United Egg Producers drops pursuit of Egg Products Inspection Act amendments WASHINGTON D.C.––Signing the 2013 Farm Bill into law on February 7, 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama also signed the death warrant for the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments, introduced in the House of Representatives as HR-1731 and in the Senate […]
The 2011 Dutch “animal police” plan, viewed in 2014
by Alexandra Semyonova The politics of assembling the present Dutch coalition government were expected to put 100 new “animal cops” on the beat in the Netherlands by the end of 2011, and to eventually increase the Dutch animal police force to 500 officers, according to election […]
Singapore trafficker sentence puzzles ACRES president Louis Ng
“How does fine of less than 10% of the max send a message?” SINGAPORE––The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore on February 10, 2014 announced that Ong Ming Shiang, 33, had been fined a record $41,000 Singapore dollars (about $32,310 U.S.) for illegal possession of 32 smuggled […]
Denmark bans slaughter without pre-stunning
“Animal rights come before religion” COPENHAGEN––Telling the Danish TV2 network audience that “Animal rights come before religion,” Denmark minister for agriculture and food Dan Jorgensen banned livestock slaughter without pre-stunning, effective on February 17, 2014. Coinciding with outrage over the killing of a “genetically redundant” young giraffe at the Copenhagen […]
Steve Graham defends Copenhagen Zoo giraffe killing
Killed 282 animals during Detroit Zoo tenure HAGERSTOWN, Maryland––The execution of Marius the giraffe at the Copenhagen Zoo on February 9, 2014 provoked discussion in Europe paralleling a debate that raged in the U.S. between 20 and 30 years ago, stoked by former Detroit Zoo executive director […]
Review: Decoding Your Dog, edited by Debra Horwitz & John Cirbassi
Decoding Your Dog: The Ultimate Experts Explain Common Dog Behaviors and Reveal How to Prevent or Change Unwanted Ones Edited by Debra Horwitz & John Cirbassi Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company (215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10003), 2012. 347 pages hardback, $27.00. The study of animal behavior has been around for a long time. […]
Petco Foundation founding director Paul Jolly, 57
Long struggle with Lou Gehrig’s disease Paul E. Jolly, 57, died in his sleep on March 8, 2014 after a long struggle with Lou Gehrig’s disease. A 35-year employee of the Petco pet supply chain, Jolly in 1999 became founding executive director of the Petco Foundation. Under Jolly the Petco […]
Books shed light on sacrifice in Nepal
Elephant Polo: the Rise and Fall of a Hotel in Nepal by Cas de Stoppelaar Translated from the original Dutch by Adriaan Verheul Vajra Book Shop, 2007: http://www.elephantpolonovel.com/ 296 pages, paperback & audiobook Religions In Nepal (2013 edition) by Trilok Chandra Majupuria & Rohit Kumar (Majupuria) Modern Printing Press, Kantipath, Kathmandu, Nepal 401 pages, […]
The origin of the Gadhi Mai sacrifice
What was the actual tradition? KATHMANDU––Animal sacrifice clearly has been practiced at Bariyarpur in honor of the local goddess Gadhi Mai for centuries, even if not in anything like the numbers of recent years. But what was the actual tradition? Anil Bhanot, general secretary of the United Kingdom Hindu Council, offered the best-known version of […]
Singapore vegans to invade Los Angeles
Actually invaded San Francisco SINGAPORE––VeganBurg, a vegan fast food chain already operating five restaurants in Singapore, expects to open a branch in Los Angeles in October 2014, marketing and communications manager Katrina Hossen recently told the Straits Times. Husband-and-wife duo Alex Tan and Tracy Lim founded VeganBurg […]