Animals 24-7

News on dogs, cats, horses, wildlife, zoonoses, & nature

Dying tule elk need water now diverted to cattle; can lawyers save them?

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Cattle ranching at Point Reyes National Seashore was to end by 1987,  but now 10 times more cattle crowd the habitat than before the land was “protected”             POINT REYES, California––The remains of at least 18 endangered tule elk at drought-parched Point Reyes National Seashore in Marin County,  California,  38 miles north of San Francisco,  attest […]

Hunter gets 7 to 20 years for killing teen he mistook for a groundhog

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Rare stiff sentence for “hunting accident”             DOYLESTOWN, Pennsylvania––Kenneth Troy Heller,  52,  of Warminster Township,  Pennsylvania,  was on July 7,  2021 sentenced to serve from seven to 20 years in prison for a so-called “hunting accident” that on October 24,  2020 killed 18-year-old Jason Kutt at Nockamixon State Park,  Bucks County. The unusually stiff sentence […]

South Africa debates end to “canned lion” industry & ivory sales

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“High-Level Panel Report on Lions, Rhinos, Elephants & Leopards” recommends turnabout in national wildlife policy             JOHANNESBURG, South Africa––A South African government wildlife policy study recommends an end to breeding captive lions for cub-petting, trophy shoots of captive-bred and raised lions,  and exports of lion bones for use in traditional Chinese medicine. The paper also […]

U.K. “animal sentience” law: “victory” claimed before the fight begins

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Recognizing animal sentience is part of an “Action Plan for Animal Welfare” yet to be written into draft bills,  let alone passed by Parliament LONDON, U.K.––A week-plus after the Conservative government of the United Kingdom introduced an “Action Plan for Animal Welfare,”  much of the animal welfare sector worldwide has already declared “victory,”  with the […]

Hunters & birders get boost under Biden

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Biden administration claims credit for unprecedented expansion of hunter access to National Wildlife Refuges initiated under Trump WASHINGTON D.C.––Why would the Joe Biden administration want to claim credit for one of the most odious actions of the Donald Trump administration pertaining to animals and habitat? Specifically,  the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service under Biden appointee […]

Wolves,  bison,  grizzly bears,  and pumas: Montana moving backward

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Big wildlife persecuted as surrogates for change             HELENA, Montana––Wolves,  bison,  grizzly bears,  and pumas scare the staunchly Republican ranching,  hunting,  logging,  oil,  gas,  and mining establishments of Montana,  but what scares them the most appears to be the prospect of becoming more like Colorado and New Mexico,  where Democratic-leaning Hispanic and Native American voters […]

Did Chinese zoos buy 170 Namibian elephants sold at secret auction?

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Namibian officials say disclosing purchasers might jeopardize the deal             WINDHOEK, Namibia––Who bought 170 elephants,  auctioned off by the Namibian government against international law,  despite months of protest? Suspicion is growing that Namibia will not disclose the elephants’ buyers until the elephants have already been flown to their destinations,  probably Chinese zoos,  the buyers of […]

“Conserving” rhinos to the brink of extinction

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Zoo births one rhino,  scientists make five rhino embryos,  trophy hunters buy rights to shoot dozens,  & poachers kill 1,000-plus per year DUBBO, Australia;  BERLIN, Germany––The Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo,  Australia,  on March 1,  2021 informed media that it “is celebrating the birth of a critically endangered black rhino calf.” Born to a four-time […]

Wisconsin hunters overkill the wolf bag limit by half in just 72 hours

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But Spain,  with twice as many wolves in about the same amount of habitat,  puts wolves off limits to hunters             MADISON, Wisconsin;  MADRID,  Spain––Wisconsin hunters and trappers killed 216 wolves in under 72 hours during the last week of February 2021,  97 more than the “management target” of 119,  obliging the state Department of […]

Murder along the equator: seven die defending parrots & gorillas

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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 […]