Chris Madden Cartoons

A searchable archive for licensing

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Bee friendly illustration

July 28, 2023 by chrismadden

Bee friendly illustration
Bee friendly illustration

An illustration showing bees and bee-friendly flowers.

The illustration is about the fact that bees are in decline and need encouraging and protecting.

One of the best ways for individuals to encourage bees is to plant bee-friendly plants in their gardens.
Drawn: July 2022
Cartoon reference number: a953

How to obtain license to use cartoon

Filed Under: ANIMALS, ENVIRONMENT, Flower Gardening, GARDENING, Insects - creepy crawlies, Wildlife in danger

Marine waste cartoon

January 20, 2021 by chrismadden

Hermit crab with tin can as a shell - cartoon

A cartoon about marine pollution showing a hermit crab using an old tin can instead of a shell

The cartoon could be interpreted as showing wildlife desperately trying to adapt to a changed ecosystem.
A cartoon about waste recycling, household waste, wildlife in danger.

See an alternative version of this cartoon here.
Cartoon reference number: env094c

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Animals (wild or pets), ENVIRONMENT, Pollution cartoons, Wildlife in danger

Hunting endangered species cartoon

January 20, 2021 by chrismadden

Dr Seuss racism allegation cartoon

Hunting wildlife to the verge of extinction cartoon.

A cartoon showing hunters hunting a species to the verge of extinction.

A cartoon about endangered species
Drawn: 1991
Cartoon reference number: env085

How to obtain license to use cartoon

Filed Under: ANIMALS, Animals (wild or pets), ENVIRONMENT, Wildlife in danger

Environment cartoon book

April 30, 2019 by chrismadden

Environmental cartoon book

The Beast That Ate the Earth
Environment cartoon book

Versions of many of the environmental cartoons on this site can be found in my book, The Beast That Ate the Earth.

I’ve been drawing cartoons on environmental matters since the early 1970s.
The book was published in 2004 and contains about a hundred cartoons in black and white.

The book is available through Amazon.
Such as at:

Amazon UK

Amazon USA

Amazon Germany

Filed Under: Books, Climate Change cartoons, Consumerism, Deforestation, Energy fuel power, ENVIRONMENT, Floods, Other environment cartoons, Pollution cartoons, Transport, Trees, Wildlife in danger

A world in which there is no countryside, only city development

November 17, 2016 by chrismadden

Cartoon - a city scene where the only evidence of nature is on a traffic island

An urban landscape with no trees or grass except on a traffic roundabout.

A person in a passing car is saying to their children “Look kids – the countryside!”
A cartoon about sprawling urban development, green spaces, the concrete jungle, nature being squeezed out, urbanisation, urbanization, city gardens,

 Drawn: 2016
Cartoon reference number: a760


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Filed Under: ENVIRONMENT, Transport, Trees, Wildlife in danger

Vultures endangered by consuming contaminated carcasses

June 25, 2015 by chrismadden

cartoon - vulture extinction

Vultures endangered by consuming carcasses contaminated by anti-inflammatory drug, diclofenac.

.
Vultures in India are on the verge of extinction due to scavenging on the carcasses of cattle that have been treated with the veterinary drug diclofenac.

Original version drawn: 1991
Cartoon reference number: a694

How to obtain license to use cartoon

Filed Under: ANIMALS, Birds, ENVIRONMENT, Wildlife in danger

Save the dolphins cartoon

June 25, 2015 by chrismadden

dolphins aren't vegetarian cartoon

Cartoon showing a campaigner for protecting dolphins being disappointed to discover that dolphins aren’t vegetarian.

.
A cartoon about the concept that some animal lovers prefer animals that are thought of as nice, cute, gentle etc (which interestingly extends to pet cats, which I frequently see tormenting and killing wildlife)..

The idea refers to some extent to the ‘natural fallacy’, which states that nature is inherently good.
Original version drawn: 1990
Cartoon reference number: a685

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Animals (wild or pets), ENVIRONMENT, Wildlife in danger

Why there were no unicorns on Noah’s ark – cartoon

June 24, 2015 by chrismadden

Why there were no unicorns on Noah's ark - cartoon

A cartoon showing Noah’s ark with consumer goods (cars, shipping containers etc) taking up valuable space. Noah is telling the two unicorns that are wanting to enter the ark that there is no room for them.

The cartoon is about the human race’s impact on wildlife (particularly as a result of our consumption of the earth’s resources, but also as a result of anthropogenic floods).

A cartoon about endangered species, unicorn extinction, wildlife in danger.
Original version. drawn: 1990
Cartoon reference number: a679

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Consumerism, ENVIRONMENT, Wildlife in danger

Hermit crab cartoon – using a tin can instead of a mollusc shell

October 9, 2013 by chrismadden

Marine pollution cartoon - a hermit crab using a tin can instead of a mollusc shell

A cartoon about pollution of the oceans
Hermit crabs using old tin cans instead of mollusc shells

Pollution of the oceans causing habitat depletion and ecosystem damage
See an alternative version of this marine pollution cartoon here

Cartoon reference number: env094

How to obtain license to use cartoon

Filed Under: ENVIRONMENT, Pollution cartoons, Wildlife in danger

Marine pollution cartoon – twenty-first century hermit crab

October 9, 2013 by chrismadden

Hermit crab using a tin can as a shell - cartoon

A cartoon about marine pollution
A hermit crab using an old tin can instead of a shell

  One of the ideas behind this cartoon is that pollution of the seas and oceans will cause depletion of life such as marine snails, making it necessary for hermit crabs to adapt to using discarded rubbish as protection.
The cartoon could also be interpreted as showing wildlife adapting to a changed ecosystem.
A cartoon about waste recycling, household waste, wildlife in danger.

See an alternative version of this cartoon here.
Cartoon reference number: env094b

How to obtain license to use cartoon

Filed Under: ANIMALS, ENVIRONMENT, Pollution cartoons, Wildlife in danger

Environmental cartoon – packaging

April 7, 2013 by chrismadden

Environment cartoon

Environment cartoons
Non-biodegradable packaging

A cartoon about environment-friendly materials.
A discarded polystyrene container talking to animals, saying that it likes nature so much that it’s decided to stay around for a long time.

An illustration about biodegradable packaging materials, litter, recycling, waste, consumerism, bio-decomposition, environmental impact
Cartoon reference number: env069b

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Filed Under: Consumerism, ENVIRONMENT, Pollution cartoons, Waste, Wildlife in danger

Endangered species cartoon

March 4, 2013 by chrismadden

Endangered species cartoon - endangered fish stocks

Environment cartoons
Endangered species cartoon

A fish restaurant selling endangered species of fish

Over fishing is depleting fish stocks, with species such as cod and tuna being put on endangered species lists
A cartoon about food, resources, fishing quotas
Original version drawn: 2004
Reference number: a572

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Filed Under: Consumerism, Cooking and kitchens, ENVIRONMENT, Wildlife in danger

Ambergris cartoon. Whale products in cosmetics

February 8, 2013 by chrismadden

Ambergris from whales -cartoon

Cartoon about the use of ambergris and whale products in cosmetics
Save the whale cartoon

Ambergris, produced by sperm whales, is used in cosmetics

An illustration dealing with the cosmetics industry, whale hunting or endangered species
Original version drawn: 1975
Cartoon reference number: am506

How to obtain license to use cartoon

Filed Under: ANIMALS, ENVIRONMENT, Wildlife in danger

Butterfly friendly insecticide cartoon

December 7, 2012 by chrismadden

butterfly friendly pesticide cartoon

A cartoon about selective pesticide – butterfly and ladybird friendly insecticide

A joke about insecticide that kills only ugly insects

The cartoon has deeper meanings about how we judge things by appearance, by prejudice or by attractiveness.
It’s also about gardening and the aesthetic values that are deployed in the garden (such as in the selection of plants and flowers, not just in the selection of pests). However it’s also about the wider phenomenon of judging everything, including people, by appearance

Cartoon reference number: a472

See my book of gardening cartoons here.

How to obtain license to use cartoon

Filed Under: ENVIRONMENT, GARDENING, Insects - creepy crawlies, Wildlife in danger

Animal trap and animal intelligence – cartoon

December 6, 2012 by chrismadden

Clever animal trap cartoon

A hunter trapping animals cartoon

Showing a hunter and a trap or snare set to capture a wild animal.

The trap which is baited with food, and a monkey is approaching it with a hook and line to get the food without setting off the trap.
However, the trap is a sham or decoy trap, and the monkey is trapped in another, real trap

A cartoon about hunting, hunters, trapping, trappers, animal intelligence, intelligent apes, snares, clever animals

Cartoon reference number: a470

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Animals (wild or pets), Wildlife in danger

Why animals become extinct – cartoon

December 6, 2012 by chrismadden

reason why animals became extinct - cartoon

An extinction cartoon – the reasons why creatures become extinct

A cartoon showing a reconstruction of an extinct animal, with scientists asking why the creature became extinct.
The creature had many features that would have made it very useful to prehistoric man – huge ivory tusks, luxurious fur and tender flesh. Obviously it was hunted to extinction by early hunters

A cartoon dealing with endangered species, palaeontology, fossils and hunter gatherers

Cartoon reference number: a469

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Filed Under: ENVIRONMENT, Other environment cartoons, Wildlife in danger

Endangered species cartoon – the fur trade

December 6, 2012 by chrismadden

fur coat and fur trade cartoon

An environmental cartoon about the fur trade and fur coats

A cartoon of an affluent fashionable woman buying a fur coat. The shop sign above the coat reads “Rare furs”
The shop assistant is saying “And getting rarer by the day, madam!”

The message of the cartoon is that some people are totally intellectually divorced or disconnected from the environmental and ecological impact of their actions, with economic and other factors such as social status taking precedence over environmental factors.
In this case the woman and the man are only interested in the status of the fur coat as a fashion item and as a status symbol – to the point that they are actually pleased that they are contributing to the endangered species status of the animal that provided the fur for the coat, as the rarer the animal the more valuable the coat becomes – an economic argument (of very dubious merit) rather than an ecological one

Cartoon reference number: a468

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Animals (wild or pets), Consumerism, ENVIRONMENT, Wildlife in danger

Insecticide cartoon. Polluting the planet with pesticides

December 5, 2012 by chrismadden

 insecticide cartoon

Insecticide cartoon
Polluting the planet with pesticides

A cartoon showing an insect being sprayed with insecticide.
The insect is a beetle with the pattern on its shell being a map of the earth

The cartoon illustrates the concept of the global impact of the use of toxic chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides and insecticides.
It reflects the ideas in such books as Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
An earlier version of this cartoon appeared in my book of environmental cartoons, When Humans Roamed the Earth, published by Earthscan/WWF in 1991

Cartoon reference number: a460

How to obtain license to use cartoon

Filed Under: ANIMALS, ENVIRONMENT, Insects - creepy crawlies, Wildlife in danger

Seal hunters cartoon

December 5, 2012 by chrismadden

seal hunters cartoon

Seal hunters cartoon
Fur trappers

A cartoon showing hunters making a hole in the sea ice in order to trap seals.
Meanwhile, a hole is being cut round the trappers.

A cartoon about the fur trade, trapping, seal hunting
An earlier version of this cartoon appeared in my book of environmental cartoons, When Humans Roamed the Earth, published by Earthscan/WWF in 1991

Cartoon reference number: a459

How to obtain license to use cartoon

Filed Under: ANIMALS, Animals (wild or pets), ENVIRONMENT, Wildlife in danger

Roadkill cartoon. Roadside wildlife guidebook cartoon.

December 5, 2012 by chrismadden

Roadside wildlife roadkill cartoon

Roadkill cartoon
Roadside wildlife identification guidebook cartoon.

A cartoon showing a nature guide book for identifying roadside wildlife, in which the images of the wildlife are all squashed by car tyres or are bird strikes

A cartoon about wildlife destruction on roads due to impacts with vehicles.
Animals and birds as victims of vehicle impact
Cartoon reference number: a455

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cartoon copyright matters

Filed Under: ANIMALS, Animals (wild or pets), ENVIRONMENT, Transport, Wildlife in danger

Save the smallpox virus cartoon – save the whale cartoon

December 5, 2012 by chrismadden

smallpox virus  cartoon

Fish stock depletion cartoon

A cartoon parody on Save the Whale T-shirts and other T-shirts with slogans or messages on them, especially ones with a moral dimension to them
It’s also a comment on our attitudes to different animal species, and about which ones we want to save (usually cute, cuddly, furry ones).

The cartoon draws attention to the concept of ‘poster species’, or animal species that are used for campaigning purposes for environmental issues. (This cartoon isn’t a criticism of this tendency, which is a natural human tendency due to our evolutionary responses to the natural world.)
A cartoon about animal rights, speciesism.

Cartoon reference number: a453

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, ENVIRONMENT, Other environment cartoons, Wildlife in danger

Fish stock depletion cartoon. Over fishing cartoon

December 5, 2012 by chrismadden

world map - fish pond - cartoon

Fish stock depletion cartoon
Over fishing cartoon

Cartoon of a man fishing in a pond, and complaining that there aren’t any fish left to fish.
The pond is in the form of a map of the world

The pond in the cartoon is a metaphor for the oceans of the world.
The concept is that people have in the past (and even today) thought of the earth’s oceans as being almost endless and full of unlimited supplies of fish. While in fact the oceans are relatively small, especially when the rising human population puts so much pressure on the fish stocks
Cartoon reference number: a452

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Consumerism, ENVIRONMENT, Other environment cartoons, Wildlife in danger

Big game hunters cartoon – hunting endangered species

December 5, 2012 by chrismadden

 big game hunters hunting butterfly cartoon

Endangered species cartoon

Cartoon of big game hunters shooting a butterfly because other species of animal are going extinct due to human pressure and lack of conservation measures

A humorous illustration about endangered species, conservation, species extinction, extinct species
An previous version of this cartoon was published in my environmental cartoon book, When Humans Roamed the Earth, published by WWF/Earthscan

Cartoon reference number: a451

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Animals (wild or pets), ENVIRONMENT, Insects - creepy crawlies, Wildlife in danger

Panda cartoon – endangered species

December 4, 2012 by chrismadden

Panda - protected species cartoon

Protected species cartoon

Environmental cartoon showing pandas breaking into a shop that sells bamboo furniture

Part of the joke here is that pandas are usually depicted as cute and cuddly rather than villainous

A joke about anthropomorphic pandas, pandas as baddies or villains, endangered species

Drawn: 1991

Cartoon reference number: a448

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Animals (wild or pets), ENVIRONMENT, Wildlife in danger

African elephant logo

September 27, 2012 by chrismadden

logo with African elephant - with map of Africa as ear

African elephant logo

A logo about African wildlife, featuring an African elephant with a map of Africa as its ear

This illustration may make a suitable logo for a wildlife organisation or environmental campaign group campaigning against the killing of elephants for the ivory trade.
A logo on the theme of “Save the African elephant”
Ref a638

How to obtain license to use cartoon

Filed Under: ANIMALS, Animals (wild or pets), ENVIRONMENT, Wildlife in danger

Garden cartoons – cats watching frogs spawning in a garden pond

May 5, 2012 by chrismadden

cats watching frogs spawning - joke

Garden pond cartoon. Cats watching frogs spawning in a garden pond

A cartoon showing cats staring into a garden pond in which frogs are spawning

A cartoon about wildlife in the garden, encouraging wildlife, cats catching birds and animals in the garden, deterring cats, frogs’ breeding season, spring in the garden.
Cartoon reference number: a204

See my book of gardening cartoons here.

How to obtain license to use cartoon

Filed Under: ANIMALS, Animals (wild or pets), Cat cartoons, GARDENING, Spring gardening, Wildlife in danger

Cartoon – the web of life – and the spider of death

January 23, 2012 by chrismadden

Web of Life joke, Spider of Death

Cartoon about the web of life – and the spider of death.

Cartoon about the web of life & the spider of death.
The term “The Web of Life” is generally taken to imply something positive, about the interrelatedness of all living things. However, in nature, webs are generally dangerous things, constructed to ensnare prey. I like this dichotomy. In fact, rather than it pointing out the inappropriateness of the ‘web’ metaphor I think it gets it right, even if it does so inadvertently.

The cartoon is an attempt to overturn the rather anodyne and pseudo-spiritually reassuring notion of a benevolent web of life, replacing it with a more ambiguous and unsettling notion based on the same metaphor.
It’s partly about the notion of nature, red in tooth and claw.
Cartoon reference number: a100

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Philosophy Cartoons, Religion/Spirituality, Wildlife in danger

Tree of life logo

December 24, 2011 by chrismadden

tree of life cartoon - being watered

Environmental illustration showing the tree of life being tended and watered by a person.

Artwork showing the tree of life being looked after by humans.
This is a positive image to encourage people to take care of the planet.
It’s a change from the environmental images which depict the human race destroying the environment.

An environmental cartoon about ecology, species interdependence, symbiosis, caring for the planet.
An image for earth day.

Cartoon reference number: a041

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Filed Under: ANIMALS, Deforestation, ENVIRONMENT, Other environment cartoons, Trees, Wildlife in danger

Global warming cartoon. A polar bear and penguins marching

December 19, 2011 by chrismadden

environment cartoon - polar bear and penguins cartoon

Environmental cartoon. Global warming cartoon showing polar bear and penguins marching to protest against global warming and the shrinking ice caps.

One of the humorous points about this cartoon is that polar bears and penguins live at opposite poles (penguins in the Antarctic and polar bears in the Arctic), and thus never meet in normal circumstances (apart from in cartoons). In this cartoon the fact that they are in the same cartoon is meant to convey the notion of solidarity and of the whole world mobilising to fight climate change.
A cartoon about shrinking ice caps, shrinking polar caps, climate change, global warming.

Cartoon reference number: a021a

A narrower version of this cartoon (with fewer penguins) can be found here.


How to obtain license to use cartoon

Filed Under: ANIMALS, Birds, Climate Change cartoons, ENVIRONMENT, Penguins, Wildlife in danger

Endangered species cartoon – species facing extinction

October 8, 2011 by chrismadden

Environment cartoon. A list of endangered species, with someone crossing the name of a species off it - because it's become extinct

Extinction cartoon
Endangered species list cartoon

There are two ways to get off the endangered species list – become more common or become extinct

A cartoon about extinction, habitat depletion, wildlife in danger, conservation, scarcity

Original version created: 1991

Cartoon reference number: env240

How to obtain license to use cartoon

Filed Under: ANIMALS, ENVIRONMENT, Trees, Wildlife in danger

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