From Animal Welfare Act violations to Las Vegas shoot-out, cases tend to link to Karl Mitchell’s tenure PAHRUMP, NEVADA––Nye County, Nevada, in 2000 hired as animal control director exotic animal trainer Karl Mitchell, 48, a man who might not have been elected dogcatcher anywhere else. The previous Nye County record on animal care and control issues […]
How one lion & one bear survived the 2014-2017 ISIS occupation of Mosul
Father of Lions: Saving Starving Animals at the Mosul Zoo by Louise Callaghan 383 pages, 2020. Forge Book, c/o Tom Doherty Associates; available in multiple print & electronic formats c/o Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, and Kindle at prices from $12.99 up. Reviewed by Merritt Clifton “Good afternoon. I am writing because I want to […]
Former Safari Club International president convicted of killing his wife
Larry Rudolph & mistress Lori Milliron are now trophies of federal justice DENVER, Colorado––Former Safari Club International president Larry Rudolph, 67, and his longtime trophy-hunting girlfriend Lori Milliron, 64, were on August 1, 2022 convicted by jury in U.S. federal court of multiple charges associated with the October 11, 2016 murder of Rudolph’s wife, Bianca […]
Big Cat Public Safety Act clears House again, heads toward passage
Odds for Senate approval look good this time WASHINGTON D.C.––Clearing the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 278-138, the Big Cat Public Safety Act pushed since 2007 by Carole and Howard Baskin of Big Cat Rescue appears likely to win U.S. Senate approval as well, and be signed into law by President Joe […]
Amit Deol saved camels, Anton Mzimba saved rhinos, & both died young
Deol & Mzimba became legendary in India & South Africa, respectively SIROHI, Rajasthan, India; ACORNHOEK, Mpumalanga, South Africa––Amit Deol, 46, spent most of his short life helping camels in the Thar desert of Rajasthan state, India. Anton Mzimba, either 42 or 49 according to various sources, spent his life protecting rhinos from poachers on the […]
Whose trophies were Bianca Rudolph, Paddy Curtis, & Riaan Naude?
Two alleged perps in trophy hunter murders go to trial; four still at large DENVER, Colorado; BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe; MOKOPANE, South Africa––Former Safari Club International president Larry Rudolph, 67, and his longtime trophy-hunting girlfriend Lori Milliron, 60, go to trial in Denver, Colorado, on Monday, July 11, 2022. Rudolph and Milliron face multiple charges originating […]
“Ban wildlife trophy imports!” pleads former Botswana president to U.K. & U.S.
Elephants & lions, alive to be photographed, seen as keys to a prosperous future LONDON, U.K.; GABORONE, Botswana––Botswana may have more elephants and lions than anywhere else in the world. Seretse Khama Ian Khama, president of Botswana from 2008 to 2018, considers that fact so important to maintaining and improving the prosperity of the nation […]
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 […]
Buffalo attack death mystery recalls injuries & deaths of other animal advocates
Shando Mathebula, Steve Ross, Jerry W. Brown, & Angela Glover JOHANNESBURG––The South African National Park Service [SANParks] and South African Police Service [SAPS] are reportedly investigating the May 4, 2022 death of Kruger National Park field ranger and dog handler Shando Mathebula, 36. Mathebula, while on patrol in the park, was either fatally gored by […]
Tony Fitzjohn, renowned for wildlife conservation work in Kenya & Tanzania, dies at 76
Began as a Boy Scout, became a hippie, hitchhiked to Africa, & made himself useful Tony Fitzjohn, 76, died on May 23, 2022, “following a prolonged fight against a malignant cancer,” the Tony Fitzjohn-WildlifeNow George Adamson Wildlife Preservation Trust announced. Fitzjohn recounted most of his long career working on behalf of African wildlife in his […]