Chickens are intelligent, emotionally complex animals, yet they remain among the most underestimated and commodified beings in modern agriculture. In this episode of Better Life for Animals, host Cheryl Moss speaks with Liz Wheeler, co-founder of Secondhand Stories Chicken Sanctuary, about chicken sentience, sanctuary advocacy, and reshaping cultural narratives around farmed animals.

Liz shares the pivotal moment that led her into sanctuary work — meeting a rescued chicken named Ellen whose personality challenged deeply embedded stereotypes about chickens. That experience ultimately inspired the creation of a sanctuary operating under a capacity-for-care model, prioritizing lifelong quality of life over scale.

This episode explores:

• Chicken intelligence and emotional awareness
• Individual personalities among rescued roosters and hens
• The ethical case for unconditional compassion
• The "small body problem" and rising chicken consumption
• Research-backed advocacy through Faunalytics
• Municipal animal protection laws and policy reform
• The regulatory and funding challenges facing Canadian farmed animal sanctuaries

With fewer than seventy farmed animal sanctuaries across Canada and many lacking charitable status, this conversation highlights the urgent need for structural support, strategic communication, and public education.

If you care about animal welfare, vegan advocacy, ethical food systems, or sanctuary sustainability, this episode provides both insight and practical direction.

More at: https://betterlifeforanimals.com/podcast/053-Liz-Wheeler

Factory farming impacts billions of animals, but the story does not end there. Behind the system are struggling farmers, vulnerable workers, and communities searching for better solutions. In this powerful episode, Leah Garcés shares what more than two decades of advocacy has taught her about transforming one of the most entrenched systems in our world.

From collaborating with farmers to exposing the hidden human cost of industrial agriculture, Leah offers a thoughtful and hopeful perspective on what real change requires and how each of us can help build a more compassionate food system.

Whether you are deeply involved in animal advocacy or simply curious about where your food comes from, this conversation will challenge assumptions and invite you to look closer.

Leah Garcés is a globally recognized advocate, author, and bridge builder working to end factory farming and create a kinder, more sustainable food system. Her work focuses on transformation, helping people move from opposition to collaboration and from awareness to meaningful action.

If you believe in creating a better future for animals, be sure to like, subscribe, and share this episode

Learn more:
www.BetterLifeForAnimals.com/podcast/052-Leah-Garces

What happens when more than 45,000 people connect with rescued farmed animals in a single year? Perspectives shift. Awareness grows. And compassion becomes personal.

In this episode of the Better Life for Animals Podcast, host Cheryl Moss sits down with Kelly Nix, Executive Director of Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary in Colorado, to explore how sanctuaries are helping reshape the way people see animals and their role in creating a more humane world.

Drawing on her background as a special education teacher and school principal, Kelly explains why compassion is not simply taught. It is modeled and experienced. From student sponsorship programs that build lasting relationships with rescued residents to removing financial barriers that dramatically increased community engagement, Luvin Arms is demonstrating how connection can inspire meaningful change.

Kelly also shares insights from her doctoral research, The Web of Liberation, which examines the interconnected systems affecting animals, humans, and the environment. The conversation highlights why collaboration across advocacy movements is essential and why sanctuaries are far more influential than they are often credited for being.

If you have ever wondered how cultural change begins, this episode offers both practical insight and genuine hope.

In this episode, you will learn:

• Why direct interaction with animals is one of the most powerful drivers of empathy
• How humane education influences lifelong attitudes
• The surprising impact of removing barriers to sanctuary access
• Why advocacy movements must work together to create lasting progress
• What continues to inspire hope for the future of animal protection

Learn more about Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary, upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, and ways to support their work:
https://luvinarms.org

Listen to more episodes of the Better Life for Animals Podcast:
https://BetterLifeForAnimals.com/podcast/051-kelly-nix

Follow and subscribe for more conversations with the advocates, sanctuary leaders, and changemakers working to create a better life for animals.