Michaels put $40 million into animal causes, but was convicted of toner cartridge scam that netted more than $126 million, according to the federal Department of Justice. VAN NUYS, California––Gilbert N. Michaels, 80, founder of the Compassion for Animals Foundation and Animal Guardians, died on August 19, 2022, while on compassionate release from a four-year […]
Virunga ranger, Taiwanese doctor, & PETA staffer lived & died for animals
Virunga National Park Ranger Bagurubumwe Chuhoze Deogene, 47, Mira Fong, 74, and Jennifer Woods, 58, died on October 10, September 6, and August 22, 2020, respectively, having in common almost nothing in their life histories except their dedication to animals. Bagurubumwe Chuhoze Deogene Joining the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature in 1996, at […]
Horsemeat, dog meat, & how “angel” Marc Ching fell from grace
Donors ignored years of warnings about convict turned “rescue” celebrity LOS ANGELES––Marc Ching, who in November 2018 offered to sell the city of Los Angeles vegan food for impounded dogs at a substantial discount, is reportedly to be arraigned in December 2020 on one misdemeanor count each of practicing veterinary medicine without a license, false advertising, […]
Ship down with 5,867 cows & 42 crew renews protest against live export
Had history of engine failure AMAMI OSHIMA ISLAND, Japan––The Gulf Livestock 1, a Panamanian-flagged converted container ship carrying 5,867 two-year-old heifers and 43 human crew, capsized and sank on September 2, 2020 in the East China Sea, about 100 nautical miles west of Amami Oshima Island, Japan, the first survivor to be rescued told the Japanese […]
“We can still save them”: wild cat conservationist Alan Rabinowitz, 65
The “Indiana Jones of wildlife conservation” was an optimist in a field dominated by doom-and-gloom NEW YORK CITY––Wild cat conservationist Alan Rabinowitz died of cancer on August 5, 2018 in Manhattan, New York City, after an 18-year struggle that began with a diagnosis of leukemia in 2001 and spanned most of the achievements for […]
China: Stopping dog trucks is the easy part. Saving dogs is harder.
Some dogs die from their ordeal, but more than 80% are saved GUANGZHOU, China––The hardest part of rescuing a truckload of suspected stolen dogs en route to slaughter in Guangzhou, China on June 19, 2017 had only just began when the cages of dogs were unloaded. The cargo, initially believed to be about 800 […]
Why Guangzhou dog rescue reveals more about China than Yulin dog-eating festival
Rescue in hub of dog meat trade won more notice than festival held to boost dog-eating YULIN, China––The largest-ever rescue of dogs from a truck hauling them to slaughter, accomplished on June 19, 2017 in Guangzhau, the longtime hub of dog-eating in China, very nearly upstaged the 2017 Yulin Lychee & Dog-Eating Festival, which […]
Rumored Yulin dog meat festival cancellation still unconfirmed
Global media frenzy overlooks lack of official notice from China YULIN, China––Chinese media, including those that usually publicize government announcements, had through May 20, 2017 remained conspicuously silent about a purported week-long suspension of dog meat sales said to have been introduced in Yulin, China coinciding with the annual Yulin Lychee & Dog-Eating Festival. The […]
Greyhound racing in Macau, China runs toward oblivion
Greyhound Racing New South Wales charges 179 “industry participants” with illegally supplying the only track in China RHODES, New South Wales, Australia; MACAU, China––Charges brought against 179 Australian “industry participants” for allegedly illegally exporting greyhounds to Macau appear likely to hasten the anticipated imminent end of greyhound racing at the Macau Canidrome, the oldest […]
Jasper’s gift: the real-life care bear
“Poster bear” for ending bile farming Jasper, 30, the moon bear who became “poster bear” for the Animals Asia Foundation campaign against farming bears to extract bile from their livers, was euthanized on April 29, 2016 due to incurable cancer. “Moon bear Jasper spent 15 years in a Chinese bile farm crush cage,” the Animals […]