Guest column by Katrina Love Katrina Love, of Franklin, Tasmania, Australia, describes herself as “an animal activist, politician, vegan advocate, pluviophile, photographer, writer, Earthling and animal,” and multi-time political candidate for the Animal Justice Party. Formerly campaign manager for Stop Live Exports, in Fremantle, Australia, Katrina Love continues to closely monitor live animal transports, not […]
Korean Air responds to cockfighting complaints; rural sheriffs don’t
Korean Air suspends rooster transport to the Philippines SEOUL, South Korea; FANNIN COUNTY, Georgia; DAYTON, Tennessee––Why is Korean Air more responsive to complaints about cockfighters, at considerable monetary cost to itself, than rural Southern sheriffs who are paid in part to stop cockfights? “Korean Air has suspended rooster shipments on flights from the United States […]
Heads you lose: decapitation experiments in quest of a longer lifespan
Hong Kong tycoon Ricky Wong repeats a bloody gamble that has not paid off since the guillotine was invented HONG KONG––Centuries of myth, legend, and business reporting demonstrate that when an aging mad scientist has more money than brains, his thoughts often turn toward seeking immortality, typically through bizarre ritual sacrifice. Ricky Wong, founder and […]
Search for Lost Birds shows that “extinction” is not always forever
Surprisingly often “lost” means just very scarce or very well hidden ITHACA, New York––The dodo, the moa, the passenger pigeon, the ivory-billed woodpecker, and the Carolina parakeet are all out of luck, but the “Search for Lost Birds” conducted by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology since 2022 has brought 21 species back from the […]
He arose! Jonathan the 194-year-old tortoise did not die on April 1!
Reports of his death, as Mark Twain said, were “Greatly exaggerated.” HELENA––“Heartbroken to share that our beloved Jonathan,” a Seychelles tortoise with an estimated age of 194 years, “the world’s oldest living land animal, has passed away today peacefully,” a scammer purporting to be St. Helena veterinarian Joe Hollins posted to social media on April […]
Kangaroos, mink, & crocs have skin in the game; politicians do not
Republicans try to undo legislation against kangaroo leather and the mink trade; IUCN favors crocodile & snake farming DETROIT, SACRAMENTO, WASHINGTON D.C., MELBOURNE, Australia––2026 began most auspiciously for those of us who believe fur and hides belong on the animals who grew them, not to human scavengers, but that was before politicians got involved on […]
Orangutan rescuer Biruté Galdikas, last of “Leakey’s Angels,” dies at 79
Born a “displaced person,” Biruté Galdikas spent her life aiding & advocating for displaced orangutans LOS ANGELES––Orangutan researcher, rescuer, and conservationist Biruté Galdikas, 79, died on March 24, 2026 in Los Angeles, after a prolonged illness. “Born in Germany, on May 10, 1946, while her parents were en route from Lithuania to Canada,” as displaced […]
War is hell for cats in Lebanon, but brings reprieve for cattle & sheep at Eid
Threat of rockets deters livestock shippers but not Beirut cat rescuers STRAIT OF HORMUZ, BEIRUT––Crisis situations involving animals and war were just behind the headlines in New York City’s two most prestigious newspapers on the morning of Friday the 13th of March 2026, without animals ever being mentioned. Bombing in Lebanon brought disaster to both […]
Verdict in long-delayed Elisa Pilarski pit bull death trial not due before June
Charged with manslaughter in the 2019 case, fiancé Christophe Ellul is expected to receive light sentence SOISSONS, France––The legal outcome of the most publicized pit bull attack ever, the November 16, 2019 dismemberment death of 29-year-old Elisa Pilarski, six months pregnant at the time, will for her fiancé and manslaughter defendant Christophe Ellul, 51, remain […]
Reports from Iran: perhaps world’s most officially animal-unfriendly nation
The Iranian people have never been hostile toward animals, but the Islamist government & the Revolutionary Guard are another matter TEHRAN, Iran; JERUSALEM, Israel––Animal advocates and rescuers on opposite sides of shooting between Iran and Israel report similar responses among the dogs and cats in their care since U.S. and Israeli forces jointly bombed targets […]