Showing Animals Respect & Kindness stops yet another big cockfight STRINGTOWN, Oklahoma––"Here they came to snuff the rooster," to paraphrase the best known song by "Alice In Chains" guitarist Jerry Cantrell, the most famous of the 410 residents of Stringtown, Oklahoma. Yet more than 60 … [Read More...]

What we discovered from counting 1,122,465 dogs over the weekend
More detailed data on shelter & rescue dogs than ever before Yes, large retrievers including Labradors and goldens are still the most popular dogs in U.S. homes; yes, pit bulls are still the second most numerous dogs in the U.S., counting dogs in custody of shelters and rescues, still bred … [Read More...]

Tribal tradition of silence favors dog owners over dog attack victims
Belief that the dead should never be mentioned by name inhibits investigation, reportage, & victim advocacy HOTEVILLA, Arizona; WITCHEKAN FIRST NATION, Saskatchewan––Two hundred years ago and longer, the Cree land now called the Witchekan First Nation and the Hopi tribal village today … [Read More...]

A greyhound named Brooklyn, 2008-2022, by Carey Theil
Inspired global campaign to close the Macau Canidrome A greyhound named Brooklyn, who inspired the successful international campaign to close down the worst dog track in the world, died on June 22, 2022 in the Boston area. Brooklyn was born on December 10, 2008 at a breeding farm in New South Wales, Australia. After failing as a racer in Australia in 2010, he was shipped to the Yat Yuen … [Read More...]

Has the Humane Society of Utah ever heard of adoption screening?
Repeated rehomings to cruelty suspect Kaiden Orie Graham squanders longtime Humane Society of Utah reputation for cruelty investigation MURRAY, Utah––For the second time in 30 days a regionally significant humane society has some explaining to do about a serious cruelty case coming to light shortly after an executive director departed for apparently greener pastures. Former Humane Society of … [Read More...]

Exotic animal sanctuarians race the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Animals in need, unchecked breeding & abandonment, limited resources, & advancing age TAMPA, Florida––The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, according to the Old Testament Book of Ezekiel, are death by the sword, famine, wild beasts, and plague. But Ezekiel, though generally believed to have been a vegetarian and perhaps a vegan, was not a … [Read More...]

Will a Washington court make Costco treat chickens better in Nebraska & Iowa?
Two Costco shareholders sue the board of directors for allegedly violating humane laws SEATTLE, Washington––Costco Wholesale Corporation, better known as just Costco, in 2016 introduced a novel strategy to wring profits out of the necks of chickens. Now Legal Impact for Chickens, a recently formed San Francisco-based nonprofit, is pursuing a novel legal strategy to try to stop … [Read More...]

How humility can help animal advocates to change the world, by Ed Duvin
Perspective of an old warrior Spending over a half-century in social justice movements, much of it consulting, I have formed some conclusions that did not come down from the mountaintop, but merely represent the perspective of an old warrior. Were I to identify the most pernicious characteristics I have encountered among justice-seeking activists, regardless of cause, lack of humility … [Read More...]

Hoofed animals worldwide put at risk by foot-&-mouth outbreak in Indonesia
Fatwa allowing Eid-al-Adha slaughter of "mildly ill" animals spares some from slaughter, but may expose thousands more JAKARTA, Indonesia––Simultaneous foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks among cattle in Aceh and Java provinces, 1,650 miles apart, have just about everyone in the cattle, sheep, goat, and pig industries worried that a global foot-and-mouth disease pandemic may be just … [Read More...]

Sentencing for “Carefully” pit bull attack death marks start of U.K. dog law debate
“American XL Bully” injured three people in three days, then killed 10-year-old neighbor LONDON, United Kingdom––On Monday, June 6, 2022, the British Parliament heard from pit bull advocates in the House of Commons a litany of familiar arguments against the breed-specific aspects of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. On Friday, June 10, 2022, Brandon Hayden, 19, and Amy Salter, 29, were … [Read More...]

Horses die by the hundreds on pilgrimage to honor the Hindu “God of all animals”
What if 600 horses died climbing Pikes Peak? DEHRADUN, Uttarakhand, India––One might imagine that the annual pilgrimage to Kedarnath, a temple in the Himalayas built in honor of Lord Pashupatinath, the Hindu god of all animals, might be undertaken with particular attention to animal welfare. But then, one might also expect all four legs of the four-stop Char Dham Yatra pilgrimage to be … [Read More...]

Why would a smart dog on the loose say, “Don’t rescue me!”? by Beth Clifton
Fallen "rescue angels" & online enablers erode the whole concept of "rescue" There are no heroes or heroines in animal rescue. The success stories tend to be people who manage to foster, rehabilitate to whatever extent is necessary, and responsibly rehome one or two dogs or cats at a time, over and over through many years, while coping with all of life’s other responsibilities, … [Read More...]

Fallen “rescue angels”: Dawn Pennington, Tiffany Woodington, Corinne DiLorenzo
Dawn Pennington just charged, Tiffany Woodington beat the rap but husband faces trial, Corinne DiLorenzo due for trial next COLUMBIA, South Carolina; BENTON COUNTY, Missouri; THAWVILLE, Illinois––Charged with mass animal neglect after 28 dogs and two cats were found dead in their cages at her home on May 22, 2022, fallen "rescue angel" Caroline Dawn Pennington, 47, of Columbia, South … [Read More...]

Calgary asks why 86-year-old pit bull victim waited 30 minutes for ambulance
City should also ask why Calgary Animal Services continues history of promoting pit bull proliferation CALGARY, Alberta, Canada––Scrambling for answers under intense media scrutiny, Alberta Health Services and Calgary Police Services on June 7, 2022 released preliminary findings from an investigation as to why Betty Ann “Rusty” Williams, 86, fatally injured by a neighbor’s three … [Read More...]

“Personal protection dogs” kill two in Knoxville suburbs in under 100 days
Two Rottweilers & a "highly trained" Dutch shepherd maul septuagenarians KNOXVILLE, Tennessee––Dogs apparently acquired for personal protection have twice in under 100 days killed older female family members in the rural outer suburbs of Knoxville, Tennessee. The fatal attacks underscore that dogs are a poor choice of weapon, partly because dogs can “pull their … [Read More...]

Accused of starving caged dogs & cats to death, Caroline Dawn Pennington had priors
Like Heidi Lueders, but six times worse COLUMBIA, South Carolina––Caroline Dawn Pennington, 47, charged with mass animal neglect after 28 dogs and two cats were found dead in their cages at her home on May 22, 2022, held on bond of $75,000, is not just a rescuer gone very bad. Pennington, as well as heading her own “Global Rescue Welfare League,” GROWL for short, and working as rescue … [Read More...]

Busted again: the secret life of “Tiger King” Kevin “Doc” Antle on the lam from Iowa
Does Antle fear identification with the ordinary more than felony charges? Charged with money laundering mucho bigtime MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina––Kevin Antle, 62, self-styled as “Bhagavan” and “Doc” Antle, was late on June 3, 2022 reportedly apprehended by agents for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Antle and alleged accomplice Andrew Jon Sawyer, 52, also known as Omar Sawyer, … [Read More...]

USDA-APHIS wants your 2¢ on animal-related federal law enforcement––NOW!!!
"Come on, animal advocates, let's move fast! Your big chance has come at last! Want a chance to have your say? Tell it to the USDA!" WASHINGTON D.C.––The USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service [APHIS] is, until the end of June 2022, offering the public a unique chance to kibbitz on an “APHIS Strategic Plan Framework” meant to guide the agency for the next five … [Read More...]

Rooster’s Rescue: paint-ball profits (if any) did not sustain sanctuary
Guns, drugs, & 71 neglected animals FLEMINGTON, New Jersey––Among all the two-dozen odd busts of allegedly negligent animal rescues going down during the first six months of 2022, the May 26, 2022 impoundment of 71 animals from Rooster’s Rescue Foundation Inc. in Flemington, New Jersey, might have stood out even if the property owner had not called himself “Rooster” … [Read More...]

Humane Society of the U.S. secrets exposed by court order––some of them
But why were they ever secrets in the first place? WASHINGTON D.C.–– Former Humane Society of the United States policy analyst Jeff Thomas on May 25, 2022 won what is apparently the first round to go before a judge in a wrongful dismissal lawsuit brought by Thomas against eight other current and former HSUS staff. Among the defendants are former HSUS president Wayne Pacelle, former Humane … [Read More...]