World of friends help “world’s loneliest elephant” ISLAMABAD, Pakistan; PHNOM PENH, Cambodia––Kaavan, long billed “the world’s loneliest elephant,” was a flying elephant this morning, November 30, 2020, en route from the defunct Marghuzar Zoo in Islamabad, Pakistan, to share a 25,000-acre habitat with three female Asian elephants inside the the one-million acre Kulen-Promtep Wildlife […]
Mark Twain’s Book of Animals
Edited with Introduction, Afterword, & Notes by Shelley Fisher Fishkin University of California Press https://www.ucpress.edu/ 325 pages, hardcover. $27.50. Reviewed by Merritt Clifton Wrote Ed Duvin, whose 1989 Animalines newsletter essay “In The Name of Mercy” prophesying “no kill” animal sheltering is widely considered a classic of humane literature, to ANIMALS 24-7 a few days […]
Ravaging Asia & Africa: a much deadlier plague than COVID-19
World fiddles while grasshoppers munch NINGBO, China; NAIROBI, Kenya––A much deadlier plague than the COVID-19 coronavirus is sweeping westward from China through Pakistan, across Central Asia, and throughout the Horn of Africa, flying 100 miles a day, devouring crops enough to feed as many as 34 million people, according to the United Nations Food […]
Ahmed el Sherbiny, 66, brought “humane spring” to Egypt
Headed three leading organizations CAIRO, Egypt––Ahmed el Sherbiny, 66, who with his British-born wife Jackie led the Egyptian Society of Animal Friends, the Egyptian Federation for Animal Welfare, and the Middle East Network for Animal Welfare, on March 7, 2019 died at home in Shabramont, Giza, a Cairo suburb, after several years of fighting multiple […]
The poop on live transport, whaling, & Ramadan 2018
Old ships, ancient customs FREMANTLE, Australia––Seventy thousand Australian sheep aboard the 38-year-old livestock carrier Al Messilah, or anyhow those who survive the journey, are due to reach Kuwait on May 14, 2018, according to VesselFinder.com. The voyage continues a trade that Animals Australia likens to whaling in terms of cruelty and obsolescence, but which […]
Egyptian writer gets three years in prison for criticizing Eid slaughter
Allegedly insulted Islam CAIRO, Egypt––Found guilty of insulting Islam for criticizing mass public slaughter of animals at the 2015 Eid al Adha, or Feast of Sacrifice, Egyptian writer Fatima Naoot, 52, was on January 26, 2016 sentenced to serve three years in prison and to pay a fine of 2,000 Egyptian pounds, amounting to […]
What did the Prophet Mohammed really say about dogs?
Kindness toward dogs could bring forgiveness for sin Will Islamic refugees from conflict in the Middle East respect western values? Of particular concern to animal lovers, will the refugees respect our cultural concern for the well-being of dogs? Vehement foes of refugee immigration frequently allege that Islam is intolerant of dogs, but reality is considerably […]
Fallen crane & stampede take spotlight from haj animal victims
At least 900,000 animals killed among 24 nations RIYADH, Saudi Arabia––After decades of global controversy over animal transport and slaughter in connection with Eid al Adha sacrificial rites, the animal victims of the 2015 Islamic pilgrimage season went almost unnoticed amid furor over human victims. The start of the pilgrimage season, called the haj […]
Rat & Rats, by Jonathan Burt and Robert Sullivan
Rat by Jonathan Burt Reaktion Books Ltd. (33 Great Sutton St., London EC1M 3JU, U.K.), 2006. 189 pages, paperback. $19.95. Rats: Observations on the History & Habitat of the City’s Most Unwanted Inhabitants by Robert Sullivan Bloomsbury (175 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010), 2004. 242 pages, hardcover. $23.95. Reviewed by Merritt Clifton Immersing myself in […]
New draft Egyptian constitution guarantees “protection of animal welfare”
Translations differ in idiom but with parallel meaning CAIRO––The 50-member constituent assembly responsible for establishing the new Egyptian constitution has included recognition of animal welfare in Article 45 of a redraft that is expected to be ratified in early 2014. Announcing the inclusion of the animal welfare clause on December 1, 2013, Cairo animal advocate […]