The Human-Animal Alliance is a hugely impactful organisation that raises funds to grant directly to programs that share their belief in the power and value of the human-animal connection.
Equine-assisted therapy, Pet Pantry programs, support for humans and animals affected by hurricanes or wildfires, summer-camp scholarships, trauma-recovery programs and much more: since 2022 the organisation has raised and granted over $400,000 to programs that they describe as truly exceptional yet often overlooked.
Jackie Ducci - advocate, philanthropist, equestrian - says that animals have provided life-changing support and friendship to her throughout her life and she wants to enable others to feel that same connection.
We talked about her journey to setting up The Human-Animal Alliance and delved into some of the programs they support. We also chatted about Unspoken Bond, a documentary which tells the stories of people whose lives were changed dramatically through their relationships with animals.
The Human-Animal Alliance website:
https://h-aa.org/ (https://h-aa.org/)
List of Past Grants of The Human-Animal Alliance:
https://h-aa.org/our-impact (https://h-aa.org/our-impact)
Jackie's website:
https://www.jackieducci.com/ (https://www.jackieducci.com/)
The Unspoken Bond film - info and trailer.
https://unspokenbondfilm.com/ (https://unspokenbondfilm.com/)
Links to social media can be found on these websites.
Featured Music:
New Funk by Vlad Gluschenko | https://soundcloud.com/vgl9
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US)
See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
17 May 2026
33. Travels with Hammy
Hamilton - or Hammy - is a beagle that was rescued from a research laboratory where he'd spent the first four years of his life. Melanie Kaplan adopted him and started on a journey to learn more about his past, as well as the broader world of animal research.
In her book - Lab Dog: A Beagle and His Human Investigate the Surprising World of Animal Research - she investigates the breeding and the use of beagles for biomedical research, drug and product testing, as well as education.
Throughout the book, she brings us along with her to find answers. How did Hammy end up in a research facility? Why are we still using millions of animals a year in experiments? Are we learning anything from it? Is there another way?
Melanie and I chatted about these questions and she shared her findings about the history of animal research as well as the current state and future direction of using animals in science.
https://www.melaniedgkaplan.com/ (https://www.melaniedgkaplan.com/)
Buy it here (free shipping in Ireland):
https://www.kennys.ie/shop/lab-dog-a-beagle-and-his-human-investigate-the-surprising-world-of-animal-research-kaplan-melanie-d-g-9781541604988 (https://www.kennys.ie/shop/lab-dog-a-beagle-and-his-human-investigate-the-surprising-world-of-animal-research-kaplan-melanie-d-g-9781541604988)
Buy it here in UK:
https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/9781541604988?utm_source=Waterstones&utm_medium=pdp&utm_campaign=oos-link (https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/9781541604988?utm_source=Waterstones&utm_medium=pdp&utm_campaign=oos-link)
Warm Hearts, Wet Noses, and the Questions We Can't Ignore - Full Webinar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO_LVouCK4k (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO_LVouCK4k)
SynDaver website.
https://syndaver.com/product-category/vet-full-body/ (https://syndaver.com/product-category/vet-full-body/)
Save the Buns website.
https://www.savethebuns.org/ (https://www.savethebuns.org/)
Rodent Sanctuary Instagram links.
https://www.instagram.com/dr.rebeccagooley/ (https://www.instagram.com/dr.rebeccagooley/)
https://www.instagram.com/rodent.sanctuary/ (https://www.instagram.com/rodent.sanctuary/)
How 2,000 beagles set the animal rights movement on fire (Marina Bolotnikova, Vox).
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/486973/beagle-rescue-ridglan-animal-testing-research-rights (https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/486973/beagle-rescue-ridglan-animal-testing-research-rights)
The Hidden Lives of Lab Animals (Larry Carbone).
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/240731347-the-hidden-lives-of-lab-animals (https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-hidden-lives-of-lab-animals-a-vet-s-vision-for-a-more-humane-future-larry-carbone/7963789?ean=9780520403963&next=t)
Mickey Mouse - The Mad Doctor (1933)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPW70q4w5pw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPW70q4w5pw)
Featured music:
https://soundcloud.com/jayjenmusic/sparkle (https://soundcloud.com/jayjenmusic/sparkle)
Track: Sparkle by JayJen
Watch: youtu.be/A7eloLKR-A8 (https://gate.sc?url=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FA7eloLKR-A8&token=384b58-1-1778428855298)
Free Download / Stream: fanlink.to/JayJenSparkle (https://gate.sc?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffanlink.to%2FJayJenSparkle&token=e19300-1-1778428855298)
See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
3 Apr 2026
32. Ethical Seafood Research
Wasseem Emam is the Director and Head of Research at Ethical Seafood Research. He holds advanced degrees in applied aquatic ecology and has spent over 15 years working iwth various organisations across the fisheries and aquaculture sector.
Drawing on this background, Wasseem recognised a critical gap: aquatic animals are the most numerically exploited yet the least protected animals in the food systems, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where aquaculture (fish-farming) is rapidly expanding.
He founded Ethical Seafood Research and their goal is to improve the lives of fish by advancing ethical and sustainable practices in aquatic food systems. From better slaughter methods and water quality monitoring to farmer training and policy advocacy, ESR works to embed animal welfare in aquaculture systems, bridging the gap between animal welfare science and day-to-day practice.
Learn more about their work here:
https://ethicalseafoodresearch.org/ (https://ethicalseafoodresearch.org/)
https://ethicalseafoodresearch.org/success-stories/ (https://ethicalseafoodresearch.org/success-stories/)
https://ethicalseafoodresearch.org/underwater-explorers-rescuers/ (https://ethicalseafoodresearch.org/underwater-explorers-rescuers/)
Clip taken from webinar presentation: Wasseem Emam & John Nyambane (ESR) Assessing fish welfare in Africa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw5HSxmddLE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw5HSxmddLE)
Featured music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOq2P2DQWpE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOq2P2DQWpE)
Umoja by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
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