Sandra, an orangutan owned by the Buenos Aires Zoo, was given the right to leave the zoo after a court ruled she was entitled to more desirable living conditions. Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Christy Redd is the co-owner of America's largest alligator leather tannery. Zach Wolfe/Ozy.com hide caption

Trainer Jimmy McConnell of Shelbyville, Tenn., rides champion walking horse Watch It Now before a 2009 football game in Knoxville, Tenn. Celebrations of the breed's distinctive gait are a 75-year-old tradition, but animal rights activists say that for many of those decades, the walking horse industry has abused animals to get their knees even higher. Wade Payne/AP hide caption

Free-range chickens lay eggs for Sauder's Quality Eggs in Pennsylvania. Dan Charles/NPR hide caption

A black rhino in Namibia's Etosha National Park. Frans Lanting /DPA/Landov hide caption

Don't leave me: Many cities allow hens but not roosters. iStockphoto.com hide caption

Chimpanzee Toni celebrated his 50th birthday at the Hellabrunn Zoo in Munich on Nov. 22, 2011. Sven Hoppe/DPA/Landov hide caption

Cashews: changing minds about meat, one nut at a time? Picture Post/Getty Images hide caption

Michael Sharry visits with Bill, front, and Lou (now deceased) on Nov. 8, 2012, at Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vermont. Toby Talbot/AP hide caption

After a leg injury didn't heal well earlier this year, Lou has difficulty walking. He and his partner, Bill, will be slaughtered at the end of the month, and their meat will be used to feed students at Green Mountain College in Vermont. Nina Keck/Vermont Public Radio hide caption

The sun begins to rise over the Atlantic Ocean at Virginia Beach, VA, in August 2011. Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images hide caption

A man holds a sign during a "Dogs Against Romney" demonstration outside the 136th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at New York's Madison Square Garden, on Tuesday. Shannon Stapleton /Reuters/Landov hide caption