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 […]
Jaripeo Baile rodeo participants don’t know a downed bull from a piñata
The mayhem at the rented home of the California Rodeo Salinas was not bull-riding, steer-tailing, or even bullfighting as done by the rules SALINAS, California––If the Jaripeo Baile held on August 1, 2026 at the Salinas Sports Complex in Salinas, California had been an authentic exhibition of Mexican culture, the participants who kicked and […]
Steer-tailing yanked down by the tail in Ogle County, Illinois; SHARK wins
Venue owners surrender conditional use permit rather than face Showing Animals Respect & Kindness and the Humane Farming Association application for emergency injunction ROCHELLE, Illinois––Steer-tailers in the habit of converging on Rancho La Esperanza will have to jerk something else, somewhere else, after the property owners on July 10, 2026 relinquished the Ogle County conditional […]
L.A. city council likely to buck rodeo ban; Ogle County stalls on steer-tailing
Commercialized cruelty hides behind “culture” & pols follow the money LOS ANGELES, California; ROCHELLE, Illinois––A Los Angeles City Council bill to ban rodeo, pending since December 2023 and set to expire on July 18, 2026, appears likely to be bucked off the council agenda by opposition from Arts, Parks, Libraries & Community Enrichment Committee chair […]
Oh deer: Marineland belugas rehomed, but deer & elk allegedly slaughtered
Belugas likely to be rehomed, anyhow. Marineland history suggests not holding breath unless swimming underwater NIAGARA, Ontario––Tentative good news about the fate of animals left by the 2024 closure of Marineland at Niagara Falls was offset within a week by more of the frequent bad news about Marineland that has emerged since Ontario animal advocate […]
Both disappointments & hope for animals on June 2026 court docket
Kevin Antle walks in Virginia, murder rap reversed in Elijah McClain case, & animal groups seek justice for barred owls & bison RICHMOND, Virginia; DENVER, Colorado; PORTLAND, Oregon; MISSOULA, Montana––“I broke no law. Not one,” asserted animal exhibitor Kevin Antle on June 6, 2026, claiming “Total vindication” after the Virginia Supreme Court dismissed all state […]
Alan Cooper & John Pippin, M.D., represented the range of animal advocacy
Both Alan Cooper & John Pippin, M.D. were felled by long struggles with debilitating illness It would be difficult to imagine two animal advocates with less in common than Alan Cooper and John Pippin, M.D., except that both were veterans of more than 20 years in animal advocacy on a variety of fronts, and died […]
Sloths & the 70 (?) deadly sins of wildlife exhibitor Larry Wallach
Cougars, bears, sloths, & a kangaroo, oh my, & a rap sheet as long as a python MARGATE, Florida; BROOKHAVEN, New York––Sloth, a harmless herbivorous “species of least concern,” according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, frequently exhibited but rarely surviving long in captivity, also happens to be the name of one […]
How “tiger porn” & kitten handling Trump the Big Cat Public Safety Act
The Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary, Knoxville Zoo, and Sharkarosa Zoo defy the intent of the Big Cat Public Safety Act, if not the actual letter of it WEST BEND, Wisconsin; KNOXVILLE, Tennessee; PILOT POINT, Texas––One might call it “tiger porn.” Mingling fantasy with delusion, voyeurism, exhibitionism, and profitable showmanship, the grotesquely misnamed roadside zoo calling […]
Naked Ape author Desmond Morris, 98, helped to shape AR movement
Desmond Morris’ ideas helped to form “animal rights” arguments, but Morris stood apart from the cause LONDON, U.K.––Naked Ape author Desmond Morris, 98, an influence upon and fellow traveler with the animal rights movement for much of his life, but at odds with vegans and vegetarians, died on April 19, 2026, in Naas, County Kildare, […]