Wants to import whales from Russia ATLANTA––The Georgia Aquarium on September 30, 2013 appealed an August 6, 2013 ruling by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration that it had not satisfied the requirements to import 18 beluga whales from Russia. The appeal put the future of beluga whale exhibition before the U.S. District Court in […]
Massachusetts SPCA is also transferring law enforcement duties to local police
MSPCA was second in U.S. to do humane law enforcement BOSTON––The Massachusetts SPCA, founded by humane education pioneer George Angell in 1868, is believed to have been the second SPCA in the U.S. to do humane law enforcement on a constabulary basis. Like the ASPCA, which was empowered by the New York state legislature to […]
ASPCA cedes lead role in New York City humane law enforcement to police
Oldest humane law enforcement agency in U.S. NEW YORK CITY––One hundred forty-seven years after Henry Bergh incorporated the American SPCA to enforce the New York state anti-cruelty act of 1860, the ASPCA is transitioning out of the lead role in New York City humane law enforcement. Since September 1, 2013 the New York City […]
Newly found ferret badger rabies strain raises concern about dogs
First recognized in July 2013 TAIPEI, Taiwan––A new rabies strain identified in Taiwanese ferret badgers may have the potential to exponentially increase the risk of rabies transmission by dogs. But even if the new rabies strain does not behave in dogs as it does among ferret badgers, it has ignited unprecedented public controversy in Taiwan […]
Human Origins: Are we hybrids?
by Eugene McCarthy Free download from: http://www.macroevolution.net/human-origins.html#.Ud5d8GSgn6k Reviewed by Merritt Clifton Recalling my April 2012 review of evolutionary geneticist Eugene McCarthy’s provocative opus On the Origins of New Forms of Life: A New Theory, British reader Mervyn Sanders wrote recently to mention that “Dr. McCarthy is now claiming that humans are a hybrid of chimp […]
Nairobi terrorist strike alerts the world to new threat to elephants
Four days of shooting at the Westgate Mall NAIROBI, Kenya––Four days of shooting at the Westgate Mall in Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya introduced the world to yet another poaching threat to elephants. Claiming credit for the September 21, 2013 mall invasion, which brought the deaths of at least 61 civilians, six Kenyan soldiers, and five terrorists, […]
Political foes close Bali Animal Welfare Association
Veterinarians complained UBUD, Bali, Indonesia––The Bali Animal Welfare Association was on September 30, 2013 closed by police for allegedly operating without permits, apparently following complaints from veterinarians about competition from the BAWA street dog clinic. “Our ambulance and spay/neuter team are not allowed to work until we get the clinic permit, which will take a […]
New adoption center gives Fresno humane community a point of pride
A rare “good news for animals” event in a city which has had little to celebrate FRESNO, California––Celebrating a rare “good news for animals” event in a city which has had little to celebrate, the Cat House on the Kings and the Petco Foundation on February 15, 2013 together opened a new 1,500-square-foot adoption center […]
New AHA study finds adoption failure rate of 10% in six months
Failure rates half of what they were in 1993 WASHINGTON D.C.––Adoption failure rates may now be as little as half of what they were 20 years ago, suggests a newly published study by the American Humane Association’s Animal Welfare Research Institute ––but also appear to be about twice as high as is now conventionally believed. […]
Dutch to push “vaccination for life” ––may end culls of healthy livestock
May mean a million fewer pigs & cattle per year are raised for slaughter––plus multi-millions of poultry DEN HAAG––Dutch state secretary of economic affairs Sharon A.M. Dijksma on June 4, 2013 committed the Netherlands to trying to reverse European Union and other international policies which require culling livestock who have been exposed to contagious diseases […]