Avanzino in 23 years at the San Francisco SPCA helped to create the “no kill movement,” but in 17 years as founding president of Maddie’s Fund tended to discredit the concept PLEASANTON, California––Maddie’s Fund on September 29, 2026––nine days after Richard Avanzino’s actual death, announced that “Rich Avanzino, affectionately and widely known as the father […]
Tweety & Sylvester Down Under: two new studies exonerate cats
Birds are Still Singing in Our Suburbs and Bella & Charlie Are Not the Problem, argue team from the University of Queensland KENMORE, Queensland, Australia––Two new studies from scientists associated with the Australian Pet Welfare Foundation and the University of Queensland challenge the notion that cat predation has much of anything to do with bird […]
Alfred M. Kailihiwa & Susan Solari died in the line of duty toward animals
Murder victim Alfred M. Kailihiwa was feeding cats; fire victim Susan Solari stayed with her dogs KAHULUI, Hawaii; ANGELS CAMP, California––Neuter/return cat trapper Alfred M. Kailihiwa, 71, of Waihee, Hawaii, allegedly murdered on August 6, 2026, and German shepherd breeder Susan Solari, 70, of Angel’s Camp, California, a wildfire victim reported dead the same day, […]
200 cats in Puerto Rico doomed by 20 years of cat-feeding in name of TNR
Fixing 66 cats in 2008 could have fixed the problem. Feeding stations put three times that many at risk. WASHINGTON D.C.––Pending possible further appeals, U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss on May 20, 2026 appears to have ended the Battle of the Cats at the historic El Morro castle in San Juan, Puerto Rico, […]
Brigitte Bardot, 91, movie star for 20 years, animal advocate for 52 years
Brigitte Bardot: provocative on film, but even more provocative for animals, for more than twice as long PARIS, France––Brigitte Bardot, 91, a fashion model for four years, a film actress for 20 years, and a full-time animal advocate for the last 52 years of her life, died on December 28, 2025 of undisclosed causes at […]
Marvin Mackie, 88, all but invented early-age & high-volume, low-cost s/n
Marvin Mackie, DVM, fixed more than 250,000 dogs & cats in 54-year veterinary career SAN PEDRO, California––W. Marvin Mackie, DVM, 88, remembered by United Spay Alliance cofounder Esther Mechler and much of the rest of the humane community as “a pioneer in the affordable spay/neuter movement, died on September 23, 2025. “He brought so much […]
How solving the blue pork mystery might save cats, hawks, owls & eagles
Anti-coagulant rodenticides are less & less effective, so people use more & more of them GRAFTON, Massachusetts; MONTEREY, California––Blue pork from wild pigs in early August 2025 put secondary poisoning caused by toxic accumulations of the anti-coagulant rodenticide diphacinone into tabloid headlines. To wildlife advocates, however, the relatively remote possibility of people suffering illness or […]
Injunction vs. San Diego HS “return-to-field” cat practices made permanent
No more dumping kittens or cats with clear signs of ownership, orders judge SAN DIEGO, California––San Diego Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal on June 9, 2025 ended the long-running “cat control trial of the century” with a final ruling that the San Diego Humane Society has sufficiently amended how it handles cats found at […]
Best Friends Animal Society cofounder and former CEO Gregory Castle, 83
Gregory Castle was multi-talented & well-liked by all, but the Castle dynasty at Best Friends has been a disaster for dogs, cats, pit bull victims, spay/neuter funding, and reaching realistic no-kill goals KANAB, Utah––Best Friends Animal Society cofounder and former chief executive Gregory Castle, 83, on May 17, 2025 died suddenly from an embolism. “Born […]
Why is the Battle of the Cats the longest in the 436-year history of El Morro?
Losing patience with cat-feeders, the National Park Service wants 200 cats gone SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico; WARREN, Vermont; NEW YORK CITY––El Morro, formally the Castillo de San Felipe, guarding the entrance to San Juan harbor, Puerto Rico since 1589, has survived at least seven sieges, from a 1595 British attack by Francis Drake to the […]