PETA Launches Anti-Angora Campaign Against Free People & Urban Outfitters

PETA Launches Anti-Angora Campaign Against Free People & Urban Outfitters

In August 2015 PETA issued a graphic report on Argentina-based, wool-supplier farm Ovis 21. The farm was a major supplier to Patagonia and also Stella McCartney, who dropped them immediately. The title of the report: 'Lambs Skinned Alive, Throats Slit, Tails Cut Off' was confirmed by Patagonia's subsequent, at once investigation, and the company also cut its ties to Ovis 21.

PETA issued a disturbing look into Chinese angora-wool farms, undermining a worldwide view that the rabbit-based product was obtained without farming the animals. As a result dozens of retailers including H&M, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, QVC and more stopped using angora wool. Anthropologie, too, stopped using angora wool as a result of the PETA report, but sister company Free People didn't get the message

Today, PETA announced a campaign against Free People, sold at its parent company's stores Urban Outfitters.  The New York Post reports that last week all 'angora' products were removed from the company's online website.

On World Lion Day One of Cecil's Cubs Is Killed & Jericho May Be Gone As Pride's Protector

On World Lion Day One of Cecil’s Cubs Is Killed & Jericho May Be Gone As Pride’s Protector

Breaking news reports say that one of Cecil’s eight cubs has been killed by another male lion. Reports just published in the UK say:

“Lions practice infanticide – the male looking to take over and mate with the three lionesses would have crushed the cub’s skull as he looked to stake his claim.

“The lionesses fended off his advances but it is unlikely they can continue to protect the cubs for much longer.”

“Jericho has now taken over another pride and has been seen with other females,” a source at the park confirmed.

“We don’t know if Jericho would return to help the cubs if they were attacked again

Lupita Nyong'o Steps Up To Save Africa's Elephants

Lupita Nyong'o Steps Up To Save Africa's Elephants As WildAid Global Ambassador

AOC loved Lupita before she won an Oscar. But to open an email from the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, where we support orphan elephants, and read that the stellar woman Lupita was there — as evidenced in this magnificent photo — brought tears to our eyes.

In addition to joining WildAid on behalf of elephants, Lupita will be promoting women’s causes, acting and the arts in her native Kenya. She also visited Amboseli National Park and filmed public service messages for international distribution in Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, China, Hong Kong, Thailand and the United States.

Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge In Botswana's Okavango Delta Is A Jewel Of Sustainability & Femininity

Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge In Botswana’s Okavango Delta Is A Jewel Of Sustainability & Femininity

It’s been six years since AOCwrote about Botswana’s lush Okavango Delta. What a pleasure to see these female-centric, goddess-inspired images of Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge, designed by Michaelis Boyd and Nick Plewman, and set adjacent to the wildlife-rich Moremi Game Reserve.

Not only does the building blend in with the local landscape, but its 12 inner suites take on the appearance of weaverbird nests. Indeed the structures are cathedral-like, all designed to inspire and honor our inner nature goddess — for women and men alike.

Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge in part of the & Beyond community. a group of luxury ‘boutique’ safari lodges designed to be in complete harmony with the latest goals of sustainability hotel communities.

In a long list of accomplishments, Botswana has much to celebrate. Thanks to years of political stability and a farsighted conservation policy by the government, Botswana’s ecosystem is stable. More than a third of the country is protected in a luxury tourism model. Higher prices guarantee less wear and tear on the environment. The practice is elitist but working.

Elephants Get A Break From Ringling Circus As Prince William Calls For End To Ivory Poaching In China

Elephants Get A Break From Ringling Circus As Prince William Calls For End To Ivory Poaching In China

Tippi Degré: Daughter of Namibia, Best Friend To Animals, Desired By The World

Tippi Degre: Daughter of Namibia, Best Friend to Animals, Desired By The World

These childhood images of Tippi Degré, born in 1990 the newly-independent Namibia to French parents, documentary film makers and wildlife photographers Alain Degré and Sylvie Robert, are extraordinary in their intimacy. Named after Tippi Hedren, the young girl Tippi Benjamine Okanti Degré grew up in the company of an elephant named Abu and a dizzying array of big cats, snakes, a baby zebra, an ostrich, giant bullfrogs and countless other members of her animal menagerie. It’s said that Tippi persuaded giraffes to come down to her level.

Eye | Behati Prinsloo In 'Seminole Spirit' By Russell James Opens Feb 17 At NYC Stephan Weiss Gallery

Behati Prinsloo In ‘Seminole Spirit’ By Russell James Opens Feb 17 At NYC Stephan Weiss Gallery

Apart from the photos of Prinsloo, the exhibit will also present a film featuring spoken word from the spiritual leader of the Seminole Tribe, a fine art photography exhibition from Bobby Henry that includes portraits of tribe members, and the tribe’s cultural sites and landscapes.

“Seminole Spirit is totally different than any type of normal shoot. This isn’t a project about fashion or trends, it is an art project with a really powerful story behind it,” Prinsloo says. “We were all so humbled to be in collaboration with the Seminole Tribe of Florida. […] This was definitely a project of passion for all of us with no shot count or designer label needed.”

Adds James, “I hope to engage people to look at this and understand this culture as not something that is gathering dust in the closet, but to realize that tribes and indigenous people are using culture to their great advantage, to maintain their identity.”

Anne adds:

Describing her experience with the Seminole people, Behati Prinsloo says: “We painted my body gold as we tried to capture an idea we had of what ‘Seminole Spirit’ is . . I felt like a savage swamp mermaid on Seminole land, crazy.”

In describing herself as a mermaid, Behati channels the key theme of female goddess history, establishing herself in the sisterhood of Mami Wati’s born in Africa before travelling the globe — often on the slave ships as a source of comfort and solace in brutal conditions.

AOC is dancing as fast as we can on this one, because ‘Seminole Spirit’ goes to the very essence of our identity and purpose. Lots more is coming. ~ Anne

Eye 2-2-15 | Mami Wata Resurgence As Global Goddess | 55,000 Years-Old Female Skull Provides Critical Link In Human Evolution & Migration Out of Africa

Female Skull In Israel's Manot Cave Links Humans & Neanderthals 55,000 Years Ago

Female Skull In Israel's Manot Cave Links Humans & Neanderthals 55,000 Years Ago AOC Muse

Israeli researchers published a critical article this week, arguing that a 55,000 years-old, female skull found in the Manot Cave of Israel’s Western Galilee is a crucial link in understanding the evolution of the human species.  Scientists believe that the skull offers definitive proof that anatomically modern humans coexisted with Neanderthals in the same geographical area.

It’s widely accepted science that human origins date back about 200,000 years to Africa. However, there has not been agreement about which migration model of early Homo sapiens led to the population of our planet, accompanied by the extinction of Neanderthals.

The morphology of the skull indicates that it is that of a modern human of African origin, bearing characteristics of early European Upper Palaeolithic populations. This suggests that the Levantine populations were ancestral to earlier European populations,” said Prof. (Israel) Hershkovitz (of Tel Aviv University).  “This study also provides important clues regarding the likely inbreeding between anatomically modern humans and Neanderthals.”

The Manot Cave, where the skull was unearthed, was discovered accidentally in 2008 when a bulldozer struck the cave roof, revealing a time capsule tens of thousands of years old. “This is a goldmine,” said Prof. Hershkovitz. “Most other caves are ‘disturbed caves,’ but this is untouched, frozen in time — truly an amazing find. Among other artefacts found there, the skull, which we dated to 55,000 years ago using uranium thorium methods, was astonishing. It provides insight into the beginnings of the dispersal of modern humans all over the world.”