Cockfighting is tolerated in Cuba, barely, but in most of the Communist world is a symbol of the decadent west MIAMI, Florida; HAVANA, Cuba; MOSCOW, Russia––The 3,110 gamefowl impounded and euthanized from a ten-acre suspected cockfighting site in Miami-Dade County, Florida on October 3, 2026, near Little Havana, may be more than the sum total […]
The human faults of beluga sanctuaries, captivity, & Jason Bruck
Guest column by Kenneth W. LeVasseur Editors’ note: Kenneth W. LeVasseur, of Kaneohe, Hawaii, a dolphin intelligence and communication researcher for more than fifty years, with colleague Steven C. Sipman on May 29, 1977 released into the ocean two dolphins, Puka and Kea, who had been held at the University of Hawaii marine mammal laboratory, where […]
Will flagrant probation violations send SHARK assailant back to prison?
Dope, guns, evidence of cockfighting; why isn’t James Newcomb back behind bars now? IRONTON, Ohio––Why is alleged cockfighter James “Bubba” Newcomb, of Waterloo, Ohio, not back in the Ohio state penitentiary, after Lawrence County probation officers and sheriff’s deputies caught him on August 27, 2026 in flagrant violation of his terms of early release? Newcomb, […]
What do “rescued” beluga deaths signify for marine mammal captivity?
Sanctuary proponents square off against captivity defenders, as both sides invoke the name & teachings of Ric O’Barry CHICAGO, Illinois––Four of the 30 belugas evacuated from the defunct Marineland of Niagara in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, during July and August 2026 have died at their new homes, along with a fifth beluga who was […]
Five alleged cockfighters indicted; ex-NFL star convicted of dog fighting
Good news from the Department of Justice on both the cockfighting & dog fighting fronts––but what took so long? BOWLING GREEN, Kentucky; MUSKOGEE, Oklahoma––September 10, 2026 brought dramatic demonstrations both in the Appalachians and on the Great Plains of why Congress needs to pass––and enforce––the FIGHT Act to knock the money out of cockfighting and […]
Marineland of Niagara belugas evacuated, but move to the Shedd goes badly
Taiji dolphin captures for sale to marine mammal parks go on––& still no viable sanctuaries for displaced whales & dolphins CHICAGO, Illinois; NIAGARA, Ontario; TAIJI, Japan––September 1, 2026 ended one long chapter in the history of marine mammal captivity, as the last six beluga whales left Marineland of Niagara Falls. Another chapter began, however, […]
Oklahoma cockfighters & dogfighters lose three in a row
Justin Humphrey & Anthony DeVore defeated in primaries; Julius Deane Griffin sent to prison. Streak in dogfighting lingo makes law & order a “Grand Champion.” ATOKA & TULSA, Oklahoma––If the Oklahoma Republican primaries had been a cockfighting derby, ten-year Oklahoma District 19 incumbent Justin Humphrey, a longtime proponent of re-legalizing cockfighting––and of selling licenses to […]
Mutilating horses & steers’ tails is cruel, agree Scotland & Illinois judge
McHenry County case brings first known convictions for steer-tailing GLASGOW, Scotland; WOODSTOCK, Illinois––August 2026 may be noted in some quarters as the month in which both the government of Scotland and circuit judge Justin M. Hansen of McHenry County, Illinois formally recognized that removing the tails of large quaduped grazing animals from their hindquarters constitutes […]
Cockfighters cleaned up on Newcastle clean-up
July/August 2003: Suspected cockfighters were paid $11.4 million SACRAMENTO––Cockfighters who spread Exotic Newcastle Disease throughout Southern California and into Arizona between November 2002 and May 2003 by illegally transporting gamecocks between fighting pits appear to have created a financial windfall for themselves, according to documents obtained by Associated Press under the federal Freedom of Information […]
Behind the Calgary & Omak Stampede wild rushes of frightened animals
Neither Stampede’s signature event resembles any authentic Old West or Native American tradition OMAK, Washington; CALGARY, Alberta––The 2026 “stampede” subset of the rodeo season, consisting most notoriously of the annual Calgary Stampede and Omak Stampede, ended on August 16, 2026 with the fourth and last running of the year of the Omak “Suicide Race.” Riders […]