Off the Leash

A podcast edited from audio recorded by Off the Leash Podcasts in London on September 8th 2021 at a protest event outside the offices of Defra - the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. 

Defra is the government department that sanctions the badger cull and that just a week ago forcibly removed Geronimo the Alpaca from a farm in Gloucestershire, based on tests that concluded - wrongly - that Gerniomo - who was brought to the UK from New Zealand in August 2017 - had bovine TB. That claim has been consistently disputed by Geronimo's owner, Helen Macdonald, a vet who had been keeping Geronimo in isolation since Defra first issued the order to have the animal killed. 

Speakers at the protest included Helen herself who talked about how Defra has harassed her for four years;  highly-respected veterinary scientist Dr Iain McGill, Director of the Prion Group; Talk Radio's Kevin O'Sullivan who has been an outspoken supporter of both Geronimo and Operation Ark, the effort to get Pen Farthing and his animal rescue staff out of Afghanistan; and wildlife protection campaigner, writer and broadcaster (and The Off the Leash Podcast co-host) Dominic Dyer who also introduces the other speakers. 

Longer video recordings of the protest are available online, but we have edited the key points down to make them available to as wide an audience as possible.

• BBC News  Geronimo the alpaca: Who is he and why did he hit the headlines?
• Helen Macdonald Twitter feed
• Dominic Dyer Twitter feed
• Iain McGill Twitter feed
• Kevin O'Sullivan Twitter feed

‘Shortcasts’ are short standalone audio comments and statements from conservationists, campaigners, charities, authors and members of our audience. If it needs to be said – say it here!

A shortcast about the work being done to stop the ecological destruction of HS2 from 'Summer', a climate and animal justice activist working with Stop HS2.

Summer would understandably prefer not to give out her personal contact details, so Off the Leash has offered to act as an intermediary. if you'd like to offer support or help please email [email protected] and we will forward any relevant messages.

• Stop Hs2 Website, Twitter feed, and Facebook page
• HS2 Rebellion Website, Twitter feed, and Facebook page

‘Shortcasts’ are short standalone audio comments and statements from conservationists, campaigners, charities, authors and members of our audience. If it needs to be said – say it here!


A shortcast about fox cub hunting or cubbing from Charlie Moores. A version of this audio first appeared in Our Off The leash podcast in August (link below) but with so many reports of cubbing on social media at the moment, we felt that it would be helpful to state again what cubbing is and how to recognise the revolting individuals who do it.

• Off the Leash Podcast Episode 13
• Hunt Saboteurs Association Website - Hotline phone number 07443 148 426
• League Against Cruel Sports Website - Animal Crimewatch phone number 0300 444 1234
•  North West Hunt Sabs  Cub Hunting and how to sab them
• Fox Hunting Evidence UK Truth About Cub Hunting

In this one-off special episode we focus exclusively on the inside story of 'Operation Ark', the campaign set up by Afghanistan-based animal rescue charity Nowzad to evacuate its staff and animals from Kabul as the city fell to the Taliban. 

In a remarkable two week period social media lit up as people everywhere demanded action to get Nowzad staff and their animals out of danger;  British media first embraced former marine and  Nowzad founder Pen Farthing then turned against him as a government minister and his special advisor spun what had always been a humanitarian rescue mission into a false argument about putting 'pets before people'; and with an aircraft ready to fly into Kabul Airport the story became a race against time to land as air corridors shifted and the few remaining troops that controlled access to entrance gates and landing strips were pulled out.

While all this was taking place, Off the Leash's Dominic Dyer found himself becoming the public face of Operation Ark,  explaining the same points over again on multiple TV and radio appearances and - in increasingly frustrated and exasperated tones - on his own social media platforms. 

Operation Ark continues to work for the evacuation of all Nowzad staff, but with at least Pen Farthing and many of the charity's animals safe Dominic can now look back on a tumultuous fortnight, the barriers he came up against, and the extraordinarily compassionate and courageous people he found himself fighting for. As he explains in this podcast he initially had no idea how consuming the battle to 'rescue the animal rescuers' would be but felt compelled to do whatever he could because, as he reflects, "if you're fortunate enough to be part of a team like that, make the most of it - that's what makes life worth living".

• Nowzad Website and Facebook
• Nowzad Operation Ark updates
• Pen Farthing Twitter feed

Perfect shortcast? Spoiler alert - there is no such thing as the perfect shortcast. Or the typical shortcast. Or the right length shortcast, or even the right sounding shortcast. Shortcasts come in all shapes and sizes and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a few techniques to make a better shortcast, so we’ve offered a few suggestions here.  Some might seem obvious if you’re an old hand but hopefully they’ll be useful if you’re not. 

We cover content, recording, and editing (and don’t worry about that last one, we’ll do any editing for you, and, as always, it won’t cost you a thing...)

• You might also like So What are Shortcasts?
•  Follow us on Twitter @OtlPodcasts and Instagram @otlpods

‘Shortcasts’ are short standalone audio comments and statements from conservationists, campaigners, charities, authors and members of our audience. If it needs to be said – say it here!

A shortcast from Derbyshire Against The Cull, flagging up their 'Walk to Save the Badgers' on September 5th and also explaining how they help prevent the mass slaughter of badgers using disruption techniques relevant not only to Derbyshire but other cull zones as well.

• Derbyshire Against The Cull (part of Derbyshire's vocal opposition to the mass murder of badgers) - Facebook and Twitter
• Badger Action Network - resource hub for action against the badger cull

‘Shortcasts’ are short standalone audio comments and statements from conservationists, campaigners, charities, authors and members of our audience. If it needs to be said – say it here!

A shortcast from author and field naturalist Joe Gray. Joe talks about the importance of ethics in conservation and reads a short extract from his just-published novel, 'The Gardens of Greenspring Road'. Author royalties from this and Joe's previous book, 'Thirteen Paces by Four', are being donated to the World Land Trust.

• Joe Gray (writing as Dewey Dabbar)  The Gardens of Greenspring Road
• Joe Gray  Thirteen Paces by Four 
• Joe Gray website Deep Green Earth
• Ecological Citizen website 
• World Land Trust website 

Charlie Moores talks with the remarkable Kim Cooling, inspirational founder of animal rescue charity Animal SOS Sri Lanka. which works to alleviate the widespread suffering of street animals across the island. The charity provides quality veterinary care, refuge, rehabilitation, adoption schemes, as well as conducting sterilisation, education and rabies control outreach programs. Set up a decade ago Animal SOS Sri Lanka is now looking after an astonishing 2000 animals, and prides itself on giving animals a second chance of a healthy and fulfilling life. 

Charlie spoke with Kim shortly before the opening of an event at Art gallery NoHo Studios where paintings donated by three artists were to be sold and money donated to both Aimal SOS Sri Lanka and the middle-east based charity Safe Haven for Donkeys. At that event, he also took the opportunity to speak with two of Animal SOS Sri Lanka's Patrons for a shortcast we've also published  - the actor and animal advocate Peter Egan and broadcaster and presenter Jan Leeming, both of whom are well-known for their commitment to animals and animal welfare charities.  

Back to the interview and before Kim explains what drives her work, Charlie asked her to give an outline of the charity that has consumed her life for so long...

• Animal SOS Sri Lanka website 
• Animal SOS Sri Lanka Facebook and Twitter feeds
• JustGiving page for Animal SOS Sri Lanka

‘Shortcasts’ are short standalone audio comments and statements from conservationists, campaigners, charities, authors and members of our audience. If it needs to be said – say it here!


A shortcast with animal advocates actor Peter Egan and broadcaster Jan Leeming, recorded at an event in London which was raising funds for Animal SOS Sri Lanka, a charity founded by Kim Cooling, of which they are both patrons. 

The shortcast starts with Jan explaining how she became a patron of Animal SOS Sri Lanka

• Animal SOS Sri Lanka website 
• Animal SOS Sri Lanka Facebook and Twitter feeds
• JustGiving page for Animal SOS Sri Lanka

 We're building a free audio platform for campaigners and activists like us called Off the Leash Podcasts. And we thought that a short series to explain just what Off the Leash Podcasts is all about might be helpful.

At Off the Leash we have a regular weekly podcast, we record interviews, and we host shortcasts. Shortcasts? Let’s start with a shortcast about shortcasts...

• You might also like Making the 'perfect' shortcast?
• Follow us on Twitter @OtlPodcasts  and Instagram @otlpods