High pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 hits in unexpected places around the globe GALAPAGOS ISLANDS, Ecuador; PUGET SOUND, Washington; DES MOINES, Iowa––Beyond the birding world, and only the small segment of that who pay attention to avian diseases, hardly anyone noticed the “canary in the coal mine” when on September 20, 2023 the Galapagos National Park […]
Jail break for Colombian owl monkeys; hippos remain on the lam
Arbitrarily assigned conservation status protects owl monkeys, but designates hippos Public Enemy Numero Uno. CALI, Colombia––What a difference 15 million years makes! The most distant ancestors of Colombian owl monkeys, a subspecies of night monkey, are believed to have floated across the then much narrower South Atlantic ocean circa 30 million years ago on logs […]
“Flesh & blood scattered everywhere”: Dog Bite Prevention Week 2023
Five fatalities, the most in a week this year LANSING, Michigan––Dog Bite Prevention Week 2023 ended with the most fatal dog attacks of any week this year, capped by one in Lansing, Michigan, described by Sheyenne Tinges, 22, in an appeal to the Lansing State Journal page on Facebook for “any recommendations for biohazard remediation/crime […]
Dogo Argentinos running at large kill 80-year-old woman out for a walk
Supersized pit bull variant bred to kill BALDY MESA, California––Soon Han, 80, picked wind-swept and barren Baldy Mesa as her hill to live on. Having lived through World War II and the Korean War, Soon Han was out for her morning walk at about 11:00 a.m. on October 7, 2022 when two Dogo Argentinos running […]
Yes, the Colombian Supreme Court banned sport fishing. What does that mean?
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 […]
Good days in court for chickens, gamecocks, Wisconsin wolves, & feral hippos
Decisions may mean better days for animals, but use & exploitation industries will fight back ROCHESTER, N.Y.; WASHINGTON D.C.; MADISON, Wisconsin; CINCINNATI, Ohio––A flurry of mid-October 2021 court decisions brought good news for plaintiffs against the poultry slaughter industry, cockfighting in Puerto Rico, wolf hunting in Wisconsin, and hippopotamus culling in Colombia. Probably the most […]
Parents try to raise children safely; pit bulls et al have other ideas
Mourning on Valentine’s Day Having taken to heart the pit bull advocacy claim that “It’s all in how you raise them,” young people in at least eight communities scattered among Argentina, Britain, and the U.S. spent Valentine’s Day 2021 in shock and mourning after eight pit bulls, a Dogo Argentino mix, and a Rottweiler unexpectedly […]
Murder along the equator: seven die defending parrots & gorillas
Colombian and Congolese wildlife guardians were ambushed RONCESVALLES, Colombia; VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK, Democratic Republic of Congo––Simultaneous sad reminders of the human cost of wildlife conservation came on January 10, 2021 from the Reserva Loros Andinos in southwestern Colombia and Virunga National Park in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The Reserva Loros Andinos and Virunga […]
Dolphin death incidents illustrate why ANIMALS 24-7 exists
Finding the truth amid emotive incidents “What Have We Done to the Whale?” headlined the August 17, 2020 online edition of The New Yorker. Added the subhead, “The creatures once symbolized our efforts to save the planet; now they demonstrate all the ways we have devastated it.” The hand-wringing essay by Amia Srinivasan that followed also appeared […]
Lost in translation: “personhood” verdict reportedly won for elephant
Transfer-of-goods tax ruling followed precedent for nonprofit transactions CHAPADA DOS GUIMARÅES, Mato Grosso, Brazil––The retired Asian elephant Ramba, 52, arrived late on October 18, 2019 at the Santuário de Elefantes do Brasil, or Elephant Sanctuary Brazil, after a 73-hour journey from Chile. The transaction was completed after the elephant […]