Bringing you a digest of news and opinion pieces you might have missed from the past week, covering all things animal agriculture, animal protection and environmental justice.

BLOG: Eight very lucky baby chickens have found their way to an animal sanctuary after being found alive in a bag containing thousands of dead birds. Their story made a great ‘feel good’ BBC Leicestershire report, but why aren’t we hearing more about the millions of other chicks who aren’t so lucky?

Famed scientist Jane Goodall and Animal Save Movement are among those to amplify calls to end farm animal gifting to people in developing countries via charities such as Oxfam, World Vision and Christian Aid. But farmer critics have accused activists of playing ‘grinch’ this Christmas.

OPINION: Primetime spectacle I’m a Celeb received a massive 12,000 complaints to regulators in the same week that Bear Grylls expressed regret for killing animals on his survival shows. The British public said no to fox hunting, but are we turning a blind eye to another bloodsport on our screens?

Bringing you a digest of news and opinion pieces you might have missed from the past week, covering all things animal agriculture, animal protection and environmental justice.

Outspoken musician Ted Nugent has a history of expressing controversial opinions, whether it be to call Obama a “subhuman mongrel” or argue that the US should have done to Iraq what it did to Nagasaki. Now the avid hunter has invoked the anti-vegan crop deaths argument once again, despite the fact that his son and close friend are both vegans.

The cruelty of wool isn’t often publicised, and there is little general understanding of why it isn’t vegan. Here, we break down the reality of the industry.

As the Queen’s Guard caps once again come under scrutiny, we take a look at the brutal reality behind them.

CULTURE: According to a recent study, animals have been declining in fiction since 1835, running parallel to animal extinction in our world. As animals and natural habits vanish around us, is it any surprise that they have disappeared from books too? And as we live increasingly urbanised lives, does this lack of fictionalised animal friends have real-life consequences?

WEEKEND READ: The shooting of a rare white stag in Bootle near Liverpool, UK, was met with an outpouring of indignation across social media from animal activists and ‘animal lovers’ alike. The obvious questions arose about whether the police made the right call, but are we missing the real issue? With deer populations around urban areas on the rise, the next shooting is almost inevitable.

At the weekend, the Observer published a feature by ‘nutrition expert’ Joanna Blythman in which she made some odd health statements comparing fruits and vegetables less favourably to meat, eggs and dairy. Claire Hamlett deconstructs some of Blythman’s bizarre claims.

In a hugely proud moment for everyone at Surge, co-founder and co-director Ed Winters AKA Earthling Ed has unveiled the cover and blurb for his new book - This Is Vegan Propaganda: (And Other Lies the Meat Industry Tells You) - out on January 6th and published by Penguin Books.