Animals 24-7

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

Police dog bites soar in Richmond, California; city tries to hide the data

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Richmond has long history of controversial police use of violence RICHMOND, California––Praised in 2018 by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights for significantly decreasing use of force without increasing officer fatalities,  the Richmond,  California police department is now under fire from critics for a marked rise in bites by police dogs,  many of them severe,  most of them […]

Heather Pingel death protecting child echoes the Daxton Borchardt case

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Pingel died eight days after rescuing son from pit bull,  on what would have been Daxton’s 10th birthday             WAUSAU,  Wisconsin––Heather Pingel, 35,  of Bowler,  Wisconsin,  mauled by a pet pit bull on December 8,  2021 while rescuing her four-year-old son from attack,  died eight days later at the Aspirus Wausau Hospital from injuries including […]

Four court cases lost amid the Rittenhouse/Arbery media blitz

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Even coverage of the $15 million Elijah McClain settlement mostly omitted the vegan aspect Court news dominated mass media during the two weeks preceding Thanksgiving 2021,  but key developments in three cases long followed by ANIMALS 24-7 barely cracked even local news lineups. Coverage of a fourth case,  a $15 million settlement between the City of Aurora,  […]

Where the late Bernie Rollin got his garbled “facts” about pit bulls

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“It’s in the book!” ––a 1922 work of fiction The ANIMALS 24-7 obituary for philosopher,  teacher,  and author Bernard Rollin (1943-2021),  posted on November 20,  2021,  mentioned that,  “His late-career writings about pit bulls, in particular,  offered no more than recitations of stock pit bull advocacy rhetoric,  little if any of his material originating with […]

Bernard Rollin, 78, addressed the big issues but often fumbled the facts

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Author of Animal Rights & Human Morality and The Unheeded Cry FORT COLLINS,  Colorado––Bernard Elliot Rollin,  Ph.D.,  78,  better known as just Bernie Rollin,  died on November 19,  2021. Remembered and appreciated as an entertaining,  provocative,  and often persuasive bridge among the animal rights,  animal welfare,  academic,  veterinary,  and legal communities during his 51 years […]

Namibia reports oral rabies vaccination breakthrough for street dogs

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Oral vaccine achieves up to 78% immunization of dogs who cannot otherwise be vaccinated             WINDHOEK, Namibia––The Namibian Ministry of Agriculture, Water & Land Reform on November 11,  2021 told the Chinese national news agency Xinhua that it had successfully completed a first field trial of an oral rabies vaccine for dogs. The Namibian field […]

Pit bulls, greenhouse gases, & poop: the solution is not dilution

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Or,  pit bull breeding kennels & the Tower of Babel VAUGHAN, Ontario;  CAERPHILLY, Wales;  DURBANVILLE,  South Africa;  OKLAHOMA CITY,  Oklahoma––“The solution to pollution is dilution,”  industrial polluters frequently persuaded politicians,  back in the early days of the environmental movement,  long before either pit bull attacks or greenhouse gases became a hot public issue. In the […]

Pit bulls running amok to kill is not “manslaughter,” says Oklahoma City jury

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Owner spent $8,000 for two “American bullies,”  but not a dime to fix his fence            OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma––Antwon Demetris Burks,  36,  was on November 5,  2021 found not guilty of second degree manslaughter in connection with the April 6,  2017 pit bull mauling death of Cecille Short,  82. The jury deliberated for seven hours […]

Caring for bears & a homeless woman contrasts to caring only about pit bulls

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Help Asheville Bears founder stands up for human victim;  Maddie’s Fund program director urges concealing dog attack risk to humans & other animals             ASHEVILLE, N.C.;  AUSTIN, Texas––Somewhere along the line,  Help Asheville Bears founder Jody Williams learned the ethical principle of not causing harm to other living things,  called ahimsa by Hindus,  Buddhists,  and […]

Pit bull mayhem,  murder, other crimes,  & the multiplier effect illustrated

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Highly reactive unstable dogs,  multiplied by highly reactive unstable situations & people = prescription for disaster MIAMI, Florida––A week of sensational crimes with pit bulls in the immediate background in October 2021 capped a 30-day stretch including seven dog attack fatalities,  five of them involving a total of seven pit bulls. Each incident illustrated the […]