For factory-farmed pigs, avoiding African swine fever may be about as good as the grim news gets GREENPORT, New York––With all eyes on the progress of vaccination against the global COVID-19 pandemic, which has to date killed nearly 3.5 million people, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Service in early May quietly announced a breakthrough […]
Legendary giant turtle, believed extinct, resurfaces in Hanoi lake
Five years after the “last” giant softshell turtle died, one and possibly three more turn up, plus one in zoo HANOI, Vietnam––Five years after the January 2016 death of Cu Rua in Hoan Kiem Lake plunged Vietnam into national mourning for the legendary giant softshell turtle, then believed to have been the last of […]
From gorillas to shelter dogs: animals caught in the COVID-19 crunch
No animals other than bats & humans are known to get COVID-19, but millions are affected by the human response WASHINGTON D.C.––Animals and animal-related projects from Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo to National Institutes of Health-funded laboratories are feeling the impact of the international COVID-19 scare underway throughout early 2020, […]
No, China did not ban sales of pangolin scales. But it might.
National People’s Congress has been asked to consider banning sales of pangolin scales BEIJING, China––Pangolins, perhaps the cutest and most harmless animal jeopardized by poaching and wildlife trafficking whom hardly anyone has heard of, remain in as much trouble today as yesterday, two years ago, and five years ago, despite news items, activist alerts, […]
South Korean court rules that killing dogs for meat is illegal
Verdict for the first time upholds 1991 law BUCHEON, South Korea––Upholding parts of the Korean Animal Protection Act which have been on the books since 1991, but were never before successfully prosecuted, a Bucheon city court judge has fined a dog meat farmer the equivalent of $2,050 in U.S. dollars for “killing animals without […]
Who killed ivory trade investigator Esmond Martin, why?
Survived more than 30 years of work in some of the world’s most dangerous places, only to be stabbed in his bed NAIROBI, Kenya––Nairobi police homicide detectives appear to believe that renowned elephant ivory and rhino horn trafficking investigator Esmond Bradley Martin Jr., 75, was murdered on February 5, 2018 in connection with a […]
Trump stalls elephant & lion trophy imports after meal of shark fin soup
Appointees had put elephants & lions back on trophy hit list WASHINGTON D.C.––Tweeting “Put big game trophy decision on hold until such time as I review all conservation facts,” U.S. President Donald Trump on November 17, 2017 unexpectedly suspended U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services decisions –– trumpeted by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and praised by both […]
Rhinos worldwide put at risk in South African crap game
Can rhinos survive a real-life test of libertarian economic theory? JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA—The South African Constitutional Court on April 5, 2017 opened the way to legal trade in rhino horn––and probably more illegal rhino horn trafficking worldwide––by dismissing an appeal from the South African Department of Environmental Affairs to keep a moratorium on domestic sales of […]
Philippine mad dogs claim deadly revenge for being eaten
Eradicating rabies requires ending dog-eating too CAUAYAN, Philippines––For the second time in three years a rabies outbreak linked to eating dogs has hit the western Philippines, underscoring the importance of ending dog meat consumption if canine rabies is to be eradicated. The rabies outbreak was declared by the Negros Occidental provincial department of health […]
Soi Dog Foundation & Indian Ocean tsunami heroine Gill Dalley, 58
Lost legs rescuing a dog in 2004 PHUKET, Thailand––“It is with profound regret and unfathomable sadness that we announce the passing of Gill Dalley,” the Soi Dog Foundation announced on February 13, 2017. “The inaugural winner of the Canine Hero of the Year award at the 2011 Animals for Asia conference in Chengdu, China, […]