Animal rights movement pioneer SAN RAFAEL, California–– In Defense of Animals founder Elliot Katz, DVM, “died peacefully on March 24th at the age of 86,” the organization announced via Facebook on April 9, 2021, after word of Katz’s death had percolated through the animal advocacy community for several days. “Dr. Katz was a trailblazer […]
Aloha Rodeo: animal advocates, Disney, & Cheyenne showdown
Will forthcoming film “glorify steer roping” & help to revive rodeo, or help to finish it? CHEYENNE, Wyoming––Walt Disney Inc., Cheyenne Frontier Days, and a coalition of animal advocacy groups headed by Showing Animals Respect & Kindness [SHARK] may be headed toward the highest-profile showdown at the 123-year-old Frontier Days rodeo since Hawaiian paniolos Eben […]
Siegfried Fischbacher, 81, follows tiger act partner Roy Horn, 75, in death
Illusionist Fischbacher, of Siegfried & Roy, created image of partner Horn as “positive reinforcement” trainer & conservationist Both were role models for “Joe Exotic” et al LAS VEGAS––Entertainer Siegfried Fischbacher, 81, died of pancreatic cancer on January 14, 2021, at the Las Vegas home he had shared with Roy Horn, his partner in life […]
Kevin “Doc” Antle’s secret life on the lam from Iowa
Does Antle fear identification with the ordinary more than felony charges? RICHMOND, Virginia––Kevin “Doc” Antle, who styles himself “Mahamayavia Bhagavan Antle,” appears to have spent most of his adult life trying to avoid being identified with his youth in Bettendorf, Iowa, never once mentioned in any of dozens of interviews with him collected by […]
“I can’t breathe”: stealing slogan to use for animal causes is not fighting cruelty
Opportunistic use of phrases and imagery can come across as insensitive and insulting MINNEAPOLIS, PHOENIX, NEW YORK CITY––“It is striking to me,” wrote Mike Troutman in sharing with friends his first-hand account of recent events in Minneapolis, “how three central challenges of our time––racist policing, COVID-19 and the climate crisis––all […]
The price of defiance: COVID-19 vs. the Cottondale Mother’s Day Rodeo
Whoever that masked man was, he was not in the rodeo arena COTTONWOOD, California––There are sound epidemiological arguments against outdoor mask-wearing to fight the spread of COVID-19, and in favor of getting more people out into the spring sunshine, but those arguments were not much in evidence at the 58th annual Mother’s Day Rodeo […]
Iconic animal use events fall to COVID-19: “Running of the bulls” is latest
“Social distancing” also shuts down SeaWorld, seal hunt, fur auctions, Kentucky Derby, & the carriage horses in Central Park PAMPLONA, Spain ––The 700-year-old Festival of San Fermin, featuring bullfights and the “running of the bulls” through the cobbled streets of the oldest part of Pamplona, Spain, was on April 21, 2020 indefinitely postponed due […]
“Cry Me A Cockroach”: Valentine’s Day sadism & the San Antonio Zoo
Cockroaches & rats named after ex-spouses to be fed to snakes SAN ANTONIO, Texas––San Antonio Zoo executive director Tim Morrow and staff appear to be going full speed ahead with a Valentine’s Day “Cry Me A Cockroach” event, despite complaints from around the world that it is mean-spirited, sadistic, and misleading, promotes a hostile […]
Lost in translation: “personhood” verdict reportedly won for elephant
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
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 […]
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