“Blood feud” with anti-whalers began when Sea Shepherds sank two of his ships in 1986 REYKJAVIK, Iceland––Kristján Loftsson, the “Captain Ahab” of the North Atlantic, has furiously denied that the 22nd of at least 27 whales killed by his ships in June and July 2018 was the first endangered blue whale harpooned by whalers since 1978, […]
Thin ice & few buyers for pelts, but Canadian sealers kill 60,000 seal pups anyway
2018 seal hunt close to the end ST. JOHNS, Newfoundland––Perhaps the surest sign that the annual Atlantic Canada seal hunt is fading into history is the lack of prominence it has had this spring in the St. Johns Telegram, the leading media voice serving Newfoundland since 1879, which through April 2018 had barely mentioned it […]
Who killed ivory trade investigator Esmond Martin, why?
Survived more than 30 years of work in some of the world’s most dangerous places, only to be stabbed in his bed NAIROBI, Kenya––Nairobi police homicide detectives appear to believe that renowned elephant ivory and rhino horn trafficking investigator Esmond Bradley Martin Jr., 75, was murdered on February 5, 2018 in connection with a […]
All cats want for Christmas are their two front paws (and hind paws too, intact)
Nova Scotia and Denver ban declawing FREDERICTON, Nova Scotia; DENVER, Colorado––Christmas came early in 2017 for cats in Nova Scotia province, Canada, and in Denver, Colorado. Both jurisdictions recently banned elective and non-therapeutic declawing surgery, but through starkly different legal approaches. Nova Scotia vets make declawing “unethical” The Nova Scotia declawing ban was adopted, […]
Beyond sentience: will Brexit halt live animal exports from the U.K.?
Minister for Agriculture & Rural Affairs confirms her government is “considering options to control live animal exports” LONDON, U.K.––British cabinet ministers, after the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union, called “Brexit” for short, “must have regard to the welfare needs of animals as sentient beings in formulating and implementing government policy,” according to draft […]
Are politicians sentient? British animal advocates wonder
Nothing yet on animal sentience in U.K. law LONDON, U.K.–– “Sentient,” a word seldom used by mass media and little recognized by the public before a much decried vote of the British Parliament on November 15, 2017, is overnight at the center of debate raging throughout the United Kingdom. Who is sentient? What is sentience? […]
Seal hunting in Atlantic Canada nears a bitter, bloody end
Betting sealing will recover is like saving Confederate dollars in hopes the South will rise again (Donald Trump not withstanding) ST. JOHNS, Newfoundland––CBC Morning listeners, recipients of fundraising “alerts” from the Humane Society of the United States, and readers of The Dodo awakened on March 28, 2017 to reports, devoid of context, that the 2017 […]
Rescue, responsibility, & the need for legislation
by John F. Robins, campaigns consultant, Animal Concern Scotland Recent reports about irresponsibly rehomed animals suffering from cruelty and neglect, and attacking other animals and humans, occurring right around the world, have reminded me that nearly 30 years ago journalist John Nairn and I spent a couple of days camped on the roof of a […]
NOT harboring porpoises lands UK in International Court of Justice
Brits may plead “Brexit” BRUSSELS, LONDON––Charged in the European Court of Justice with inadequately protecting harbor porpoises to the point of putting the species at regional risk, the United Kingdom now runs the risk of becoming bracketed in international image with such other marine mammal-killing nations and treaty scofflaws as Japan, Namibia, Norway, and […]
U.S. law to save seals in Scotland
Save Our Seals Fund invokes Marine Mammal Protection Act where Scottish law failed DUMBARTON, Scotland––Believed to be allowing more seals to be killed than any nation without an actual seal hunt, Scotland may soon have to stop the mayhem or risk losing access to U.S. markets, under new U.S. trade rules. […]