Oprah and Animals

Oprah Winfrey's O Magazine is on a good roll with regards to animal welfare. In the October issue, O readers learned about Oprah's personal choice not to wear fur - and the magazine's stand against fur. Since inception, the magazine has not featured fur fashion.

I was equally thrilled to see that the November issue has an article called Flight Tracker. It's about biologist Juliana Machado Ferreira and her efforts to rescue birds from the wild bird trade. She uses genetic profiling to ensure that the birds are returned to their proper homes; this is implemented to reduce outbreeding.

There is also a longer article about Lynn Henning's fight against factory farming in her area. I've only skimmed the article so far, and although it seems to focus on the consequences of factory farming on human health, there is also mention of animal suffering. I just picked up the magazine yesterday, but will be reading this article carefully.

O magazine has a history of including pro-animal articles in its pages. I recall reading pieces on Farm Sanctuary, Sheltering Animals of Abuse Victims, as well as stories about women who in some form have a positive impact on animals.

Animal welfare in the mainstream, especially by someone as influential as Oprah. This is a good thing.