The verdict may be more symbolic than substantial BOGOTA, Columbia––Did the Colombian Supreme Court really ban sport fishing on May 2, 2022, or is that just the biggest fish story coming out of Colombia this fishing season? Word of the Colombian Supreme Court ruling percolated north three days later with the headline “Colombia bans sports […]
Vultures circling overhead are good news for Planet Earth
Both black vultures & turkey vultures are rapidly expanding U.S. range and numbers Feeling down about global warming, chemical pollution, and reports about loss of species? See the vultures circling overhead? Both black vultures and turkey vultures are rapidly expanding in numbers and range across the U.S. Turkey vultures have even appeared in southeastern Alaska […]
Kathi Travers, 69, vehemently non-“animal rights” animal advocate
Legendary for deeds with ASPCA & WSPA, but worked nearly twice as long for the British Columbia SPCA in St. George PRINCE GEORGE, British Columbia, Canada––If Kathi Travers, 69, could still shout aloud, she might be shouting yet, more than six months later, about the first sentence of her Prince George Citizen obituary. Belatedly […]
Concern for rare birds of the Bahamas rises after Hurricane Dorian
Little chance yet to assess the losses––but the Abaco parrot almost certainly survived CAPE FEAR, North Carolina––Hurricane Dorian, downgraded to Category 2, with peak gust speed dropping by half to a still dangerous 110 miles per hour, killed five people as it pushed north past the Carolinas, but as of midnight on September 5, […]
Hurricane Dorian helps to solve the mystery of the extinct Abaco wild horses
But Dorian destroys remnants of a 50-year effort to save the herd TREASURE CAY, Little Abaco, Bahamas––“This is like listening to a cosmic version of Ravel’s Bolero. Feeling nervous about when the brass kicks in,” wrote would-be wild horse savior and local dog rescuer Milanne “Mimi” Rehor, in her last posting to Facebook before […]
Finches found in hair curlers: trafficked to sing, or to fight?
Singing said to be behind smuggling busts, but the money may be in fights among caged finches NEW YORK, N.Y.––Circumstantial evidence hints that some or perhaps all of a parade of men caught in the act of allegedly bootlegging Guyanese seed finches into the U.S., purportedly to sell for use in high-stakes singing contests, might […]
Cockfighters “win” from delay of hurricane aid to Puerto Rico
Frustration at lack of help fuels defense of cockfighting against U.S. federal “meddling” SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico––Puerto Rican cockfighters and politicians who boast of standing beside them may have been the only winners when U.S. Representative Chip Roy on May 24, 2019 blocked more than $900 million in disaster relief funding for victims of […]
Florida: Bashing the brains out of iguanas as alleged illegal aliens
Iguanas were in Florida first––by 16 million years FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida––Bashing or shooting the brains out of iguanas essentially for the hell of it would be illegal almost anywhere if done to pets. Braining iguanas in the name of research, however, brought University of Florida wildlife biologist and research coordinator Jenny Ketterlin and 14 […]
Death of Florida 6-year-old reminds that bat rabies can strike anywhere
Humans & bats evolved to live in frequent proximity, yet rarely meet. That keeps us both safe. ORLANDO, Florida––The January 14, 2018 death of Ryker Roque, 6, at the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, just 20 minutes from Disney World and half an hour from Walt Disney’s Wild Animal Kingdom, came as […]
Leptospirosis: when a rescue goes to rat piss
Five of 10 puppies transported from Puerto Rico to Vermont fell ill NORWICH, Vermont––Posted Surfin’ Sato founder Aimee Porcaro Goodwin to Facebook two days before Thanksgiving 2017, “We just got the lepto PCR test results for Ollie. NEGATIVE!!! I’m so thankful!!” The “all clear” for Ollie, a puppy from Puerto Rico whom Surfin’ Sato […]