What happens when animal issues are overwhelmed by current events? HARLAN COUNTY, Kentucky; TAIJI, Japan; BALI, Indonesia––A trainload of coal worth $1.4 million, blockaded for six weeks by illegally laid off miners whose last pay checks bounced, might at a glance appear to have nothing to do with an alleged cockfighting ring run by […]
Cockfighters “win” from delay of hurricane aid to Puerto Rico
Frustration at lack of help fuels defense of cockfighting against U.S. federal “meddling” SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico––Puerto Rican cockfighters and politicians who boast of standing beside them may have been the only winners when U.S. Representative Chip Roy on May 24, 2019 blocked more than $900 million in disaster relief funding for victims of […]
Pit hags, rescue angels, crazy cat ladies, dog men & chicken fighters: what’s in a name?
The late linguist, lexicographer, and “crazy cat man” Reinhold Aman would have relished the question SONOMA, California––Researching the etymology of the terms “pit hag,” “rescue angel,” “crazy cat lady,” “dog man” and “chicken fighter,” absent from most dictionaries yet almost universally understood within the animal advocacy world, would have fascinated Reinhold Aman, 82, who died […]
Rather than kill pit bulls, Ontario SPCA quits busting dogfights
Ontario SPCA also quits investigating cockfighting, farmed animal, & horse-related cases TORONTO, Ontario––Paid $5.75 million per year by the Ontario government to enforce animal-related legislation, the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has unilaterally––and without public announcement or prior disclosure to the government––opted out of enforcing laws including the 2006 provincial ban […]
Disease linked to cockfighting menaces California poultry industry
Gamecocks carrying Newcastle disease to domestic flocks killed millions in 1971 and 2003 LOS ANGELES––The billion-dollar-a-year California poultry industry is betting the farm that state and federal authorities can get a two-year series of outbreaks of Newcastle disease under control before it becomes the biggest threat to profits in decades. An outbreak discovered in […]
A year in jail for the life of Christmas Eve pit bull victim Lorraine Saylor
Death demonstrates that responsible dog-keeping begins with what dogs are kept ARJAY, Kentucky––Johnny Dale Lankford, 42, already jailed on other charges when his two pit bulls killed Lorraine Brock Saylor, 66, on Christmas Eve, was sentenced to serve a year in jail on January 3, 2018 after pleading guilty to a single charge of harboring […]
Hawaiian Humane Society CEO Pamela Burns dies after colorful 27-year tenure
Burns remained on the job to her final days HONOLULU, Hawaii––Pamela Burns, 65, Hawaiian Humane Society chief executive since 1990, on September 18, 2017 “died peacefully at her home after taking a leave of absence approximately a week ago for health reasons,” the humane society announced. Burns, who was among the longest tenured humane society […]
Raw milk, pit bulls, exotics & chicken poop
Should the public be protected from lethal consequences of others’ lifestyle choices? CHARLESTON, West Virginia––Raw milk enthusiasts in the West Virginia legislature first cheered after opening a legal loophole through which unpasteurized milk may be sold, then puked after sampling raw milk shared around by House of Delegates member Scott Cadle. Raw milk enthusiasts, […]
Why is cockfighting the blood sport most often linked to murder?
Cockfighting & murder occur together worldwide FORT WORTH, Texas––Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter Deanna Boyd mentioned almost as an afterthought the murderous history of Robert Eugene Coleman, 56, one of three alleged cockfighters arrested on February 28, 2016: “Tarrant County court records show Coleman had previously been sentenced to 20 years in prison in 1998 […]
Cockfighters in the Baseball Hall of Fame
Pedro Martinez & Juan Marichal were videotaped releasing gamecocks at championship match Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in July 2015, three-time Cy Young Award-winning former pitcher Pedro Martinez has apparently not been asked much lately about his past involvement in cockfighting. Neither has Juan Marichal, the fellow former pitcher and native of the Dominican […]