Animals 24-7

News on dogs, cats, horses, wildlife, zoonoses, & nature

Deadliest dogs in South Africa? Boerboels challenge pit bulls

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The most dangerous dogs of the apartheid era make a bloody comeback             BLOEMFONTAIN, South Africa––Adriana Salomina van Deventer,  widow of David van Deventer,  on July 4,  2019 in the High Court of South Africa,  Bloemfontain Division,  won an eight-year battle to establish that her husband was killed by a […]

Botswana,  please rethink resuming hunting! by Sebastian Mwanza

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Ian Khama,  former president of Botswana,  resigns from ruling party when successor undoes ban on trophy hunting Editor’s note:  Outraged and disappointed that his handpicked successor Mokgweetsi Masisi had ended a five-year-old ban on trophy hunting,  Ian Khama,  president of Botswana from 2008 to 2018,  on May 25,  2019 resigned from the Botswana Democratic Party […]

Cassowary victim had helped to spur ostrich-&-emu boom

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“See the gentle cassowary On the plains of Timbuktu Eating up the missionary Hat and coat and hymn-book too.” Attributed to Theodore Hook  (1788-1841)             HIGH SPRINGS,  Florida––Remembering the cassowary rhyme from childhood,  and that “Cassowaries are found mainly in Australia and New Guinea.  Never in Africa!”,  International Primate Protection League founder Shirley McGreal was […]

Johnny Rodrigues, 69, fought to save wildlife in Zimbabwe

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Felled by cancer after surviving two wars, poachers’ gunfire, & the Mugabe regime QUARTEIERA, Portugal––Johnny Rodrigues,  69,  founder of the the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force and an enthusiastic contributor of information and occasional guest columns to ANIMALS 24-7,  died on September 17,  2018 at his daughter Lorraine and son-in-law Gavin Randall’s home in Portugal,  after […]

Trial of David Wills on child sex abuse charges again delayed

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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. […]

January 2019 saw the most dog-related deaths in 13 months

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Three killed by pit bulls, three in human conflict involving dogs, one possibly by German shepherd,  one killed by dogs unidentified by breed HOUSTON, Texas––A January 28,  2019 shoot-out in Houston,  Texas that left five police officers injured and two drug suspects dead raised the apparent dog-related death toll for the month,  worldwide,  to eight,  […]

Could Zambia contracept wild hippos instead of culling?

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Or is hippo overpopulation even really the issue? LUSAKA,  Zambia––Why has Zambian tourism minister Charles Banda revived a five-year-old plan to cull up to 250 hippopotamuses per year from South Luangwa National Park,  only two years after scrapping it? “The South Luangwa National Park has a population of more than 13,000 hippos but the area […]

TNR protects African wildcats from “genetic pollution” & ferals from cruelty

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Alley Cat Rescue begins project at Kruger National Park             KRUGER NATIONAL PARK,  South Africa––Alley Cat Rescue,  of Mount Ranier,  Maryland,   is now “working to implement trap-neuter-return programs for stray/feral cats around Kruger National Park,”  according to founder Louise Holton,  to keep African wildcats from hybridizing with their domestic descendants. Having “advocated for the humane […]

Helpful links for Pit Bull Victim Awareness Day

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Both animal & human victims to be remembered on October 27,  2018 With “Pit Bull Victim Awareness Day,”  October 27,  2018,  fast approaching,  including activities on behalf of both animal and human pit bull attack victims,  many readers may find the Pit Stop Archive useful––a special sub-menu offered by ANIMALS 24-7 to help access our […]

“Undertaker birds” replace street dogs in African cities

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Marabou storks eat everything along the roads except the cars             NAIROBI,  Kenya––Marabou storks have replaced the street dogs. Twenty years ago the drive from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport past Nairobi National Park and into the central city via the Mombasa highway was an exercise in start-and-stop driving and sudden swerves to avoid the […]