Birds are Still Singing in Our Suburbs and Bella & Charlie Are Not the Problem, argue team from the University of Queensland KENMORE, Queensland, Australia––Two new studies from scientists associated with the Australian Pet Welfare Foundation and the University of Queensland challenge the notion that cat predation has much of anything to do with bird […]
Cats & dogs: how tigers, leopards, jaguars, & coyotes survive in suburbs
Dog & cat feeders unwittingly bait wild predators Cats hunt, dogs scavenge. When either dog or cat numbers drop, the other changes behavior MUMBAI, India; MAHAHUAL, Mexico; KATHAMANDU, Nepal; SAN FRANCISCO, California––Recent reports of tiger, jaguar, leopard, and coyote predation in human-dominated habitat come as reminders that the cat/dog relationship, even in the presence of […]
200 cats in Puerto Rico doomed by 20 years of cat-feeding in name of TNR
Fixing 66 cats in 2008 could have fixed the problem. Feeding stations put three times that many at risk. WASHINGTON D.C.––Pending possible further appeals, U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss on May 20, 2026 appears to have ended the Battle of the Cats at the historic El Morro castle in San Juan, Puerto Rico, […]
Hunting lobby Michigan United Conservation Clubs goes bust
Would culling the Michigan hunter population have prevented the collapse? LANSING, Michigan––Once reputedly the most influential state-level pro-hunting lobbying voice in the U.S., the Michigan United Conservation Clubs are “dissolving after almost 90 years because of ongoing financial struggles,” reported Dan Basso on May 6, 2026 for the Lansing State Journal. The fiscal collapse of […]
What if your cat could kill 10 billion insects?
Allegation that cats are an existential threat to bugs is multi-magnitudes even more exaggerated than allegations of cats’ threat to birds SÅO PAULO, Brazil––Somehow a Brazilian undergraduate paper purportedly portraying domestic cats as an existential threat to insect life managed to buzz around the world and the web for six months before coming to […]
In memoriam: Mark Bittner, Edward Hoagland, Anthony McAllister
Parrot man, writer, and activist Mark Bittner, 74, who died on March 1, 2026, and Edward Hoagland, 93, who died on February 17, 2026, were both known to millions and are remembered for their unique insights into animal and human relationships. Anthony McAllister, 36, killed in a March 22, 2026 motorcycle accident, was known mostly […]
Mowing down great birds, a guest column by Susan Russell
No wisdom, grace, or beauty in massacring either barred owls or mute swans [Susan Russell, wildlife policy director for the Animal Protection League, based in New Jersey, was formerly national vice president of Friends of Animals, in Darien, Connecticut, and a legislative liaison for the Animal Welfare Institute, in Washington D.C.] Wildlife agencies captured by […]
Brigitte Bardot, 91, movie star for 20 years, animal advocate for 52 years
Brigitte Bardot: provocative on film, but even more provocative for animals, for more than twice as long PARIS, France––Brigitte Bardot, 91, a fashion model for four years, a film actress for 20 years, and a full-time animal advocate for the last 52 years of her life, died on December 28, 2025 of undisclosed causes at […]
A Tale of Two Species, the Mute Swan & the Trumpeter Swan
by Arlene Steinberg I have worked on mute swans issues for the last 20 years. Let me tell you the truth about the history and politics of the mute swans. Most people are completely unaware of the facts behind the persecution in the United States of the mute swan, the swan with the articulated, curved […]
California starts open season on mute swans, who will be “sitting ducks”
Shooting mute swans may be a little harder than shooting fish in a barrel, but not much SACRAMENTO, California––Open season on mute swans begins in California for five years, at least, on January 1, 2026. A bill establishing the open season was introduced by California state assembly member Jeff Gonzalez, a Republican from Indio, a […]