Transformed sleepy Scottish Anti-Vivisection Society into butt-kicking Animal Concern DUMBARTON, Scotland––John Frederick Robins, 64, probably the most colorful and dynamic animal advocate in Scottish history, despite his self-conferred title “The Eejit,” has announced his impending retirement after 41 years of directing pro-animal campaigns initially for Friends of the Earth, but chiefly as campaigns manager and […]
Behind the veil: live animal shipping & the Islamic New Year
Why what goes on quietly matters more than public slaughter after Ramadan JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia; GRAHAMSTOWN, South Africa––Tonight, August 9, 2021, nearly two billion Muslims worldwide will quietly celebrate Hijri 1443, the Islamic New Year, marking 1,443 years since Muhammed led his disciples from Mecca to Medina in 622 Anno Domini on the Christian calendar. […]
Eaglet & redtail sacrifice: ancient defense against cannibal raiders
Cruel practice is remnant of crueler history FLAGSTAFF, Arizona––As many as 40 newly hatched golden eagles and at least as many fledgling redtailed hawks may be stolen by Hopi warriors from nests within the Wupatki National Monument north of Flagstaff this spring, as in every spring of the 21st century, for eventual use in sacrifices originating out […]
The Origins & Spread of Domestic Animals in Southwest Asia & Europe
Reviewed by Jim Mason Edited by Sue Colledge, James Conolly, Keith Dobney, Katie Manning, and Stephen Shennan Routledge, 2013, https://www.routledge.com/. 354 pages hardcover, also available in paperback and Kindle formats. This book is an academic work, a collection of recent writings by zooarchologists (or archeozoologists) on the origins of animal domestication in the prehistoric Middle […]
New Zealand ends live sheep & cattle exports by sea––two years from now
Export directly to slaughter banned since 2008 WELLINGTON, NZ––New Zealand agriculture minister Damien O’Connor on April 14, 2021 announced a permanent halt to live animal exports by sea, effective in 2023. O’Connor, though his announcement was not a complete surprise, left New Zealand agribusiness, the international animal welfare community, and rival nations in the […]
Australian sheep export to Bahrain meets “bloody & miserable end” in Pakistan
22,000 sheep culled in secret KARACHI, Pakistan––The Livestock Department of the state government of Sindh, Pakistan on October 20, 2012 killed the last of 22,000 sheep who were shipped from Fremantle, Australia to Bahrain on August 4, 2012 aboard the Wellard Rural Exports transporter Ocean Drover, Malir district deputy commissioner Kazi Jan Muhammad told Ghulam […]
Sheep & cattle stranded at sea by Suez Canal blockage are moving again
3,000-year-old livestock shipping route opened by Pharoahs is unblocked ISMAILIA, Egypt––Tens of thousands of sheep, cattle, and other live animals stranded for up to six days aboard more than 20 transport vessels are moving again through the Suez Canal, as of March 29, 2021. Egyptian Lieutenant General Osama Rabei, heading the Suez Canal Authority, […]
Wisconsin hunters overkill the wolf bag limit by half in just 72 hours
But Spain, with twice as many wolves in about the same amount of habitat, puts wolves off limits to hunters MADISON, Wisconsin; MADRID, Spain––Wisconsin hunters and trappers killed 216 wolves in under 72 hours during the last week of February 2021, 97 more than the “management target” of 119, obliging the state Department of […]
Ethiopian woman who saved rare Italian goat breed is raped, killed
“Happy Goat” farmer/sanctuarian Agitu Ideo Gudeta, 42, was reportedly killed by Ghanian she gave a job VALLE dei MOCHENI, Trentino, Italy––Goat herder Adams Suleimani, 32, an immigrant to Italy from Ghana, has reportedly confessed to raping Happy Goat [La Capra Felice] farmer/sanctuarian and cheesemaker Agitu Ideo Gudeta, 42, and bludgeoning her to death with a hammer, […]
Mountain goat massacre begins in Grand Tetons
Shaky science may doom mountain goats in their own habitat JACKSON, Wyoming––The northern and western slopes of the Cathedral Mountains in Grand Teton National Park were on January 5, 2020 closed to the public to allow air gunners flown by Baker Aircraft of Baker City, Oregon, to massacre as many as 100 mountain goats […]