Wrestling star turned zookeeper Al Oeming, 88, died on March 17, 2014 in Edmonton, Alberta, from complications of heart surgery. Born in Edmonton, Oeming and his boyhood neighbor Stu Hart served together in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II, then became professional wrestlers in Harlem, New York, in the National Wrestling Alliance, ancestral […]
Nellie, dolphin, lived 61 years at Marineland of Florida
Nellie became the oldest captive-born cetacean on record Nellie, 61, a bottlenose dolphin whose life spanned most of the history of performing dolphins in captivity, died on May 4, 2014 at Marineland of Florida, her home since she was born there on February 27, 1953. The seventh dolphin born at Marineland of Florida, and the […]
Farley Mowat, 92, author of Never Cry Wolf, A Whale for the Killing, and Sea of Slaughter
Farley McGill Mowat, 92, collapsed and died on May 6, 2014 at his longtime home in Port Hope, Ontario, six days short of his 93rd birthday. Possibly the most widely read Canadian author ever, Mowat produced more than 40 books, mostly with pro-animal themes, which sold more than 17 million copies and were translated into […]
Remembering Ed Blotzer, 1924-2002
Showing Animals Respect & Kindness posts tribute Showing Animals Respect & Kindness on April 29, 2014 published a YouTube “Tribute to Ed Blotzer,” featuring two video clips showing the late longtime volunteer humane officer on the job in 1988 and 1989. The clips demonstrate how Blotzer used a neatly uniformed appearance, professional demeanor, and emphasis […]
Elephant Family founder Mark Shand, 62
Mark Shand, 62, died on April 23, 2014 from a head injury suffered in a fall when he reportedly tried to re-enter a New York City bar through a revolving door, after smoking a cigarette outside. Shand, the younger brother of British Prince Charles’ wife Camilla Parker Bowles, was author of the 1992 British […]
Anne Doncaster, 76, founder or cofounder of four noted animal advocacy organizations
Anne Doncaster, 76, founder or cofounder of four noted animal advocacy organizations, died of cancer on April 19, 2014 in Toronto, Ontario. Born Anne Procter, in 1962 she married former Mississauga Board of Trade president David Doncaster, who survives her, and raised three daughters before becoming involved in animal advocacy. Recalled Mississauga.com, “Anne Doncaster attended […]
Wildlife in America author Peter Matthiessen, 86
Saw CIA job as “free trip to Paris” Peter Matthiessen, 86, died on April 5, 2014 at his home in Sagaponack, New York, after a year-long struggle with leukemia. Raised in Manhattan, in the same building as another later famous author, George Plimpton, who was two months older, Matthiessen served in the U.S. Navy as […]
Alleged Sariska tiger poacher Sansar Chand, 56, dies of cancer
Imprisoned since 2005 JAIPUR, India––Sansar Chand, 56, on March 18, 2014 died of cancer at the Sawai Man Singh Hospital in Jaipur. Chand, who spent his life mostly in New Delhi, was scheduled to attend a hearing that day on charges pertaining to his role in poaching tigers out of Sariska National Park in 2004. The […]
Virginia Handley, longtime California animal lobbyist, dies at 68
Was also involved in performing arts Virginia Handley, 68, was on March 20, 2014 found dead by a neighbor at her home in El Sobrante, California. Handley apparently died from natural causes. A second-generation animal advocate, Virginia Handley and her mother Grace Handley cofounded the San Francisco-based Animal Switchboard information hotline in 1970, assisted by […]
Petco Foundation founding director Paul Jolly, 57
Long struggle with Lou Gehrig’s disease Paul E. Jolly, 57, died in his sleep on March 8, 2014 after a long struggle with Lou Gehrig’s disease. A 35-year employee of the Petco pet supply chain, Jolly in 1999 became founding executive director of the Petco Foundation. Under Jolly the Petco […]