Dr. Lisa Kemmerer—a professor of philosophy and religions at Montana State University Billings, who has written and/or edited none books—discusses her unusual, stop-start path as an academic, including what drew her to Harvard Divinity School, where she earned her Masters degree. 
Kemmerer addresses her prolific writing career, and the conceptual (and actual) wanderlust that has driven her eclectic body of literary work. She explains how the idea came about for “Bear Necessities: Rescue, Rehabilitation, Sanctuary, and Advocacy,” an anthology she edited that features more than two dozen contributors (including Kemmerer herself) addressing a global array of bear issues and species, providing a behind-the-scenes glimpse at how “labor intensive” such an undertaking is, from researching potential contributors, contacting them, working out the topic(s) of their pieces, editing those contributions, and more. Kemmerer speaks to some specific pieces in “Bear Necessities,” including a chapter on bile farms, written by Jill Robinson, founder-CEO of Animals Asia 
Foundation (a past guest on “Talking Animals”), and a piece on the growing challenges faced by polar bears amidst the already-tangible effects of climate change. There’s also discussion of how issues 
and cultural behaviors specific to a given country or area often end up operating on a more universal level, and how this information—especially a chapter authored by Kemmerer, “U.S. Wildlife Agencies: Outdated, Misguided, and Destructive”–is very much relevant to Florida, particularly the bear hunt that happened in the state last year and almost happened again this year. She concludes by responding to a question about how her faith, such as it is, helps her when dealing with animal abuse and other upsetting experiences. (www.lisakemmerer.com)
ALSO: I spoke briefly with Alana Rogers of Pig Advocates League (PAL), a nonprofit organization deeply involved with helping the 130+ pigs seized last week from the Polk City facility, where the owners were charged with 138 counts of animal neglect and three counts of felony animal abuse. She outlined key elements of the case, including how the undercover investigation by the often-polarizing PETA led to the arrests, and how a pending hearing will determine whether the owners are granted custody of the animals. She also noted how, in advance of the outcome of that hearing, PAL is lining up new homes for the seized pigs, and is seeking information about potential new homes, as well as other help from volunteers and donations (for “The Polk Pigs”) at [email protected]. (www.pigadvocates.com, www.facebook.com/PigAdvocates/?fref=ts)
COMEDY CORNER: Jeff Wayne’s “The Wolf, The Bear And The Alligator”
MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals
NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: We didn’t play Name That Animal Tune today.
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