Settlement includes no skin off former animal control chief Mark Kumpf's ass DAYTON, Ohio––The Montgomery County, Ohio board of commissioners are on March 31, 2020 expected to approve a $3.5 million settlement with survivors of Klonda Richey. Richey, 57, was on February 7, 2014 … [Read More...]
From gorillas to shelter dogs: animals caught in the COVID-19 crunch
No animals other than bats & humans are known to get COVID-19, but millions are affected by the human response WASHINGTON D.C.––Animals and animal-related projects from Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo to National Institutes of Health-funded laboratories … [Read More...]
Ancestors of the Tiger King: Peter Batten & Living Trophies
Living Trophies: A Shocking Look at the Conditions in America’s Zoos by Peter Batten Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., 1976. 246 pages, hardcover. Available from major online booksellers at prices ranging from $7.50 to $25.00. Reviewed by Merritt Clifton First aired on March 20, 2020, the … [Read More...]
How COVID-19 and pit bulls show we are in pain
by Roderick Balt Despite not being evidently more dangerous than a heavy flu, which can kill tens of thousands of the most vulnerable people without sparking panic, and did as recently as the 2018-2019 flu season, the COVID-19 virus has terrified much of the public worldwide, resulting in disproportionate measures being taken to manage the outbreak. A very different health hazard that is … [Read More...]
Noted in passing: “Turtle God” & rhino, elephant, & lion advocates
Victims of cancer, assassins, & two killed by the species they loved "Turtle God" Peter Pritchard, 76, died in hospice care on February 26, 2020. Known as “the Turtle God,” recalled longtime Tampa Times environmental reporter Craig Pittman, Pritchard at his home in Oviedo, Florida kept what Pittman believed to be “the largest private collection of turtle and tortoise specimens in … [Read More...]
COVID-19: seldom has animal testing offered so little to so many
Still no animal models, three months into global crisis BEIJING, WASHINGTON D.C.––A hint of the desperation of practitioners of traditional animal-based biomedical research to contribute something of relevance to the global fight against COVID-19 was posted late on March 18, 2019 by the online periodical Live Science. “When exposed to the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 [COVID-19] … [Read More...]
Cat Tale: The Wild, Weird Battle to Save the Florida Panther
by Craig Pittman Hanover Square Press, 2020. 336 pages. Hardcover, Kindle, and MP3 CD editions available from all major online booksellers. Reviewed by Merritt Clifton Cat Tale: The Wild, Weird Battle to Save the Florida Panther could in many ways be called a sequel to longtime Tampa Bay Times environmental reporter Craig Pittman’s previous four books: Paving Paradise, Manatee … [Read More...]
COVID-19 hot tip for coffee growers: don’t go [email protected]#$% nuts!
COVID-19 shows “Eat @#$% & die!” is a warning, not a metaphor KUNMING, China; LONDON, U.K.; SEATTLE––One might imagine that the midst of a global pandemic of COVID-19, a disease apparently originating in bats, would not be the best time for selling bat-processed coffee. At this writing, COVID-19 has infected nearly 175,000 people, worldwide, killing more than 6,700. But even … [Read More...]
Pogo: the Porpoise with a Purpose
A Serious Appeal to Kids for Ocean Life, Conservation, & Climate Change by Lorie Givens Available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other major online booksellers. 43 pages. Prices vary by seller and format. Reviewed by Beth Clifton Pogo, a harbor porpoise with a purpose and a message comes to life in this beautifully illustrated … [Read More...]
Sex, COVID-19, & the Thai monkey apocalypse
"Monkey menace" emerged first & will likely be around a lot longer BANGKOK, Thailand––Nightmares that a flying monkey army might ransack Thailand leaped across the Indian Ocean during the second week of March 2020, out of Hindu mythology and the daily fears of Buddhist temple keepers, and into the imagination of social media video-watchers around the world. While much of the … [Read More...]
With all eyes on COVID-19, Missouri moves to undo pit bull bans
Pit bull fatalities, meanwhile, proceed at record pace JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri; PORTSMOUTH, Virginia; HOUSTON, Texas––With all eyes on COVID-19, pit bull advocates on March 11, 2020 pushed a bill through the Missouri state House of Representatives to prohibit and repeal breed-specific legislation. The bill, similar to bills that have failed annually in the Missouri … [Read More...]
COVID-19 & “The Next Big One”: Spillover revisited
Science writer David Quammen saw COVID-19 coming COVID-19, though renamed twice just in the first few months of 2020, “is not as novel as you might think,” explained veteran science writer David Quammen in the January 28, 2020 edition of The New York Times. Quammen, 72, was uniquely positioned to comment, not only because he has been reporting about related issues for a lifetime, but … [Read More...]
COVID-19: What can wildlife management teach us?
No, it is not "shoot the victims"! SEATTLE––Perhaps the most startling statistic pertaining to the global spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus is the statistic almost nobody mentions: the ratio of compensatory versus additive mortality. What’s that? It is not that as of March 10, 2020 there are still only about 140,000 COVID-19 cases of any degree of severity identified … [Read More...]
Why COVID-19 is NOT the zoonotic illness most likely to kill you
Panicked stress may be killing more people than the disease itself SEATTLE, ATLANTA, HONG KONG––Amid escalating global panic over the worldwide rapid spread of the recently identified coronavirus COVID-19, a person not familiar with ProMED–mail might expect the most panic-stricken person of all to be ProMED–mail deputy editor Marjorie P. Pollack, M.D. ProMED-mail is the … [Read More...]
Dog study let pit bull owners lie & still found behavior is breed-specific
Finn study is third in six months to refute the saw that "It's all in how you raise them." HELSINKI, Finland––For the third time in six months a major new study of the heritability of dog behavior, published by a leading peer-reviewed scientific journal, has refuted the shibboleth of pit bull advocacy that “It’s all in how you raise them,” helping to establish instead that canine behavioral … [Read More...]
Jill Biden upstages vegans’ attempt to upstage husband Joe
Kept "Let Dairy Die!" signs from grabbing more than a split second of TV time LOS ANGELES––Michael Bloomberg and spokespersons for Direct Action Everywhere sounded much like each other on March 4, 2020, congratulating themselves for fiascos that respectively knocked Bloomberg out of the U.S. presidential race and made a national heroine of Jill Biden, 68, wife of former U.S. vice president … [Read More...]