Nothing in the Rollins/Kennedy announcement supports plant-based diet, notes Harvard critic WASHINGTON, D.C.––Brooke Rollins, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services, on August 24, 2026 announced what they claimed were, “Sweeping new efforts to strengthen school meals by connecting more American farmers with local schools, […]
Showdown day at the Not Okay Corral comes to Congress
The “Save Our Bacon Act” a.k.a. the “SOB Act,” and the FIGHT Act head a long list of Farm Bill 2026 showdown items WASHINGTON D.C.––Thursday, August 6, 2026 is mark-up and amendment day, for reconciliation of the Senate and House of Representatives versions 2026 Farm Bill. That makes August 6, 2026 the showdown day at […]
Jaripeo Baile rodeo participants don’t know a downed bull from a piñata
The mayhem at the rented home of the California Rodeo Salinas was not bull-riding, steer-tailing, or even bullfighting as done by the rules SALINAS, California––If the Jaripeo Baile held on August 1, 2026 at the Salinas Sports Complex in Salinas, California had been an authentic exhibition of Mexican culture, the participants who kicked and […]
The guru Dr. Jeff, sacred cows, the laws of God & the laws of humans
Four books for summer reading with summer half over Reviewed by Merritt Clifton ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Beyond The Boundaries: The Life & Times of Dr. Jeff The Rocky Mountain Vet by Melinda Grohol 186 pages, paperback. 2026. https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Boundaries-Times-Rocky-Mountain/dp/B0FHN8T5BG “My name is Jeff Young,” opened Jeffrey Young, DVM, on July 24, 2017, in what became the most popular […]
Steer-tailing yanked down by the tail in Ogle County, Illinois; SHARK wins
Venue owners surrender conditional use permit rather than face Showing Animals Respect & Kindness and the Humane Farming Association application for emergency injunction ROCHELLE, Illinois––Steer-tailers in the habit of converging on Rancho La Esperanza will have to jerk something else, somewhere else, after the property owners on July 10, 2026 relinquished the Ogle County conditional […]
“Where’s the beef?” California wolves ask. “It’s what’s for dinner.”
California wolves eat seven times more cattle than wolves in other states DAVIS, California––Are recently self-reintroduced wolves in California targeting cattle due to a scarcity of their natural wild prey, or just as easy prey? Wolves on their way into California, raising their first surviving litter in 2016, followed mule deer and elk herds through […]
Screwworms: can Best Friends Animal Society “save them all”?
Screwworm quarantines threaten adoption transport approach to achieving Best Friends’ “90% live release rate” threshold for “no kill” status AUSTIN, Texas––From agribusiness pundits to zoonotic disease researchers, online commentators were mystified on June 18, 2026 to see Best Friends Animal Society senior director of national programs Brent Toellner lined up to testify to the Texas […]
L.A. city council likely to buck rodeo ban; Ogle County stalls on steer-tailing
Commercialized cruelty hides behind “culture” & pols follow the money LOS ANGELES, California; ROCHELLE, Illinois––A Los Angeles City Council bill to ban rodeo, pending since December 2023 and set to expire on July 18, 2026, appears likely to be bucked off the council agenda by opposition from Arts, Parks, Libraries & Community Enrichment Committee chair […]
Both disappointments & hope for animals on June 2026 court docket
Kevin Antle walks in Virginia, murder rap reversed in Elijah McClain case, & animal groups seek justice for barred owls & bison RICHMOND, Virginia; DENVER, Colorado; PORTLAND, Oregon; MISSOULA, Montana––“I broke no law. Not one,” asserted animal exhibitor Kevin Antle on June 6, 2026, claiming “Total vindication” after the Virginia Supreme Court dismissed all state […]
Haj 2026 ends with livestock slaughter down, killing dogs judicially decried
Blockade of the Strait of Hormuz stopped livestock shipments to seven nations. Islamabad High Court rules that indiscriminately killing street dogs contradicts Islamic law. ISLAMABAD, Pakistan––The 2026 Haj season, meaning the pilgrimage-to-Mecca season observed by the Islamic faithful, ended on May 30-31 with both good and bad news for animals. The bad news, as ever, […]