About Rachel

Hello readers!

Welcome to The Paw Report! My name is Rachel, and I write the posts for this page. I originally started over on Twitter (and you can still find me there!) and I also have a personal twitter account, but this blog is where you will find my longer musings on animal welfare and animal law topics. I also began a separate website for movies and books called Serpent Club.

I have a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico, and I am a law graduate of St. John’s University.

When I first entered law school, I was unsure of where I’d like my career to go. After joining the school’s Animal Law Society as a first year student, and attending an animal law conference at Lewis and Clark Law School during my second year, I aligned my passion for animal rights with my education.

I was a member of the New York City Bar Association’s Animal Law Committee for a few years, where, among other things, I helped draft comments in support or in opposition to proposed legislation or rules. Following that, I was a non-voting member of the Committee for one year.  I have also worked in the television industry as a transcriber for various reality TV shows and as a post-production assistant for a documentary series that aired on the Discovery Network. I’ve also had the best job ever, which is dog walker!

Currently, I’m working as a contract attorney on various e-discovery projects. I am a former Managing Editor and contributor over at Species and Class.

I am an avid reader; I read over 100 books a year. My favorite genre is horror. But I also read many animal-themed books for review and blogging. Please reach out to me if you’d like me to review or promote your book.

I went in vegan in January 2013 and my only regret is that I did not do it sooner.  I currently live in Manhattan. I have two rescue cats: the frisky Raskolnikov, who is deaf and may have a mild form of cerebellar hypoplasia, and a petulant kitty named Lana (unfortunately doesn’t live with me anymore), who is allergic to everyone – including humans!

 

lana 2

Lana

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Raskolnikov

This page was last updated on March 9, 2020.

16 replies »

  2. I can never give up on wearing fur and eating meat, but I never wished for the animals to suffer neither. I’m pretty sure lots of those “indifferent” fur wearing, meat eating consumers think the same as me. I think for most animal activists out there, they are imposing their “no fur, nor meat” attitude on us, therefore harvesting miserable results. I think the first step for them is to really understand this — it is NOT possible for some human beings like us to give up on meat and fur. And the second step is to know that, despite first step, some of us do feel immense sympathy to the animals (unlike Anna Wintour), we absolutely will support any humane way to treat the animals, before they are sacrificed for our food and beauty. If any animal activist fails to take this in, instead, goes on and on about how vegetarian food is good for health, or how faux fur/leather is just as real, well, let me tell you, they can go on forever and ever, and only have about 1000 followers on their blogs.

    Only after acknowledging these two steps, fully, deeply, then they can set their activism goal to the more REALISTIC level — instead of banning fur and meat and leather and whatnot all together, how about getting people to support ethical fur suppliers (and fur retailers / designers / editors consequently) who really do treat animals humanely, without minimal cruelty? With the great incentives to link the supplier to their buyers ( the better they treat the animals, the better is the name of their fur, and the more retailers/designers will use their fur), it will slowly but steadily weed out the unethical fur farmers.

    Before ANYONE is going to ask me: ” how do you treat animals humanely if they are bound to be killed?”. Well, humans sacrificed animals in the name of God for centuries in a humane way, Inuit people killed (and still hunt for) seals and polar bears with respect (true, google it, they believe the animals offered themselves to serve as food), and everywhere in the ecosystem, one species is killing another at the time we are speaking. So killing itself will not be stopped, no matter how vain you think we are, and how full of meat our stomach is, killing WILL continue. As long as they are conducted in a humane way, I would say its mission accomplished.

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    • Hi Lia,

      As an AR activist, I really do want to gain a full understanding of your perspective—particularly in regards to the view that “it is NOT possible for some human beings like us to give up on meat and fur.” Take fur, for instance: why is it “not possible” for you to stop buying and wearing it? What crucial benefit does fur provide that you can’t live without or obtain in some other way?

      Knowing your answers to these questions may help me better understand where you’re coming from. Hope we can learn from each other.

      Best—
      Spencer

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  4. Pingback: Cowspiracy-the film everyone needs to see | VEGAN GRAMMIE ANNIE

  6. I was at a conference on the Legal status of nonhuman animals in 1999 in NY, organised by the Association of the Bar! Long time ago! If I remember correctly, G Francione and R Gardner were some of the speakers.
    Glad to have found your blog! Interesting!
    greets from Belgium, trudi

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