Cruel hypocrisy masquerades as concern for exploited dogs, cats, & gamefowl SEOUL; HANOI; CROSS PLAINS, Texas; BENNETT, Colorado––One need not have spent much time personally investigating Southeast Asian dog and cat meat markets, or U.S. cockpits, or even just viewing the wealth of undercover and drone video of such operations gathered in recent years […]
Brigitte Bardot, 91, movie star for 20 years, animal advocate for 52 years
Brigitte Bardot: provocative on film, but even more provocative for animals, for more than twice as long PARIS, France––Brigitte Bardot, 91, a fashion model for four years, a film actress for 20 years, and a full-time animal advocate for the last 52 years of her life, died on December 28, 2025 of undisclosed causes at […]
Asian Animal Protection Network founder John Wedderburn, 83
Medical doctor John Wedderman quietly linked 759 Asian animal advocates into the beginnings of an international movement HONG KONG––Asian Animal Protection Network founder John Wedderburn, 83, among the most influential yet least well-known builders of the global animal rights and humane movements, died on November 25, 2024 at his retirement home in West Java, Indonesia. […]
Why Ric O’Barry is not yelling “Victory!” after Bahamas dolphin rescue
Getting five starving dolphins out of a stingray petting pool was only the start of a rehab-for-release project NASSAU, Bahamas––After getting five starving dolphins out of a former stingray exhibit where they could barely submerge themselves, most animal advocacy campaigners would be shouting “Victory!” from the rooftops, spamming appeals far and wide, touting success and […]
Dog meat trade ban helps signal a new day for animals in South Korea
Three-year dog meat sales ban phase-in rewards a 35-year campaign that built an increasingly strong South Korean animal advocacy sector SEOUL, South Korea––The 300-seat South Korean parliament on January 9, 2024 banned breeding and killing dogs for human consumption by a vote of 298-0 with two abstentions, effective on January 1, 2027. Violators may be […]
Belugas left behind after South Korea bans whale & dolphin captures
Phase-out of marine mammal exhibition appears to be underway SEOUL, South Korea––“Marine mammals are now prohibited from being used for exhibition purposes as well as programs that involve riding or feeding marine mammals,” effective immediately, the South Korean Ministry of Oceans & Fisheries announced on December 14, 2023. “Starting today,” the announcement continued, “aquariums in […]
South Korean government pledges dog-eating will be banned by 2027
Governing party and leading opposition party both favor banning dog consumption SEOUL, South Korea––Dog-eating in South Korea appears likely to be banned after January 1, 2027. “In a special consultative meeting at the National Assembly,” reported Lee Jaeeun for the Korea Herald on November 17, 2023, “the Yoon Suk Yeol administration and officials of the […]
Dog meat farmers’ protest reflects grassroots success in South Korea
Home-grown anti-dog meat campaign succeeds where boycotts, petitions, & bashing failed for 40 years SEOUL, South Korea––About 50 people on April 25, 2023 straggled through the streets of Seoul, the national capital of South Korea, in a protest about dog-eating. Animal advocates’ events often attract much bigger crowds these days. These protesters were among […]
International animal advocacy influencer Brian Davies dies at 87
Founded IFAW to fight the Atlantic Canada seal hunt CAPE COD, Massachusetts––Brian Davies, 87, founder of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, Network for Animals, the Political Animal Lobby, and Animal Survival International, died after a prolonged illness on December 27, 2022. Born on February 4, 1935 in Tonyrefail, Wales, an impoverished mining village, […]
Hoofed animals worldwide put at risk by foot-&-mouth outbreak in Indonesia
Fatwa allowing Eid-al-Adha slaughter of “mildly ill” animals spares some from slaughter, but may expose thousands more JAKARTA, Indonesia––Simultaneous foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks among cattle in Aceh and Java provinces, 1,650 miles apart, have just about everyone in the cattle, sheep, goat, and pig industries worried that a global foot-and-mouth disease pandemic may be just ahead. […]