Fewer claims in 2020, but more damage NEW YORK CITY––National Dog Bite Prevention Week is back for April 11-17, 2021, focused as usual since 1956 on “educating people about preventing dog bites.” Again in 2021 there is no mention in the Dog Bite Prevention Week literature … [Read More...]
Will Australia learn that “When the cat is away, the mice will play?”
"Be careful what you wish for" also pertains to mouse plague, floods, & infestations of snakes & spiders MELBOURNE, SYDNEY––What stops a mouse plague? Driving 40,000 Australians from their homes in Victoria and New South Wales states, while filling many of those homes with spiders … [Read More...]
“Tiger Baby Playtime” promoter Tim Stark meets stark reality in court
Stark threatens to euthanize himself INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana––Former Wildlife In Need exotic animal park owner/operator Tim Stark was late on April 8, 2021 "taken into custody despite not facing any criminal charges," WDRB-TV reported from Louisville, Kentucky. " Scott Maples, chief deputy of … [Read More...]
Wolves, bison, grizzly bears, and pumas: Montana moving backward
Big wildlife persecuted as surrogates for change HELENA, Montana––Wolves, bison, grizzly bears, and pumas scare the staunchly Republican ranching, hunting, logging, oil, gas, and mining establishments of Montana, but what scares them the most appears to be the prospect of becoming more like Colorado and New Mexico, where Democratic-leaning Hispanic and Native American voters … [Read More...]
Seaspiracy: seas, piracy, & Cowspiracy meet fishy business
Fishing industry screams bloody murder Reviewed by Merritt & Beth Clifton Seaspiracy, whose title is a fusion of “seas” and “piracy,” and a play on Cowspiracy, the 2014 independent blockbluster documentary also produced by Kip Anderson, on March 24, 2021 premiered worldwide on Netflix. Within 10 days Seaspiracy had become a runaway hit, seen by millions, the most viewed television … [Read More...]
Los Angeles Animal Services chief Brenda Barnette to retire in May 2021
Took L.A. to "no kill" at cost of soaring pit bull attacks LOS ANGELES, California––Brenda Barnette, the third-longest-serving general manager of Los Angeles Animal Services since World War II, has announced her retirement, effective in mid-May 2021. The City of Los Angeles has officially not yet begun what is expected to become a nationwide search for Barnette’s … [Read More...]
Increasing the survival rates of kittens
by Nancy Peterson & the National Kitten Coalition (with some kibbitzing from ANIMALS 24-7) Five years ago––six years ago in July 2021––I retired after 18 years as first and still only national cat program manager for the Humane Society of the United States. Having a national and even sometimes international platform to help animals, especially felines, was among the greatest joys of my … [Read More...]
Sheep & cattle stranded at sea by Suez Canal blockage are moving again
3,000-year-old livestock shipping route opened by Pharoahs is unblocked ISMAILIA, Egypt––Tens of thousands of sheep, cattle, and other live animals stranded for up to six days aboard more than 20 transport vessels are moving again through the Suez Canal, as of March 29, 2021. Egyptian Lieutenant General Osama Rabei, heading the Suez Canal Authority, told media that livestock … [Read More...]
Aloha Rodeo: animal advocates, Disney, & Cheyenne showdown
Will forthcoming film "glorify steer roping" & help to revive rodeo, or help to finish it? CHEYENNE, Wyoming––Walt Disney Inc., Cheyenne Frontier Days, and a coalition of animal advocacy groups headed by Showing Animals Respect & Kindness [SHARK] may be headed toward the highest-profile showdown at the 123-year-old Frontier Days rodeo since Hawaiian paniolos Eben Parker “Ben” Low, … [Read More...]
Law prof: more jail time for cruelty does not advance animal rights
Institutional offenders remain untouched by felony cruelty penalties DENVER––“More prosecution will never lead to greater animal rights. Longer sentences have not incrementally advanced the standing of animals in society,” argues Sturm College of Law professor Justin Marceau in the March 20, 2021 edition of the Harvard Law Review Forum. Marceau is also the Brooks Institute Faculty Research … [Read More...]
Anti-vivisectionism goes to the dogs
Or, "A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy, except in their capacity to raise funds." WASHINGTON D.C.––Lest there be any doubt that antivivisection advocacy in the 21st century has gone to the dogs, the White Coat Waste Project, the Humane Society of the U.S., and Stop Animal Exploitation Now in recent donor communications each underscored the point. Each focused on the 58,000 dogs per year … [Read More...]
Neighbor’s pit bulls kill three-year-old in COVID-19 quarantine, put mother in critical
Pit bulls allegedly had history of breaking fence, running at large, & biting passers-by CARTERET, New Jersey––COVID-19 quarantine precautions and pit bulls who were not safely contained collided on March 16, 2021 in a Carteret, New Jersey back yard. Three-year-old Aziz Ahmed, “playing in his new home's yard for the very first time with his two brothers and mother,” … [Read More...]
Diseased pigs & mink gave the world COVID-19, scientists suspect
Forthcoming World Health Organization report is expected to confirm Chinese investigators' suspicions BEIJING, BOSTON, WUHAN––Will a World Health Organization report expected to be released within days indict the Chinese mink industry for infecting the world with COVID-19? Beijing University researchers have already suspected for more than a year that mink farming was likely … [Read More...]
Predation is nature’s disease control, including for Tweety & Sylvester
Too few cats around bird feeders means pine siskins die by thousands SACRAMENTO, California––When are free-roaming cats watching a bird feeder the birds’ best friend? When infectious disease is at large among common bird feeder species, spreading rapidly from bird to bird in the absence of predators to kill and consume the sick and disabled. Many mid-sized predators can do the … [Read More...]
Lara Trump’s theme: bash China, boost Donald, in the name of dog rescue
Donald Trump hotel gets 45% cut of expected take from Big Dog Ranch Rescue fundraiser for dogs to be brought from China PALM BEACH, Florida––Does anyone really believe former U.S. president Donald Trump just happened to show up at a fundraiser for Big Dog Ranch Rescue, organized by his daughter-in-law Lara Trump, held in his own Mar-a-Lago hotel, at which China-bashing was the theme of the … [Read More...]
Did Namibia sell 170 elephants to China to make way for oil drilling?
Murky Namibian elephant deal might involve as much as $22 million paid to someone, even if oil rights are not involved WINDHOEK, Namibia––Two weeks after the Namibian government sold 170 elephants to five undisclosed buyers, to be transported to parts unknown, Namibian minister of environment and tourism Pohamba Shifeta has yet to reveal the details of the transaction, including how much … [Read More...]
Five-year-old disfigured by pit bull 21 days after Aurora ban is lifted
Pit bull, only the third rehomed by the Aurora Animal Shelter, passed the ASPCA "SAFER" test AURORA, Colorado––Just 21 days after an Aurora city council ordinance undoing the longstanding community pit bull ban took effect, five-year-old Leonardo Duran is facing possible lifelong disfigurement from only the third pit bull rehomed by the Aurora Animal Shelter. Testified Leonardo … [Read More...]
Did Chinese zoos buy 170 Namibian elephants sold at secret auction?
Namibian officials say disclosing purchasers might jeopardize the deal WINDHOEK, Namibia––Who bought 170 elephants, auctioned off by the Namibian government against international law, despite months of protest? Suspicion is growing that Namibia will not disclose the elephants’ buyers until the elephants have already been flown to their destinations, probably Chinese zoos, the … [Read More...]
ANIMALS 24-7 Statement of Purpose
Beth & Merritt Clifton
ANIMALS 24-7 is a nonprofit independent online investigative newspaper and information service reporting about humane work worldwide, with emphasis on the intersection of animal issues with public health & safety.
All factual content is multi-sourced and verified to the best of our ability, including factual statements in editorials, guest columns, comments, and other opinionated material. Opinionated content from non-staff contributors does not necessarily reflect the views of ANIMALS 24-7.
Corrections and clarifications are posted as rapidly as we are able to identify errors and/or confusing statements.
ANIMALS 24-7 personnel clearly identify ourselves in all communications with news subjects and sources.
ANIMALS 24-7 prefers to receive information in writing, via email or other means of messaging in a verifiable format, so that there is no question that news subjects and sources have said what they meant. When it is necessary to receive information in a non-verifiable format, for instance direct oral communication, ANIMALS 24-7 will confirm the information by verifiable means.
ANIMALS 24-7 reports about zoonotic diseases (zoonoses) shared among animals and humans. For example, see our extensive news coverage of issues associated with COVID-19, SARS, and other diseases found to have jumped from wildlife to humans; our investigations of rabies outbreaks both among domestic animals and wildlife; African swine fever; and poultry diseases, such as H5N1 avian flu, and Newcastle disease, commonly spread by both factory farming practices and by cockfighting. (Use our search engine to find coverage by disease name.)
ANIMALS 24-7 is especially noted for our in-depth news coverage of pit bull attacks, attacks by other dangerous dogs, and attacks by exotic pets such as big cats and snakes. Our dangerous dog data library includes sub-menus on pit bull statistics, pit bulls & public safety, pit bulls & the humane community (including animal shelters and rescues), voices of pit bull experience, pit bull liability, pit bull legislation, pit bull history & sociology, pit bull behavior, dogfighting, pit bull advocates, pit bulls abroad, bad dogs & minority communities, wolf hybrids, with additional sub-menus on Rottweilers, Dobermans, Presa Canarios, and Boerboels.
ANIMALS 24-7 is a leading voice for compassionate conservation, a gentler approach to wildlife conservation, which emphasizes working with nature, including understanding that humans are a part of nature, that human activity creates wildlife habitat as well as harming it, that zoonoses have become a problem largely through human conflict with nature; and that adaptive species such as cats, horses, cattle, and poultry often contribute to the survival of wildlife, if management approaches emphasize coexistence. (We have sub-menus of cat-related coverage and on the compassionate conservation concept itself, including a great deal about feral cats, rotating on our home page.)
ANIMALS 24-7 also reports extensively about progress toward adoption of vegan, vegetarian, and other plant-based diets; the development of plant-based alternatives to meat, dairy, and leather products; and the many global issues associated with raising cattle, pigs, poultry, farmed fish, and other livestock for human consumption, including effects on hunger, climate change, pollution, water scarcity and human wellness.
ANIMALS 24-7 covers how natural disasters affect animals, including dogs, cats, cattle, horses, poultry, and wildlife, with emphasis on the responses of shelters and rescuers.
ANIMALS 24-7 is further noted for our attention to the many contributions to humane work and animal well-being made by Africans, Asians, and Americans of color. Our unique Black history & animals archive includes sub-menus on topics including Leadership, Institutional racism, the Ku Klux Klan, Pit bulls & the black community, Slavery & resistance, Environmental justice, African animal advocates, the Africa Network for Animal Welfare, and the Integration era.
ANIMALS 24-7, in addition, does extensive ongoing statistical research of humane issues and crimes against animals, such as abuse and neglect, dogfighting and cockfighting, even theft of horses and cattle rustling. We have been doing this for longer, in greater depth and on a wider range of relevant topics, than anyone else in the animal rights, animal welfare, and compassionate conservation fields. Our staff experience with animal rescue, management of animal shelters, gathering related data, and reporting our findings dates back into the early 1960s.
ANIMALS 24-7 has no alignment or affiliation with any other entity. Our role is to report the news and provide informed perspective for people who care about animals and nature, from dogs, cats, horses, marine mammals, and endangered species, to feral animals, hunted species, and so-called nuisance wildlife, with breaking news, in-depth background, and the experienced perspective of our staff and our many guest commentators.
ANIMALS 24-7 readers include people who operate animal shelters and participate in animal rescue; wildlife conservationists; vegans; vegetarians; zoonoses researchers; and investigators of both crimes against animals, such as cockfighting, and crimes against nature and habitat. Also among our most avid readers are quite a few colleagues in reporting the news, who look to us for unique informed perspectives on animals and nature.
ANIMALS 24-7 is incorporated to conduct activities which are exclusively charitable, literary and/or educational within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, for the purpose of exposing the existence of cruelty to animals and educating the public of the need to prevent and eliminate such cruelty; and studying animal-related issues via research, surveys, and investigative reports.