Top 15 Animal Rights Stories Of The YearBy Amanda Froelich Of course, theres still progress to be made, but the following 15 stories should give you hope that if enough people come together and peacefully collaborate, positive change will ensue. Here are the top 15 animal rights stories (in no particular area) of 2015: A landmark decision by the Kiwis sets a precedent that other countries should follow. It is now illegal for wild animals, such as lions, bears, elephants, and giraffes, to be used in circuses in the Netherlands! Heres why recent spotting of a 103-year-old orca, named Granny, is bad news for SeaWorld. Hawaii is set to become the first U.S. state to ban the use of bears, elephants, big cats, and other exotic wild animals for entertainment purposes. For the past few years, SeaWorld has been under heavy scrutiny, due to criticism from animal rights activist who say that they mistreat the whales and dolphins that they have in captivity. In August, the company announced an 84% decrease in sales as continued brand challenges steer customers away from the park. In an effort to be the change he wishes to see in the world, comedianJohn Stewart, after stepping down as host of The Daily Show, has started asanctuaryfor abused factory farm animals called Bufflehead Farm. Seaworldannounced plans to end the exploitative practice of usingorcasin its flagship show, in a clear effort to clean up the attraction parks negative image. The biodiverse nation intends to shut down both of its zoos and release all captive animals. Anita Krajnc is being criminally charged for giving water to exhausted pigs during a scorching day in June this year. History was made last Tuesday when two chimps were recognized as non-human persons in a court case. Newly developed technology will determine the sex of each fertilized egg before the chick inside develops enabling the removal of all male-identified eggs from the hatchery. This will eliminate the industrys need to heartlessly grind male chicks once hatched. Animal rightsactivistsrescued more than 1,000 starving cats on their way toslaughterhousesin the south of China. This ruling sets a precedent for all future cases, and could mean the end of captivity. Thirteen Asian elephants will continue to tour with the company before retiring to Ringlings Center for Elephant Conservation in Florida by 2018. After receiving immense pressure from animal rights activists to cease animal testing, the University of Oklahoma plans to phase out baboon research by 2019. If you appreciate this content, please Like Trueselfnews on Facebook. What are your thoughts? Comment your thoughts below and please share this news! Image Credits in order: This article (Top 15 Animal Rights Stories OfThe Year) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and Trueselfnews.com As an old school animals activist from the 70s and 80s I regularly despair at the way these issues seem to have been pushed way down the scale of most peoples concerns these days. So reading this article gives me hope. To those of the younger upcoming generations who do have compassion and work hard for the creatures we share this world with bless you and thank you. 