevant stories to our community.

2. World Animal Protection News

World Animal Protection is a UK-based NGO that has 14 offices around the world. They’ve been in the field for 55 years and mainly function as a lobbying group to pressurize governments and companies for introducing better reforms for animals, both domestic and wild.

Some iconic examples of their influence are:

• 558,000 supporters moved TripAdvisor and more than 200 other travel companies to end their promotion of cruel elephant attractions.
• 513,000 supporters moved KFC to improve chicken welfare.
• 188,000 supporters moved Turkish Airlines to stop transporting African grey parrots out of the Congo

So it’s fitting that their news section covers updates on animal-related legislation around the world. It’ll help you understand what work activists in other parts of the world are doing, so you can support them or replicate their strategies to solve the problems plaguing animals in your country.

3. Plant Based News

PBS is perhaps the hottest name when it comes to vegan media. They primarily cover stories about big mainstream brands adopting plant-based, animal-free items on their menu. Some notable names include McDonald’s, Burger King, and Nestle.

Another interesting focus is the involvement of celebrities and influencers who are raising awareness of animal cruelty in the food and beauty industries. They also occasionally post gobsmacking vegan recipes, fun lifestyle articles, vegan movie reviews, and opinion pieces, which are all fun to read.

Their biggest plus point is the podcast, which you can listen to on Spotify, Apple, or any other major streaming platform. This is a great find if you’re not a big fan of reading. It’ll help you catch up on the news on your train ride back home.

PBS is regulated by IMPRESS: The Independent Monitor For the Press CIC, so you can trust their sources and credibility. They’re DMCA-protected. PBS was launched by Klaus Mitchell in 2017 and now reaches over 70 million impressions each month across multiple platforms.

Their main attraction point as content creators is the yearly “Wrap-up Short Film” campaign that covers all the major animal-related events that happened in the previous year.

4. Vegan First

Vegan First is the PBS for Indians. It was started by Palak Mehta in 2016. Today, it’s an active enabler of the plant-based ecosystem in India. With a leading digital publication and solution space, VF brings together users, vegan-friendly businesses, services, and institutions. It has been instrumental in providing visibility for small plant-based businesses cropping up in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi NCR.

They feature reviews of new vegan products, guides on how to cook veg desi recipes at home, lifestyle articles on traveling in a responsible manner, and fun coverage on celebrities/influencers who are adopting the green mantra. They also have a regularly updated veg restaurant guide so if you’re visiting any major city in India, that resource will come in handy.

Gen-Z in India is shifting towards veganism at a rapid rate for health, ethical, and environmental reasons. So VF is primed to play a key role in covering stories. Their Insta is pretty active with useful information for novice/curious vegans, so give them a follow today.

5. Live Kindly

Live Kindly is the go-to source for practical tips on eco-friendly living. Its main focus is actually consumer sustainability, so being plant-based living is just a part of it. You’ll also find useful articles on how to minimize your carbon footprint, give back to Mother Nature, and contribute to the planet’s conservation for our future generations.

One of its unique angles is that the US-based blog also puts the spotlight on women and black entrepreneurs who are leading the change towards natural, animal-free, and fair-trade lifestyles.

I love their beautifully designed Instagram grid, for which they’ve clearly put a lot of effort, so it’s worth checking out. They have 540,000 followers as of March 2022.

6. Totally Vegan Buzz

As the name aptly implies, Totally Vegan Buzz is the Buzzfeed for the vegan community. They cover breaking news on animal rights issues, hold the meat and dairy industries to account, and give a platform to activists and inform the wider world about environmentalism.

They also have a light fun side to keep you entertained, offering vegan humor, videos, quizzes, music, yummy recipes, lifestyle travel and food articles/reviews, and much more.

Totally Vegan Buzz welcomes vegans from their hometown of Brighton, UK, and throughout the world, to join their community and help boost veganism in any way you can.

7. VegNews

Last but not the least, Veg News is a thriving destination for content on vegan living. They have a fashion magazine vibe, and have a massive library of started guides to help you cook, shop, and wear vegan.

They launched in 2000 so they have the longest track record in the media industry and claim to be the biggest vegan media network/house in the world. They have offices in Los Angeles and Northern California. Armed with a global team of experienced writers, they bring you a wide variety of content:

• The latest plant-based news
• Delicious vegan recipes
• Fascinating celebrity interviews
• Travel features
• Must-know health updates
• Fabulous ethical fashion
• Editor-tested beauty picks
• Today’s hottest new products
• Must-read books, blogs, and podcasts
• Life advice
• Spectacular vegan weddings
• … and much more!

One of their interesting offerings is a Meal Planner. You answer a few questions, get a customized meal plan as per your requirements, and get cooking with useful tutorials and demo videos.

They provide thousands of vegan recipes, live food coaching, smart grocery lists, and accurate nutrition details to help you achieve your health targets.

Conclusion

In this blog, we covered the top news sources for getting daily updated content on animal-rights issues and animal-related breaking stories around the world.

Have you been following any of these websites? Which one is your favorite and why? Did I miss any cool sources that deserve to be on this list? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Happy reading.