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 […]
Did the Omak Suicide Race start with a horse massacre & the KKK?
Uncovering the nasty origins of an ugly event OMAK, Washington––The 91st edition of the bizarre and often deadly “World Famous Suicide Race” held annually in Omak, Washington, is to conclude on August 10, 2025, as the final event of the annual Omak Stampede Rodeo. Checking to see how many horses died at Omak this […]
Biggest ever eagle poaching case: Travis Branson gets 46 months
Alleged partner in crime Simon Paul remains at large MISSOULA, Montana––Travis John Branson, 49, of Cusick, Washington, believed to have poached more than 3,600 bald eagles, golden eagles, and hawks of multiple species, was on October 31, 2024 sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen to serve 46 months in a U.S. federal penitentiary and […]
What does the Harris/Trump vote mean for animals on Colorado ballots?
Both sides on five Colorado ballot questions appeal to liberal/progressive voters, but the issues do not neatly split left/right DENVER, Colorado––More questions involving animals will be before voters in Colorado on November 5, 2024 than in any other state. (See Factory farming, lamb slaughter, fur sales, & pit bulls on 2024 ballots.) Proponents of the […]
Fatal dog attacks on Native American / 1st Nations land, 1995-present
The statistical record The following roster is produced supplemental to the ANIMALS 24-7 log of fatal and disfiguring dog attacks occurring in the U.S. and Canada (see Dog attack deaths & maimings, U.S. & Canada, 1982-2023 log, and Fatal & disfiguring dog attacks in Canada, 2004-present), and to the ANIMALS 24-7 rosters of fatal dog […]
Why animals make Israel vs. Hamas look like an Old West range war
The place ain’t big enough for everyone’s herd TEL AVIV, GAZA––Though the Gaza war is fought with jets, tanks, rockets, automatic rifles, and bitterly opposed world views, ideology, and international politics, recent incidents involving sheep, goats, donkeys, horses, and pigs illustrate that it is, beneath everything else, fundamentally an Old West range war. Rustlers are […]
Travis John Branson pleads guilty in biggest ever eagle poaching case
Co-defendant Simon Paul remains at large MISSOULA, Montana––Travis John Branson, 48, of Cusick, Washington, on March 21, 2024 pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court of Montana to charges of conspiracy, unlawful trafficking in bald and golden eagle feathers, and of the Lacey Act of 1900, which prohibits trade in wildlife, fish, and plants that […]
Baby orca born Christmas Day is reported missing, believed dead
Lack of salmon pushes Salish Sea orca population toward 50-year low FRIDAY HARBOR, Washington; VICTORIA, British Columbia––Orca whale watchers throughout the Salish Sea region and orca enthusiasts worldwide are in mourning over the reported probable death of baby orca J60, a male, believed to have been born on Christmas Day 2003. First seen on December […]
Eagle poaching indictments detail case allegedly dwarfing all others
Feds hint that defendants Simon Paul & Travis John Branson may have killed more birds of prey than anyone else charged with similar offenses in this century MISSOULA, Montana––Simon Paul, 38, of St. Ignatius, Montana, and Travis John Branson, 48, of Cusick, Washington, indicted by a federal grand jury on December 7, 2023 for unlawful […]
Feds give Makah tribe the go-ahead to kill gray whales again
NOAA issues Final Environmental Impact Statement, the last legal obstacle between gray whales & Makah harpoons & bullets SEATTLE, Washington––An early 2024 resumption of gray whale killing by the Makah tribe of Neah Bay, Washington, seems all but assured after the November 17, 2023 publication of a 2,364-page Final Environmental Impact Statement on the Makah […]