600 million stray dogs would eat it, & it would not need FDA approval POMPANO BEACH, Florida––Asked a former major financial backer of 600 Million Stray Dogs Need You, upon receiving founder Alex Pacheco 2021 “summer fundraising drive” appeal for more money with which to develop a spay-and-neuter cookie, “I wonder if he’s tested popcorn? […]
“Return to Field” from an animal care & control perspective
by Dawn D. Danielson, RVT, former director, County of San Diego Animal Services The subject of intake, holding and release of cats into the community from which they were brought to a shelter is becoming an emotionally charged debate over, among other things, the lawfulness of programs operating under such names as “community cats,” “return […]
San Diego showdown: trap-neuter-return advocates sue vs. return-to-field
Court case hinges on the difference between a truly feral cat and a tame, friendly cat found at large SAN DIEGO, California—A lawsuit brought against the San Diego Humane Society & SPCA by the Southern California animal rescue charities Pet Assistance Foundation and Paw Protectors seeks to establish, for the first time, a clear legal […]
Navajo Nation: “They hid the dogs who killed my daughter!”
Pit bull proliferation––and dog attack fatality rate 100 times that of the U.S. as a whole FORT DEFIANCE, Navajo Nation–– “They hid the dogs that attacked and killed my daughter from animal control” Marissa “Ris” Rose Jones posted to Facebook. “What is wrong with these people?” Jones helplessly asked. Jones’ daughter, Lyssa Rose Upshaw, […]
Remembering Rory Young, Glenn Summerlin, & Helen Marston
Soldier, fundraiser, & campaigner: three animal advocates whose work & approaches could scarcely have differed more Rory Young, 49, founder of the anti-poaching organization Chengeta Wildlife, was killed on April 26, 2021, along with Spanish journalist David Beriáin, 44, and photographer Roberto Fraile, 47, in an ambush in Burkina Faso attributed to the jihadist militia […]
TNR boomed before COVID-19 hit, Alley Cat Rescue survey shows
Feral cat sterilizations were up 23% in seven years; what is happening now? MOUNT RANIER, Maryland––Feral cat control by trap-neuter-return [TNR] was accomplishing more than ever before through 2019, including a 23% increase in the numbers of cats sterilized over the annual average in 2012, suggests newly released data from the Alley Cat Rescue […]
Cat killer “Doctor Quack” paid well by East Bay Regional Park District
Shotgun-wielding biologist took home $182,951, left dead cats in dumpsters OAKLAND, California––East Bay Regional Park District biologist David “Doctor Quack” Riensche may have been paid more per feral cat he allegedly killed than the $3,000 that “Joe Exotic” paid to Frank Allen Glover in his foiled plot to murder Big Cat Rescue founder Carole […]
In Defense of Animals founder Elliot Katz dies at 86
Animal rights movement pioneer SAN RAFAEL, California–– In Defense of Animals founder Elliot Katz, DVM, “died peacefully on March 24th at the age of 86,” the organization announced via Facebook on April 9, 2021, after word of Katz’s death had percolated through the animal advocacy community for several days. “Dr. Katz was a trailblazer […]
Los Angeles Animal Services chief Brenda Barnette to retire in May 2021
Took L.A. to “no kill” at cost of soaring pit bull attacks LOS ANGELES, California––Brenda Barnette, the third-longest-serving general manager of Los Angeles Animal Services since World War II, has announced her retirement, effective in mid-May 2021. The City of Los Angeles has officially not yet begun what is expected to become a nationwide […]
Increasing the survival rates of kittens
by Nancy Peterson & the National Kitten Coalition (with some kibbitzing from ANIMALS 24-7) Five years ago––six years ago in July 2021––I retired after 18 years as first and still only national cat program manager for the Humane Society of the United States. Having a national and even sometimes international platform to help animals, especially […]