Animals 24-7

News & perspective for the humane community

HSUS, Donald Trump, & the PACT Act: The Art of the Deal

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Good publicity for Trump,  fundraising photo-op for HSUS & friends,  but not much in it for animals WASHINGTON D.C.––One could almost suspect a quid-pro-quo deal––Latin for “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine”––among U.S. President Donald Trump and major U.S. animal charities,  especially the Humane Society of the United States,   in arranging the heavily […]

Don’t know pigeons from bowling balls? Among pigeon rollers, you’ll fit right in

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Local humane society says nothing             ESSEX,  Ontario––Why has the Harrow Fair,  the official fair of Essex County,  Ontario,  elected to become internationally notorious for promoting so-called “parlor pigeons” as “the bowling balls of the avian world?” Why has the county allowed it? Why did the Windsor/Essex County Humane Society say and do nothing about it […]

Lost in translation: “personhood” verdict reportedly won for elephant

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Transfer-of-goods tax ruling followed precedent for nonprofit transactions             CHAPADA DOS GUIMARÅES, Mato Grosso,  Brazil––The retired Asian elephant Ramba,  52,  arrived late on October 18,  2019 at the Santuário de Elefantes do Brasil,  or Elephant Sanctuary Brazil,  after a 73-hour journey from Chile.   The transaction was completed after the elephant […]

Obits: defenders of cats, dogs, wild horses, bees, crabs, & elephants

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Elaine Adair, Dayton Hyde, Susan Rudnicki,  Alana Cutland,  & Matthew Talbot had in common service to animals Elaine Adair Elaine Adair,  cofounder of the Mississippi Spay & Neuter Alliance (MS-SPAN),  born Elaine Girton on October 15, 1950 in Bloomsburg,  Pennsylvania,   died after a long struggle against cancer on October 14, 2019,  one day before what would […]

More cockfighters than stars in Doris Day/Clint Eastwood country?

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Cock-breeding explodes around Carmel-by-the-Sea             MONTEREY,  California––By the look of it,  more might have been done in Monterey County to enforce legislation against breeding gamecocks if California had remained a U.S. territory in 1850 instead of becoming a state,  four years after overthrowing Spanish rule.             Exulted Humane Society of the U.S. president Kitty Block […]

Fur sales, wildlife acts, & hiding dog bite history banned in California

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Fur-bearing animals & adopters of shelter/rescue dogs win protections             SACRAMENTO,  California––The new animal-related law in California that Governor Gavin Newsom and mass media said least about,  to help protect Californians against recklessly rehomed dogs with bite history,  may in the end become the most emulated among the raft of bills sent to Newsom’s desk […]

Bali: fighting rabies & dolphin captivity amid mud & ashes of a live volcano

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Long uphill struggles pay off             DENPASSAR, Bali,  Indonesia––Fireballs and lava are no longer flying from Mount Agung,  the reputed Balinese home of the gods,  but smoke,  steam,  and noxious gases are still rising from thermal vents,  keeping most humans at a distance,  Bali Animal Welfare Association (BAWA) dog rescuers excepted. Rabies persists in three […]

Dolphin defender Ric O’Barry, cleared by Tokyo court, plans return to Japan

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Three-judge panel rules O’Barry was wrongly barred entry & deported in 2016 TOKYO––“I’m gonna go back and do it again!” dolphin defender Ric O’Barry emailed to ANIMALS 24-7 late on October 3,  2019,  after attorneys Megumi Wada and Takashi Takano won a Tokyo District Court ruling on O’Barry’s behalf that O’Barry is free to return to […]

Cockfighters vs. coal miners, Taiji vs. Hong Kong: animal suffering gets lost

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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 […]

Why did chuckwagon racer Devin Matsuing dare a grizzly bear to fight?

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The grizzly bear had better sense             BANFF, Alberta––Convicted on September 13,  2019 of disturbing a grizzly bear more than four years earlier,  professional chuckwagon racing driver Devin Mitsuing,  35,  was on September 13,  2019 fined $4,000 by Canmore Provincial Court Judge George Gaschler. Mitsuing was given until October 16,  2019 to pay the fine […]