A global warming connection to record racehorse deaths? ARCADIA, California––All eyes concerned about horses and horse racing have had the Santa Anita Park turf and track surfaces under microscopic examination since Ash Wednesday, March 6, 2019. Yet hardly anyone so far seems to be looking at the possible track-hardening effects of soot and ash deposition […]
Trial of David Wills on child sex abuse charges again delayed
Case may hang on pending U.S. Supreme Court ruling CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas––The multi-time postponed trial of former humane society executive David Keith Wills on a federal charge of allegedly trafficking a minor for sexual purposes has yet again been rescheduled. Wills is now set for trial in September 2019, ANIMALS 24-7 has been informed. […]
20 racehorses die in 10 weeks at Santa Anita Park––why?
Santa Anita deaths revive debate over track surface safety ARCADIA, California––Famed as the oldest horse racing venue in California, hosting races 1904-1909, 1934-1941, and 1945-present, and as the scene of some of the most memorable wins by Seabiscuit and come-from-behind specialist Silky Sullivan, Santa Anita Park is suddenly notorious for 20 horse deaths in […]
Shark-dragger gets five weekends in jail, fine of $2,500
Copped a plea; last alleged participant will go to trial TAMPA––Florida man Michael Wenzel, 22, who shot a shark in June 2017, then was videotaped exulting as the dying shark was dragged behind a speedboat, will spend five weekends in jail for related offenses, beginning on March 8, 2019, is to pay a fine of […]
How to count feral cats & street dogs in the 21st century
Spay/neuter success makes old projection methods obsolete––& makes doing new surveys essential Counting feral cats and street dogs in the early 21st century is not what it was in your grandparents’ time, or your own time any more, either, if you have lived much longer than the oldest cat or dog of your acquaintance. For […]
Russians bust alleged “whale jailers”
The suspects are already in Siberia ––where else can they go? MOSCOW, VLADIVOSTOK–– Responding to orders from Russian president Vladimir Putin, the Russian agency for border security has reportedly brought criminal charges against four related companies for allegedly illegally capturing and holding more than 90 beluga whales and as many as 13 orcas in […]
What Kenya’s wildlife needs most is water
Rumors of death penalty for poachers don’t hold water, but Patrick Mwalua’s projects do VOI, Kenya––Rumors stoked since May 2018 by Kenya wildlife and tourism minister Najib Balala that Kenya will soon introduce the death penalty for poachers as yet have no legal or legislative foundation, despite recent mainstream media reports treating Balala’s statements […]
“Ivory queen” sentence helps to sell “real estate” deal in Tanzania
366 settlements on “protected land” to become incorporated villages––and “dam the Rufigi River” goes full speed ahead DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania––Resolving a case pending since September 2015, and ruling at a politically opportune time for Tanzanian president John Magufuli, Kisutu Court magistrate Huruma Shaidi on February 19, 2019 sentenced reputed “Ivory Queen” Yang Feng […]
Panda people put in a word for cheetah people facing death in Iran
World Wildlife Fund “stands in solidarity” with researchers charged with alleged espionage GLAND, Switzerland––The World Wildlife Fund “stands in solidarity with eight Iranian men and women on trial in Tehran this month on charges linked to their conservation work,” WWF announced from headquarters in Gland, Switzerland on February 22, 2019. The World Wildlife Fund declaration comes four […]
Heroism stops dog attacks––but knowing how helps, too
Detroit & Greenville rescuers try everything at hand DETROIT, Michigan; GREENVILLE, S.C.––Demonstrating courage, determination, and resourcefulness, despite increasing exhaustion, passer-by Oneil Colley, 44, and neighbor Sandra Lois Lucas, 74, did not stop fighting to save an unidentified 52-year-old Detroit mail carrier from an attacking pit bull on February 22, 2019 until the mail carrier was […]