Animals 24-7

News on dogs, cats, horses, wildlife, zoonoses, & nature

Erika Brunson, 86, animal advocate, actress, interior decorator, & furniture maker

By

Rose from rough start in life to philanthropic success Animal advocacy and spay/neuter philanthropist Erika Devore Brunson,  86,  died in Los Angeles,  California on May 17, 2022. Maria Erika Knab,  her original given name,  was born on September 4, 1935,  “in the small fishing town of Konigsberg in East Prussia,”  according to an October 16,  2013 […]

Vultures circling overhead are good news for Planet Earth

By

Both black vultures & turkey vultures are rapidly expanding U.S. range and numbers Feeling down about global warming,  chemical pollution,  and reports about loss of species? See the vultures circling overhead? Both black vultures and turkey vultures are rapidly expanding in numbers and range across the U.S. Turkey vultures have even appeared in southeastern Alaska […]

“Rescue” hoarding: the “Nutmeg State” becomes the “Nut Case” state

By

“CT Pregnant Dog & Cat Rescue” bust is latest of a 20-year series             HEBRON,  Connecticut––The arrest of CT Pregnant Dog & Cat Rescue founder Joann M. Connelly,  59,  announced by the Connecticut State Police on March 26,  2022,  has disquieting echoes of previous alleged “rescue” hoarding cases that legislation passed almost a decade earlier […]

Alisa Marie Mullins: longtime behind-the-scenes voice of PETA

By

PETA obituary understated Mullins’ role as author,  ghostwriter,  & spokesperson Alisa Marie Mullins,  59,  a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals researcher and writer for 30 years,  died on March 22, 2022 “after a 2-year battle with brain cancer,”  PETA announced. The PETA obituary announcement understated Mullins’ longtime role as author and/or ghost writer […]

What Wildlife Services did not say about the newly released 2021 body count

By

Only 4% of the toll of 1.76 million animals were “livestock predators,”  but 44% were “invasive” starlings             RIVERDALE,  Maryland––Released on March 22,  2022,  the USDA Wildlife Services program activity report for 2021 tells a different story from the sunny spin put on it by the accompanying media release from USDA Animal & Plant Health […]

Mad Russians overrun Ukraine rabies belt; refugee canines flee west

By

Invasion stops progress against fox rabies outbreak raging since 2004             KHARKIV, Ukraine;  ATLANTA, Georgia;  SURPRISE, Arizona––The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] web site has quietly announced,  without an accompanying media release,  that it “is working to expedite import permit requests for dogs that originate in Ukraine and surrounding countries for persons wishing […]

New NACA “Guideline” on shelter intake overlooks why animal control exists

By

Focus on keeping animals out of shelters means more dogs and cats will be left to run at large             LINDSBORG, Kansas––The words “wildlife” and “rabies,”  and the phrases “public health” and “running at large” never appear among the 1,688 words comprising the new National Animal Care & Control Association [NACA] “Guideline on Appointment-Based Pet […]

What RU-486 means for animals

By

FDA decision on Mifrepristone may bring back birth control pet food––but definitely not Alex Pacheco’s “Spay and neuter cookies” (See FDA verdict on Mifrepristone upstages more nonsense from Alex Pacheco.) WASHINGTON D.C.––The pharmacological race to be first to market a safe,  affordable,  easily administered contraceptive drug for dogs,  cats,  and nuisance wildlife,  somewhat quiet of […]

Public shelters: refuge for animals or not?

By

by Wendolyn Aragon,  president,  Pet Assistance Foundation Soon after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. nearly two years ago,  in 2020,  most U.S. animal shelters adopted some variation of managed admissions,  an approach long promoted by the “no kill” movement,  only admitting animals in need of emergency care. This was concerning, since it was breeding […]

FDA verdict on Mifrepristone upstages more nonsense from Alex Pacheco

By

Mifrepristone decision has real implications for birth control pet food.  Pacheco appeal is just another 600 million gallons of dog cess.             WASHINGTON D.C.;  POMPANO BEACH, Florida–– The real news of note about animal birth control released on December 16,  2021––though it was not billed as such––came from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). […]