When Advocacy Brings Backlash: Dr. Crystal Heath on Standing Strong
Release Date: 10/03/2025
What Animal Advocates Can Learn from The World of Wine
The Animal Advocate
What can animal advocates learn from the world of wine? At first glance, the connection isn’t obvious. One is associated with pleasure and tradition; the other with reducing suffering and changing law and policy. But the comparison turns out to be more revealing than it seems. This episode examines what the world of wine understands about persuasion, patience, and human behavior—and what animal advocacy can learn from it. Not wine itself, but the way the wine world has learned how to invite people in, keep them engaged, and let interest deepen over time. Drawing on examples from animal law...
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Free Adoptions: Do Fees Really Protect Animals?
The Animal Advocate
Do adoption fees really protect animals — or do they just make us feel better? For years, many in animal welfare have believed that adoption fees act as a safeguard: if someone can’t afford the fee, how will they afford the pet? Free adoptions, the argument goes, invite impulse decisions and bad outcomes. In this episode, I explain why I once believed that too — and why I’ve changed my mind. Drawing on my experience working directly with shelters, serving on the board of the Pennsylvania SPCA, and running programs that connect people and animals, I examine what actually happens during...
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Her Name Is Tangi: Why Housing Policy Is Animal Welfare Policy
The Animal Advocate
When a dog ends up in a taped-shut box outside a shelter, it’s not a single-issue problem — it’s a sign of how many pressures families and animals are facing right now. In this episode, Penny shares why she set aside her planned topic to talk about the growing number of families forced to give up pets because they can’t find or keep housing that allows them. Tangi’s story illustrates what’s happening across the country, and why advocates need to treat this as a housing issue just as much as an animal welfare issue. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why cases like Tangi’s are...
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When Cruelty Laws Collide With Inaccessible Vet Care: What Advocates Can Do
The Animal Advocate
Cruelty laws require pet owners to provide necessary veterinary care, but in many communities that care is financially or geographically out of reach—and the law offers no workable way to address that gap. In this episode, I examine what happens when statutes mandate “necessary veterinary care,” but many communities face barriers such as high cost, lack of clinics, transportation challenges, or the absence of a veterinarian accepting new clients. We cover: Why inability—not unwillingness—to access treatment is often the real issue How veterinary deserts, clinic shortages,...
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Ending Cat Declawing: Which States Are Enacting Bans in 2025?
The Animal Advocate
Declawing isn’t a nail trim—it’s the amputation of the last bone of each toe. In this episode, I break down what the procedure involves, the states banning it, and what advocates should know about the growing movement to end it. We cover: What declawing is—and why it's far more invasive than most owners realize Documented health impacts: chronic pain, nerve damage, back problems, and behavioral changes Why declawed cats bite more often, and how that affects human health The seven states that have enacted statewide bans, plus pending bills in Minnesota, Illinois, and...
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Emotional Support Animals and the Housing Crisis: Loophole or Lifeline
The Animal Advocate
Rising rents and restrictive housing policies are forcing more families to surrender beloved pets to shelters—a heartbreaking choice driven by systemic issues. Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) are often seen as a lifeline, but confusion abounds about what ESAs truly are, how they differ from service animals, and what rights pet owners actually have. Animal law expert Penny Ellison breaks down the legal realities, dispels myths, and arms advocates with the tools to support families facing housing crises. In this episode, we explore: The critical differences between emotional support animals...
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How to Start an Animal Advocacy Group and Get Results: Lessons from Pennsylvania Voters for Animals
The Animal Advocate
Think you need a law degree or years of experience to pass animal protection laws? Suzanne Gonzalez started Pennsylvania Voters for Animals with no legislative background and helped pass a comprehensive pet sales ban in Easton, PA. Host Penny Ellison shares their step-by-step blueprint that any group of committed advocates can replicate. In this episode, we explore: Why forming a 501(c)(4) instead of a 501(c)(3) gave Pennsylvania Voters for Animals more legislative power—and how to get pro bono legal help setting up your own organization The research shortcut: How to use other cities'...
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Understanding Retail Pet Sale Bans: What They Do and Why They Matter
The Animal Advocate
Over 400 cities, counties, and several U.S. states have banned or restricted retail pet sales—but why does it matter to animal welfare and shelter overcrowding? Host Penny Ellison, animal law professor and advocate, examines how laws targeting commercial pet stores are making a difference and what every animal lover needs to know. In this episode, we explore: How the retail pet store supply chain enables irresponsible, large-scale breeding operations—and why regulation struggles to keep up Why retail sales bans target the pipeline that moves puppies from “puppy mills” to store...
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How Delaware Created a Statewide Office of Animal Welfare- A Model for Advocates
The Animal Advocate
Over the past decade, Delaware has altered more than 40,000 pets and vaccinated over 31,000 animals against rabies through a single coordinated program. They've achieved a 90% save rate across their shelter system. How? By creating a centralized Office of Animal Welfare that coordinates everything from lost pets to cruelty investigations to subsidized spay neuter programs. Host Penny Ellison interviews Joanna Miller, Deputy Director of Delaware's Office of Animal Welfare, and Melody Purdy, the Spay and Neuter Program Coordinator. They reveal how Delaware consolidated fragmented animal services...
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Five Advocacy Lessons from Jane Goodall
The Animal Advocate
When animal advocates face criticism, burnout, and tough ethical choices, how can they stay effective and inspired? In this episode of The Animal Advocate, I pay tribute to the legendary Dr. Jane Goodall by exploring five powerful advocacy lessons we can all apply—no matter where we are in our advocacy journey. Discover how Jane's optimism, strategic messaging, belief in youth, holistic worldview, and coalition-building changed the world for animals and people. Whether you're just starting out or deep in the movement, you'll find ideas you can apply to carry forward Jane's legacy. In this...
info_outlineWhen animal advocates speak up—especially against powerful industry interests—they often face backlash. To be effecive, advocates have to prepare to face criticism and retaliation and use ut to strengthen their resolve.
Dr. Crystal Heath is a shelter veterinarian, animal welfare advocate, and founder of Our Honor, a nonprofit working to expose and end systemic harms in animal care systems. Known for challenging unethical practices both within and outside her profession, Dr. Heath has faced criticism, professional retaliation, and outright misinformation campaigns. In this episode, she joins us to reveal how real progress for animals requires both courage and strategic advocacy—plus a dash of ethical resilience.
In this episode, we explore:
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Why most farm animals in the US have virtually zero legal protections, and how state laws like California’s Prop 12 are trying to fill the gap
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The disturbing industry practice of “ventilation shutdown”—what it actually means for animals, and why it’s so controversial
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How animal welfare advocates inside veterinary medicine are often maligned, silenced, and targeted— and why Dr. Heath believes transparency and collaboration are the keys to change
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The truth about the Save our Bacon Act (f.k.a. the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression "EATS" Act) and the real public health risks it could worsen
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Why veterinarians are vital voices for both animal welfare and food safety—and how companion animal practitioners can support their farm animal colleagues
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What it takes to build “ethical resilience,” prepare for criticism, and keep advocating even when faced with adversity
Dr. Heath shares hard-won lessons from her journey, including how to use Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to uncover industry strategies, and why connecting veterinarians and advocates is a powerful force for change.
Key Takeaway: Effective animal advocacy means being prepared for criticism, prioritizing truth, and supporting state-level regulations that protect both animal welfare and public health.
Resources mentioned:
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Learn more about Dr. Crystal Heath’s work and support veterinarians speaking out: ourhonor.org. Their Motto: "Embrace your conscience. We'll back you up."
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FOIA Fridays with Dr. Heath: Discover how transparency tools can expose industry messaging (find episodes and info on YouTube)
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Find your Congressperson so that you can reach out to tell them to oppose the "Save our Bacon Act, HR4673 and the PURR Act (HR597).
Subscribe for more episodes on animal law, systemic change, and practical advocacy for every animal lover.
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Because compassion is great—but compassionate action is infinitely better.