Chinese birders refute study claiming that “China’s Solar Expansion Policy Reduces Bird Diversity” NANJING, China; HONG KONG; SINGAPORE––”China’s Solar Expansion Policy Reduces Bird Diversity,” a study led by a Chinese professor with no background in either ornithology or avian ecology, but with a history of doing research linked to the coal industry, rattled solar panels […]
Save the Elephants founder Iain Douglas-Hamilton, 83, felled by bees
Studied everything about elephants from their psyches to the tips of their tails & fought for elephant survival from the northern Kenyan desert to lecture halls in Beijing, China NAIROBI, Kenya––Save the Elephants founder Iain Douglas-Hamilton, 83, died on December 8, 2025 at his home in Nairobi, Kenya. Excellence in all things was expected of […]
Big wins for elephants, rhinos, giraffes, sharks & falcons in Uzbekistan desert
The big loser at CITES Conference of the Parties 20 was the saiga antelope, native to host nation Uzbekistan SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan––Elephants, rhinos, giraffes, white-tipped sharks, peregrine falcons, and the Vantara captive wildlife sanctuary in Gujarat state, India, were among the big winners at the twentieth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the […]
“Murder hornets” murder two Americans, five years after panic, in Laos
Ordinary bees, wasps, & hornets meanwhile kill 72 Americans per year on average LUANG PRABANG, Laos––Flagged as a deadly invasive threat to Americans and especially American honey bees by the first Donald Trump administration in May 2020, so-called “murder hornets” have finally murdered two Americans. But in Laos, not the United States. And not in […]
Trump administration moves to protect pangolins, but not giraffes or hippos
Giraffes, hippos, & polar bears are in trophy hunting demand. Pangolin demand is believed to come chiefly from China. WASHINGTON D.C.––The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on June 17, 2025 formally proposed in the Federal Register to protect pangolins under the Endangered Species Act. Pangolins are the first vertebrate species to be proposed for an […]
Live markets torture animals & perhaps poison people in your city too
by Eric Mills, coordinator, Action for Animals, Oakland, California. The San Francisco Commission of Animal Care & Control met on February 13, 2025. On the agenda: animal cruelty in the city’s many live markets, presented by the Washington, D.C.-based organization, Animal Outlook, replete with videos of the abuses and violations. The involvement of Animal Outlook, […]
Chinese bear bile industry is doomed by new products, science suggests
“Bio-transformed bear bile powder,” of non-bear origin, shows promise of overtaking the bear bile industry SHANGHAI, China––The good news for bears in China appears to be that the bad news reported recently by hunting writer Ted Williams via Animal Wellness Action is not quite as bad as it looks, based on scientific journal reports, […]
Can giant pandas save the San Francisco Zoo? High donor pulls funding.
Multi-millionaire donor suggests fixing & finishing the facilities the San Francisco Zoo already has, instead of spending megabucks to import giant pandas while the animals who are there now suffer. SAN FRANCISCO, California––Back when newspapers were the major medium of mass communication, a staple of low comedy was the riddle, “What’s black-and-white and red (read) […]
Can one baby gorilla rescued in Istanbul stop the deadly great ape traffic?
The Istanbul baby gorilla is one among thousands bootlegged out of war-torn central Africa ISTANBUL, Turkey––An approximately eight-month-old baby western lowland gorilla, rescued from a coffin-like wooden crate on December 22, 2024 at the Istanbul Airport in Turkey, may be the “missing link” between two of the other horrific stories in the news that day. […]
Life of Pei: the battle for compassion; my story and journey so far
by Pei Feng Su Lantern Publishing & Media P.O. Box 1350 Woodstock, NY 12498 www.lanternpm.org Reviewed by Merritt Clifton The animal advocacy world knows Pei Feng Su as the intensely hard-working, politely amiable, fluently multi-lingual, supremely capable and outwardly poised founder of ACTAsia for Animals, a humane education society with offices in London, Taipei, and […]