Animals 24-7

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

Rare busts hit cockfighting, dog torture, & other Appalachian pastimes

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Convictions remain scarce as hen’s teeth LONDON,  Kentucky––Ten people including a Laurel County bailiff were reportedly cited by Kentucky State Police for various alleged offenses on July 10,  2021 while attending a cockfight at Bald Rock,  Kentucky,  according to the Chicago-based animal advocacy organization Showing Animals Respect & Kindness [SHARK]. SHARK drones and hidden cameras […]

MLK assassin ex-wife Anna Ray busted for dog hoarding––again!

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1996 Anna Sandhu Ray case history was often cited by hoarding expert Vicky Crosetti JACKSON, Tennessee––Anna Sandhu Ray,  74,  ex-wife of James Earl Ray,  the assassin of Martin Luther King Jr.,  was on June 21,  2021 arrested in Jackson,  Tennessee and booked into the Madison County jail on 44 counts of animal cruelty for extreme […]

Citrus County, Florida, tries to put Out of the Box Rescue back in the box

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Efforts to transfer dangerous dogs out of the shelter system fill Citrus County Animal Shelter with more dangerous dogs than before,  now held as evidence             INVERNESS, Florida––Two pit bulls and an apparent Rottweiler mix impounded in January 2021 from Out of the Box Rescue attacked two Citrus County Animal Shelter volunteers and a staff […]

Law prof: more jail time for cruelty does not advance animal rights

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Institutional offenders remain untouched by felony cruelty penalties DENVER––“More prosecution will never lead to greater animal rights.  Longer sentences have not incrementally advanced the standing of animals in society,”  argues Sturm College of Law professor Justin Marceau in the March 20,  2021 edition of the Harvard Law Review Forum. Marceau is also the Brooks Institute Faculty […]

Colorado pit bull defense lawyer charged in alleged murder-for-hire plot

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Animal Law Center founder Jennifer Edwards now has more in common with “Joe Exotic” than just initials and notoriety  [UPDATE:  Jen gets 10: Colorado pit bull defense lawyer sentenced for hit plot.]             EVERGREEN, Colorado––Animal Law Center founder Jennifer Reba Edwards,  43,  central to efforts to overturn and weaken Colorado dangerous dog laws,  now has […]

Pit bull advocate Steffen Baldwin, facing 39 felonies, flunks drug test

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Charges originating out of allegedly killing dogs & defrauding donors could bring Baldwin a maximum of 81 years in prison MARYSVILLE,  Ohio––Pit bull advocate Steffen Baldwin, already facing 42 criminal charges that could potentially bring him 81 years in prison,  including 39 felonies and three misdemeanors,  was on December 15,  2020 further charged with violating […]

Will Rogers never met the pit bulls & “dog men” now terrorizing Oklahoma

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Three-year-old suffered 15 skull fractures & broken nose and jaw in Rogers’ tiny home town OOLOGAH, Oklahoma––“No man can be condemned for owning a dog,”  alleged humorist Will Rogers,  who also famously professed to have never met a man he didn’t like. “As long as he has a dog, he has a friend,”  Rogers claimed,  “and […]

Horsemeat, dog meat, & how “angel” Marc Ching fell from grace

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Donors ignored years of warnings about convict turned “rescue” celebrity LOS ANGELES––Marc Ching,  who in November 2018 offered to sell the city of Los Angeles vegan food for impounded dogs at a substantial discount,  is reportedly to be arraigned in December 2020 on one misdemeanor count each of practicing veterinary medicine without a license,  false advertising,  […]

NYC pet store fined $3.9 million; probe finds “rescues” are the new “puppy millers”

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Nebraska deputy ombudsman reports extensive non-enforcement of anti-“puppy mill” law             NEW YORK, N.Y.;  LINCOLN, Nebraska––A $3.9 million fine levied against the owners of the long closed Chelsea Kennel Club pet store in New York City grabbed the headlines on October 16,  2020,  but a more meaningful action against abusive dog suppliers came quietly on […]

We need to open up spay/neuter – now!

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by Bryan Kortis, National Programs Director, Neighborhood Cats When the shutdowns in our country began due to the rapid spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus,  in early March 2020,  the animal welfare field reacted quickly.  Shelters were closed to the public,  services were curtailed to the bare minimum,  and cages were emptied through adoptions and recruitment […]