Furry News Network

Author: Fred

One of the most “furry” s-f novels was H. Beam Piper‘s 1962 “Little Fuzzy” (Project Gutenberg) followed by his two sequels, “Fuzzy Sapiens” and “Fuzzies and Other People“, about the small furry natives of the planet Zarathustra. The three were republished by Ace Books in a combined edition, “The Complete Fuzzy” (’98).

Now two new authorized Fuzzy novels have been published; “Fuzzy Ergo Sum” by Wolfgang Diehr, and “Fuzzy Nation” by John Scalzi.

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Find the full article here: flayrah – furry food for thought

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Author: toonces
John “The Gneech” Robey gives us a thrilling mystery to discuss for this week’s show. Squash and Stretch, a pair of private dicks low on their luck, find a juicy case when a mink comes into the office, followed close on the heels by a nosy rat. Murder is the question, and the only clue is a lone note referencing a Beatles song- which just so happens to be Skip’s favorite band.

We hope you enjoy!… Read more..

Find the full article here: The Bad Dog Book Club » Podcast

The contents of this Podcast may have adult language and adult themes. The content is not produced by Furry News Network, but is posted for your convenience.

Author: Andrew Rabbitt
We’re sorry; this episode got a bit bunkbeds. We miss K, buy BunnyMan, Ocean, our Coyote, the bunny and fox join to roast our missing member.

By the way, around minute 41, we have no idea what happened to the audio.

DISCLAIMER – THE FOX TAKES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS EPISODE.

Find the full article here: Live from the Hop Inn

This podcast may contain adult language and themes. It is not produced by Furry News Network but is provided to you as a service.

Author: Furryne.ws
Besides crime, the second-biggest concern for some Philadelphians, according to one City Council member, are raccoons, the furry thugs … that rummage through your trash and put entire neighborhoods on edge.

—Philadelphia Daily News

“The raccoons essentially clear the streets at night. They walk down the cats, the kids all run when they see the raccoons coming. … People shouldn’t have to be concerned about walking out their front door and being approached by a raccoon.”

—Councilman Darrell Clarke, as quoted on Newsworks.org

[Edit:  You HAVE to read the EMERGENCY MEETING OF THE RACCOON-AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER]

Find the full article here: furryne.ws | Published News

Author: Fred

The New York Times reports that the population of tropical rose-ringed parakeets in Britain, up from 1,500 ten years ago from escaped or deliberately released pets, has grown to an estimated 30,000 today, “turning a once-exotic bird into a notorious pest that awakens children, monopolizes garden bird feeders, and might even threaten British crops.”

The problem is acute in the suburbs of London, with one retiree reporting consumption of the contents of an entire bird feeder in one day.

Find the full article here: flayrah – furry food for thought

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Author:
Yar, Teal and Fuzz discuss pirates! We cover episode 3 of this season, The Curse of the Black Spot.

Send feedback to us at [email protected]

http://WhoFurs.FurPlanet.com

Produced by FurPlanet.com

Find the full article here: FurPlanet Productions – WhoFurs

Scott Henderson, 22, from Blackburn, UK who worked as Blackburn Rovers’ Roar the Lion mascot has been charged with sexual offences against children.

Henderson was one of several volunteers who dressed up in the Roar costume for Ewood Park games.

He is accused of sex acts with children he met through Facebook.  This included chat and webcam activity.  He is also accused of having video clips of child pornography.

He has been in jail since mid October and was bailed out this week.

He has 10 charges pending against him.

They included:

• Engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child aged 15 in September last year
• Engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child aged 14 between March and April last year
• Inciting a boy aged 14 to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity between March and April last year
• Inciting a boy aged 15 to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity between March and April last year
• Six counts of making indecent photographs of a child between January and May 2010 ranging from SAP levels one, two and four

Henderson is scheduled to appear in Blackburn Magistrates’ Court on May 31.

Before he was arrented, he often performed in costume for children’s parties.  Once the arrest happened, he was immediately let go. The Blackburn Rovers spokesperson confirmed that Henderson no longer had any association with the club.

The Roar the Lion part had been filled by a number of people on a rotating basis. Following the allegations, Rovers retired the mascot and has launched a competition to design a new one.

Via The Telegraph

 

Author: GreenReaper

Flying first class may help you avoid luggage charges, but it doesn’t mean you can pack endangered animals in there, as the BBC News reports.

A man flying from Bangkok to Dubai was arrested by undercover police after trying to check in suitcases containing rare juvenile animals: two leopards, two panthers, an Asiatic black bear and two macaque monkeys, all sedated and packed in carefully-crafted containers.

Freeland Foundation director Steven Galster observed the arrest:

It was a very sophisticated smuggling operation. We’ve never seen one like this before. The guy had a virtual zoo in his suitcases.

story__thailand_smuggler_tries_to_checks_a_leopard_to_dubai.mp3

Find the full article here: flayrah – furry food for thought

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Author: [email protected]
This week will MELT YOUR FACE with TMI! You have been warned! Savrin, Shiva, Fuzz, Rekkie, and Bucktown Tiger come with a wall of emails full of detail. It’s crazy. And awesome.

This weeks song is Rep Your Fandom, an unreleased track from Bucktowns upcoming new album, debuting at Oklacon!

Also, Bucktown is going to be a GoH at both Oklacon and MFM this year. Neat.

Borders Express in New London, CT has actual furry books in stock! Check them out if thats your part of the US

Gaylaxicon – Kyell Gold and SofaWolf are among the GoHs at next years Gaylaxicon in Minnesota. Check it out.

Rekkies word of advice this week – Don’t stab anyone in the taint with your dick.

And don’t forget our coupon code ‘knot’ at www.AdamEve.com for a great deal.

Episode 140 – Your Bedroom Specialities (AAC; 24.2 MB)
Episode 140 – Your Bedroom Specialities (MP3; 60.2 MB)

Find the full article here: KnotCast News

The contents of this Podcast may have adult language and adult themes. The content is not produced by Furry News Network, but is posted for your convenience.

Author: [email protected] (..::XANA::.. Creations)

Inglip Summoned.

News:

• Let’s Stop Confusing Rights And Prejudice

• Creating a Proper Facebook Page for your Fursona

• Facebook Deleting ‘Non-Human’ Profiles

• Swedish police hunt for bank robber dressed as an animal

 

WikiFur article of the week:

• “Convention”

 

Topics Discussed (copied directly from Google Moderator):

• “The effects of media (eg. books, movies, art) viewed just before sleep on dreams. Lucid and otherwise.”(BC)
• “TSing the good, the bad, and the ugly. And why it’s so popular?”
• “The My Little Pony fad…I just had to… But seriously, why is it so popular?”
• “Why do most furries decide to name their fursona’s the hardest to spell/pronounce names they could think of?”
• “Inglip has told me to enslave furries :/ how do i comply?”

 

Emails (Sender – Subject):

• Thursday Rain – “A new face and a requested reply”
• Hyäne – “…”
• Nick – “Might I be a tiger?”
• Landon O – “I can tell you were confused”
• Miles the Inkfox – “Parkour for furs”
• Killer – “Lucid dreams”
• Icy Kitty – “Well Hi there!”
• Anonymous – (no subject)
• Doki Doki – “Help… Please?”
• Rift – “because im a potato!”
• WOLFIE – “follow furry needs alittle help”
• G’reth – “FUCK!!! What they ment by hell on earth!”
• JonTheFox – “My Girlfriend”

Find the full article here: FurCast

The contents of this Podcast may have adult language and adult themes. The content is not produced by Furry News Network, but is posted for your convenience.

05/14/2011
By: CraftyAndy

Showing the better parts of filming the Geddan video at Furry Connection North 2011 , and the great people that helped make it happen. I did make a few tweaks to the final video which is already re-uploaded (see unlike youtube you can replace video files), but nothing that significant. ;Furry Connection North videos are in the works. The next movie dungeon will be The Dark Knight, then the first season of My Little Pony (maybe I have yet to watch it.).I have interviews to edit and post of artist at FCN along with artist I have lined up to interview at motor city comic con this year.

Attribution Non-Commercial Allow modifications

Author: dronon

After the recent review of the terrible Hyenas, here’s something to make hyena fans happier!

When Ursula Vernon published the first volume of Black Dogs in 2007, her life was very busy. She was moving house, her webcomic Digger was experiencing a surge in popularity, and her newly-acquired literary agent had got her a sweet deal to write and illustrate children’s books for Scholastic.

Understandably, writing a sequel took a back seat, so when the second half of Black Dogs was published four years later, Sofawolf Press conveniently reprinted the first volume with a new cover.

Black Dogs is a fantasy novel set in a world with humans, elves, and many anthropomorphic species. The main character is Lyra, a young human who finds herself on the run after her merchant family’s home is attacked by bandits. Though educated and well-read, she hasn’t much practical knowledge. Luckily she meets Sadrao, a tall, kind dog-soldier, one of a respected species of anthro-hyenas. Taking her under his wing, she joins him on his travels while he teaches her survival skills.

Audio Generated By Flayrah.com

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Find the full article here: flayrah – furry food for thought

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Author: actfuronair

In this episode we discuss saving money, dinosaurs are awesome, shimenji’s and changing the names of pets.

Download Standard Podcasts

Find the full article here: ACTfur On Air

This podcast may contain coarse language and adult themes. It is being provided as a service and is not the property of Furry News Network

Author: PeterCat

The winners of the tenth annual Ursa Major Awards for the best anthropomorphic/”funny animal” literature and art first published during 2010 have been announced at a presentation ceremony tonight at Morphicon in Columbus, Ohio.

See also: Last year’s winners, the 2010 nominees and other UMA coverage.

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Find the full article here: flayrah – furry food for thought

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05/13/2011
By: SonoKAI

Okay… Now here is something. I know we Furries have our ordinary lives right?
But they are never shown. Here is a little something that made me happy yesterday. I found out about this video thanks to Renard Queenston, but coming down to it I think it is something we should all watch.

Author: crossaffliction

The pitch for Eric Weston’s Hyenas must have resembled “it’s a werewolf movie, only this time they’re werehyenas!”

On one hand, not exactly the greatest movie premise ever. On the other hand, it worked on me.

Right here it should be said Hyenas is a bad movie. Besides the obvious reasons a low budget, straight-to-DVD creature feature might not be worth your time, it manages to offend in ways it didn’t mean to.

So here’s fair warning for any other furry hyena fans hoping for at least a glimmer of decency: look elsewhere.

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Find the full article here: flayrah – furry food for thought

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Author: mbulsht

The season end makes us all sad, Sweetie Bell.

Well that’s it for now, my fellow bronies. A full season has come and gone. What began in October 2010 as a humble reboot of a popular toy line has ended here in March, now blazing in full glory, and dragging along with it a massive fanbase high that’s on ponies and salivating for more. But it seems that now we’ll have to wait a while for more new episodes as the production team gears up to start work on the second season. And let us not forget the news that Lauren Faust has officially stepped down from the production team, a startling announcement that has left some of our fellow bronies reeling in shock. More than a few fans posting in Equestria Daily and Ponychan have expressed some fears that the fandom may falter during this long pause in the show.

They fear that, with no new official content, people might leave the fandom out of boredom, and not return when the new season airs in December.

I fully realize that I am not the first to address this situation, nor will I be the last. I also realize that AppleCider and his expert team of podcasters have discussed this subject at length in their last couple of episodes, so I won’t patronize you by summarizing their views. This is just my little two cents; A few words of encouragement for the fandom so that we can see this big break through to the end

It’s important to remember, first, that ponies will never die. As long as there is the promise of new episodes, there will always be Bronies. So, stay strong, keep faith, and most importantly,

Don’t Stop Believing!

We’ve always put our faith in the MLP:FiM production team knowing that, without a doubt, they would always bring us the best possible show they could. And not once have they failed us. Since the beginning of the show all those months ago, we have enjoyed twenty-six full pony-packed episodes that have made us laugh, cry, and in some cases, shudder (Party of One, do I really need to explain? Creepy, creepy). There is no reason for them to throw it away now, and I doubt even Hasbro would be so clumsy as to mishandle the show at this point. They know full well the kind of following they’ve created.

And with the promise of a new line of toys coming to the US soon, American Bronies like myself might all be able to adorn our living spaces with delightfully adorable figures! I myself have a cute small plastic Applejack living on top of my computer screen.

So let’s put our faith in Hasbro and the pony production team!

But of course, it’s not good enough just to pray and wait. We have to take it upon ourselves to help nurture the fandom and that takes me to my second point….

Contribute to the Fandom!

I can’t stress this enough. A fandom dies when its fans no longer take part in it. So during this long break, don’t let your interest wane. Post on Ponychan and visit Equestria Daily on a regular basis. Don’t hesitate to join in discussions and chat rooms, there will always be things to talk about. Discuss the show, discuss the next season, even discuss fanworks. And, if you’re daring enough, take part in the fanart/fanfiction side of the community. Read and review some of the stories, and look at all the pretty drawings (man there are some really good artists out there!).

And if you find that you have some talent in you, don’t hesitate to post your own work! Not that you should throw up every little pencil sketch and 300-word oneshot you write, but there is no reason why your voice shouldn’t be heard. During this break it will be on us, the fans, to keep up the momentum. And what better way to do that then to flex our creative muscles and pump out some pony stories of our own?

And lastly, but perhaps most importantly, we must all strive our best to…

Share the Love!

There are people out there who (Le’ gasp!) have not discovered the joys of the latest My Little Pony show. It is up to us, as it has always been, to be constantly introducing new viewers to our favorite cartoon. So invite your friends and family, your room mates and classmates, and anyone you think who might learn to love the show, to sit with you and watch ponies.

I myself am constantly trying to show my friends the show. My room mate managed to convert the episodes we got from iTunes to a format that could be read on a PS3 and every Friday we marathon ponies in 1080p on our HDTV. I try to bring a different person each time. And nearly every time we’ve come away from that night with a new brony in tow, ready to take the fandom head on and participate in discussions, write fanfiction, and in a few cases, draw awesome fanart.

So in short, what we really need to do is just

Keep doing what we’ve always done.

Continue to be the best fandom you can be.

Keep being those dependable, fan-squealing, pony-loving, toy-buying, fanfic-writing, fanart-drawing Bronies that I have come to know and love. Because I guarantee that if we stay the course, then no matter how long the break, we will all still be here. And believe me when I say, that as far as I’m concerned, we’re going to see this break through to the end. We’ll come bursting out the other end of that long dark tunnel with shining smiles plastered on our faces, friendship and rainbows firmly clasped in one hand, and ponies in the other.

Well, that’s all for me at the moment. I’ll leave you guys with a humble goodbye, and….

*internet brohoof*

See you on the other side.

-Ben Sims
(mbulsht)

Find the full article here: BronyShow

Author: toonces

This week’s story comes courtesy of John “The Gneech” Robey from Roar 3, which is available now!

Blackbird Singing in the Dead of Night
From the Casebooks of Squash and Stretch, Private Investigators

One.
It was a dark night in the cold city. It was also a cold night in the dark city. It was a dark, cold night in the cold, dark—I’ll start again.
It was a dark, cold night in the city. I was in the office, late, playing solitaire on the computer because the internet was out again, when the distinctive aroma of a tuna sandwich came wafting into my nose. It was my partner, Squash Otter, eating up the last bit of profit from our most recent case. I thought about giving him grief for it, but what was the point? Besides the fact that the big lug was almost exactly twice my size, he was also dumb as a post, so all of my best lines were completely wasted on him.
I suppose I ought to introduce myself. I’m a ferret. Call me Stretch. I’m the brains (all the brains) behind “Squash and Stretch, Private Investigators.” As you might have guessed, Stretch isn’t my real name. I don’t use my real name. But Stretch isn’t a bad name and I’ve been told it suits me, so I stick with it.44
“Squash old sport,” I said, “we’re broke.”
“Mmph?” he said through his sandwich.
“Yup, broke. Impoverished. Indigent. Needy. Impecunious. Busted like a cheap toy. If I had a dollar for every dollar we don’t have, I’d have every dollar in the world.”
“Mmmhm-mph!” he said, again through his sandwich.
“What am I, a magician? Of course I’ve been trying to get a case, but I can’t just snap my fingers and make somebody knock on the door, can I?” I snapped my fingers for emphasis, and was very surprised when at that second, somebody knocked on the door.
“Mph!” said Squash, then gulping down the last of his sandwich added, “What a neat trick! Can I try it?” So of course he snapped his fingers, and since neither of us had opened the door yet, the mysterious knocker knocked again.
“Whoa…” said Squash. “The power! The unbelievable power!!!”
“Shaddap,” I said, heading for the door. “And don’t talk with your mouth full.”
I opened it, revealing a gorgeous mink femme wearing a long black dress and a veiled, wide-brimmed hat. She was accompanied by what appeared to be a rat in a zoot suit, who played a juicy riff on the saxophone he was inexplicably carrying.
“Stop that!” the woman said. “I told you to quit following me!” The rat ignored her.
“Hey doll,” I said. “Looks like you’ve got a problem.”
“Are you… the detective?” she said.
“Yup,” I said. “Stretch Ferret, at your service. C’mon in, have a seat.”
I hustled her into the office quickly and slammed the door in the rat’s face as he tried to follow. “Dammit!” came his voice from the corridor.
“Thank you, Mr. Ferret,” she said, as I quickly scooped up the empty pizza box from what is normally the larger customer’s chair in front of my desk. “I didn’t know where to turn… I’ve been going crazy!” This last statement was punctuated by a dramatic Blatt! from the sax in the hallway.
“I don’t blame you,” I said. “Here, let me fix something first. Yo, Squash!”45

Squash came in from the other room, brushing crumbs off his bright Hawaiian shirt. “Yeah?” He stopped when he saw the mink. She was closer to his height than mine, so naturally their eyes met when she turned to look at him.
“Oh!” she said, in a way that I didn’t much like. The saxophone squealed out a long, soulful riff.
“Oh!” he said, then looked from side to side. Finally, without turning his head, he just looked at me from the corner of his eye and said, “Uh, whut?”
I poked my thumb in the general direction of the door. “Make the bad sax stop,” I said.
“Right,” he said, and flung the door wide open. I caught a brief glimpse of a zoot-suited rat with eyes like dinner plates before the door was closed again and Squash was out in the hallway. A lot of undignified thumping and crashing sounds followed.
“Who… was that?” asked the mink.
“That’s Squash, the walking crowbar. And no need to go around calling me ‘Mr. Ferret.’ Stretch is good enough for the likes of me. What’s your name, and more important, how can we help you? Aside from getting rid of your stalking sax player problem, I mean. That’s free of charge.”
“He’s very… lean for an otter, isn’t he?”
“He… Squash? Yeah, I guess so, I never really thought about it. Now then, would you like to have a seat and tell me what you need?”
“Ah, yes, of course. Well, Mr.—er, Stretch, my name is Madeline Mink, widow of—”
“Widow of Mortimer Mink, the oil baron’s son. The one who was found floating around off the coast of Baja without a boat.”
She didn’t flinch; not even blink. “How did you know?”
“Read your name in the paper,” I said. “Saw the black dress and the veil. Put two and two together.” Adding a touch of softness to my voice, I added, “I’m very sorry for your loss, Ms. Mink.”
“Uh… thank you. I suppose if you’ve read about me in the paper, you know that my husband and I weren’t on the best of terms by the end.”
“Nobody would blame you,” I said. “For a mink, I gather he was quite the skunk.”46
She smiled a bit at that. Score one for the ferret. Lean for an otter. Sheesh.
“Well, yes, I suppose he was,” she said. “But I was still fond of him. Not so fond that I wanted to stay married to him, but fond enough that I wasn’t glad to see him… murdered.”
“So you do think he was murdered, then. You don’t buy the blotto-and-fell-overboard story.”
“I don’t think he was murdered, I know he was. Mortimer didn’t touch drugs and was never more than a social drinker. And he loved his yacht too much to… demean it by going out on a joyride.”
“People change,” I hazarded.
“If Mortimer didn’t change for me,” she said, “he wouldn’t change without me either. But this is all neither here nor there. It isn’t his murder I came to you about, at least not directly.”
The door opened and Squash came back in, all bulging muscles and floofy cheekruffs, the big jerk. “The saxophone won’t be bothering you again!” he said, with a giant, self-satisfied grin.
Madeline stood and went over to him. “Oh thank you,” she said. “He’s been following me for days!”
“Oh yeah?” he said. “Musta been yer tail.”
She fluttered her eyes and the pink of her ears darkened in a blush. “Oh!” she said again in that breathless way of hers.
“Whut?”
“No, he doesn’t mean your tail tail, he means the guy was tailing…” I started, but gave up. She clearly wasn’t listening to me. Point to the otter, and it was beginning to look like set and match, too. Musta been yer tail. Sheesh. “Okay,” I said to Squash. “Go make yerself a sandwich and let the lady and me talk business.”
“There isn’t any more tuna,” he said.
“Then go pretend to make yourself a sandwich. Either way just scram for now!”
“Okay!” said Squash, and wandered off.
“You didn’t introduce us!” protested Madeline.
“Didn’t I? Oh, sorry,” I said, and gestured back at the chair. “So anyway, you were saying you didn’t come about your husband’s murder.”47
“Well no, not directly. Mort and I were separated, and I had started talking to my lawyer about divorce proceedings when he died, but there had been no paperwork filed. Legally we were still married, and so the estate falls to me. But… well, I suppose it sounds terribly mercenary of me, but… but I haven’t been able to claim it. Or at least, not all of it.”
“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”
“Well, Mort kept all of his important personal papers—deeds, insurance policies, everything—in a safety deposit box at the New San Angeles Bank, and supposedly only he and his lawyer had the key.”
“Supposedly?”
“Well, his lawyer took me to the safety deposit box and opened it. It was empty, Mr. Fer—er, Stretch. Completely empty! Except for this.” She slid a folded notecard across the desk at me. Printed on it, in an elegant and understated script, read:
BLACKBIRD SINGING IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT
“Only this, and nothing more, eh?” I said. The literary touch. But she didn’t seem to notice.
“Naturally, I took it to the police, and then to the F.B.I.,” she said. “No results.”
“How did this lawyer of your husband’s react when he opened up the box and there was nothing in it?”
“Well, he seemed surprised, of course.”
“I’d hope so,” I said. “A safety deposit box that’s supposed to be full of the umpty-ump legal papers of a rich playboy instead has nothing but some Aristocratic Master Thief’s calling card? Surely the lawyer had to notice that it was awfully light when he pulled it out. Did he say anything about it?”
“Not that I remember,” Madeline said.
“Phooey,” I said. “This thing looks more like a wedding invitation than anything else. What about the bank? They’re supposed to have records of who comes and goes at the safety deposit vault, right?”
“Yes,” said Madeline. “The only people in the records are my husband and his lawyer. In the end, the police came to the 48
conclusion that my husband must have done it himself, as some sort of crazy prank. I can’t believe that myself; I think—”
“You think it was done by whoever murdered him.”
“Yes.”
“And what do you want from me, Ms. Mink? Do you want to find out the truth? Or do you just want the papers back?”
She just sat and blinked at me for a good twenty seconds. “I’d like to know, certainly. I’m curious, who wouldn’t be? But I guess if I was going to be honest about it, I’d have to say that all I really care about is getting back what’s rightfully mine.”
“Fair enough,” I said. “I’ll take the case.”

Tomorrow, a bill may pass in Uganda that will make being LGBT a crime punishable by death.  At least thirty people have been killed in Bahrain by their own government during protests, with many others imprisoned for their beliefs.  The EU has placed sanctions on 13 Syrian officials over their violent handling of protestors, with reports of tanks being deployed near the city of Deraa.  And just this Sunday, Yemeni forces shot and killed three people outside of a government building in Taiz, wounding at least ten.  For many, the price of saying what they think, or doing what they feel is right, or even merely being what they are, is death, imprisonment or torture.

Meanwhile, among English-speaking Furries in safe Western countries, a petition and Facebook group for “Furry Rights” circulates.

I think it’s time for us to put in to perspective what a rights violation is, and also to talk a bit about free speech and how it is also an important right — even when people are saying things you don’t like.

Think of yourself.  This is, of course, assuming that you are a furry.  If you’re not, read along anyway just for fun.  Now, try to think of a legal right under the law in your country that you do not have as a furry, that you would if you were not a furry.  I’m talking specific, written legislation that makes you treated differently for being furry.  Found anything?  Take your time.  Are there any references to furries in your country’s code at all?

I didn’t think so.

The Facebook page “Equal Rights for Furries” has a specific call to action, to quote:

Laws providing benefits for married couples should be changed to provide equal benefits for couples in stable furry relationships.
Furry couples should be allowed to adopt.
Furries should be allowed to be openly furry in the military.

That’s odd.  I know married furries.  I know furries with children.  And I know furries in the military.  Many of which, while not flagrantly putting their lifestyle out there, also do not hide being furry, nor should they.  They attend cons, go out with furry friends, and otherwise enjoy being in the fandom.  My point here is that this call to action is calling for rights that already exist.  I hate to sound anticlimactic (a fight for rights is so romantic, I know), but there is absolutely nothing preventing anyone who is furry, openly or not, from marrying, adopting, or serving their nation.

Now, there are some rather heinous laws on the books preventing, for example, gays from marrying, adopting, or serving openly in the military.  These laws are indeed archaic, out of touch, hateful and should be repealed.  They are artifacts of a backwards time and a backwards way of thinking, and any nation that truly values freedom, liberty, and rational thought should have nothing to do with such legislation.  Alas, society is not quite there yet, and there is still a fight to be fought on that front.

But it still has nothing to do with being furry, aside from the casual correlation that many furries happen to be LGBT.  Even in that case, though, we should be fighting for LGBT rights, not this phoney idea of “Furry Rights“.  Don’t get me wrong — I believe furries should have rights.  The point is that we already do.

The petition I mentioned, entitled “Stop Hating On The Furries!!!” reads more like an angry personal rant than a call for any kind of action.  To quote:

I know theres lots of people out there, but there are certain people who hate on other people cause they are different, Furries are fans of cartoon animals like Robin Hood (the fox), My little pony, Care Bears, etc. But they are NOT sex addicts, ok some are but so what? Everybody is different! Theres straights, gays, etc but so what? Its not any different than being normal human.
Well Ive seen lots of hate comments on youtube, facebook, etc saying “Furfag”, “Yiff in hell”, “Yiff in hell, furfag” and so on.
I myself am a Furry and Im damn proud of it.
I made this petition to see if we can make more people stop hating on others. *Sigh* sorry, I talk too much…
Thank you for your time.
~Spooky

Well, Spooky, I’m glad you are proud to be furry.  So am I.  And it’s okay, I talk too much too.  But while we’re talking, let’s chat a bit about trolls, how to deal with them, and free speech.

It’s hurtful when people say bad things about what you are, yes.  Being called names is unpleasant and can be demoralizing.  None of us like the term “furfag”.  But the best way to go about dealing with this kind of behavior is to treat it for what it is — merely childish and stupid, and generally easy to ignore.  Trolls are immature and small-minded people who make no attempt at understanding anyone their peer group has decided they don’t like.  They can not be reasoned with, because they have decided ahead of time not to be reasonable.  And fighting with them makes both sides look equally stupid.  Next time you deal with one, instead of getting upset, perhaps just pity them for their narrow view of the world.  They can’t truly hurt you if you don’t let them.  In fact, I think their silly, formulaic attempts can be amusing to watch.  Trolls have as much power as you give them.

That said, the things they say are their right to say.  Most of the readers of this website live in countries that have a great degree of freedom of speech included in their laws.  It is one of the most important tenets of a rational, healthy system of government and society.  We always have to remember that freedoms can cut both ways — freedom of speech also means freedom of stupid speech.  But remember, the guarantees of freedom of expression that allow trolls to hurt your feelings are the same guarantees that allow you to go to a furry con and be yourself and not fear persecution by your government.

The real issue furries have is prejudice — we are misunderstood at best, and viewed very poorly at worst.  But this is not a legal concern.  This is not a rights concern.  Other fandoms have had similar image issues in the past.  There was a time when people would often say that Anime was nothing but tentacle rape and the like, or that it was only enjoyed by nerdy basement dwellers.  Now it’s a rather mainstream interest.  You’ve heard that Akira is getting a live action adaptation, right? (I know, it’s probably going to suck, but that’s another editorial entirely).

We, as furries, need to continue being what we are, and being proud of it.  We also need to mind our own image — don’t fan the troll’s flames.  If you see one of your friends saying something like “hey let’s go freak the mundanes!”, be an adult and tell them to be the same.  Finally, we also need to be okay with the fact that our interests won’t be shared by all, and learn to deal with the fact that some people just plain won’t like us.

Let’s be proud, but also keep things in perspective, Furries.  And meanwhile, if you want to donate or help out with a few very serious and real causes, I’ll provide a few links below:

Human Rights Campaign — For LGBT rights
Electronic Frontier Foundation — For online / electronic privacy, property rights and freedom of speech
American Civil Liberties Union — For all of the freedoms all Americans are supposed to be guaranteed
Amnesty International — For human rights throughout the world

Author: The Hypnotic Beast
Episode 3 of the Hypnotic Beast Podcast. Explore ways of knowing and balance your observational skills and your intuition.

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