First, don’t go bugs by Merritt Clifton For years I was the fellow whom people would call for help when they had problems with bees and closely related species. I never had much trouble handling bees, wasps, or hornets, but even though handling them may not be hard, there is not any one simple answer […]
Karen Davis, Ph.D., United Poultry Concerns founder, dead at 79
Karen Davis was a frequent ANIMALS 24-7 guest columnist & commentator MACHIPONGO, Virginia––United Poultry Concerns founder Karen Davis, or Karen Davis, PhD., as she always signed her writings, “passed away peacefully on the morning of November 4, 2023 at the United Poultry Concerns sanctuary, surrounded by her beloved birds,” the organization announced, pledging to “continue […]
Cold Canyon Fire Journals speak to war, global warming, resilience of life
The Cold Canyon Fire Journals: Green Shoots & Silver Linings in the Ashes Written & illustrated by Robin Lee Carlson 288 pages, including more than 100 original watercolor illustrations. $20.00 paperback; $14.99 Kindle. 2022, HeydayBooks.com An inevitable consequence of the warfare now raging along the Israel/Gaza are wildfires. “There was a forest fire not […]
Why we don’t suggest eating bugs instead of beef, pork, chicken, & fish
Insects may be sentient, but sentience is not the most realistic reason to not eat them LAUSANNE, Switzerland––Probably most of us in the English-speaking world, when very small and still unduly trusting, heard someone say “Open your mouth and shut your eyes, and I’ll give you something to make you wise,” did so, and had […]
Why no buzz about Charles Henry Turner, even in Black History Month?
Turner had no laboratory & no lab animals for most of his career, but proved Charles Darwin was right about animal sentience CINCINNATI, Ohio––Why is there still no buzz about pioneering animal intelligence researcher Charles Henry Turner’s discoveries, even in Black History Month? 100 years after Turner died, on Valentine’s Day 1923, at only 56 […]
Shocking deaths: Karly Cantrell, Andrea Kelly, Marty Martin, Sarah Schmidt
Shelter director, veterinarian, herpetologist, lepidopterist Sharing concern for animals and dedication to helping animals in a variety of ways, Karly Cantrell, Andrea Kelly, William H. “Marty” Martin, and Sarah Schmidt also shared recent shocking deaths. Two died by murders, one by her own hand, and one apparently through simple bad luck. Karly Cantrell Karly Cantrell, […]
Cats, mice, & even octopi sacrificed to false gods of conservation
E.O. Wilson sidekick Thomas Lovejoy contributed to rationales for massacring some animals to save others Thomas Eugene Lovejoy III, 80, on December 25, 2021 quietly died from pancreatic cancer in McLean, Virginia, just 24 hours before the death of E.O. Wilson, 92, in Burlington, Massachusetts. (See E.O. Wilson, counter-evolutionary “evolutionary biologist,” dies at 92.) […]
E.O. Wilson, counter-evolutionary “evolutionary biologist,” dies at 92
E.O. Wilson considered himself the Charles Darwin of our time, but contradicted many basic Darwinian precepts Edward Osborne Wilson, 92, better known as E.O. Wilson, died on December 26, 2021 in Burlington, Massachusetts, 16 miles north of Cambridge, where he was for 46 years a star member of the Harvard University biology faculty. Wilson was perhaps […]
Hotter climate makes “no-see-ums” a global threat to horned, hoofed animals
Bighorn sheep, deer, goats & cattle are among vulnerable species OKANAGAN, B.C.; BISMARCK, N.D.; ALBANY, N.Y.; MADRID, Spain; LISBON, Portugal––Hardly anyone saw “no-see-ums” coming as one of the most ubiquitous and insidious effects on animals due to global warming. Indeed, hardly anyone saw “no-see-ums” coming even before global warming began visibly disrupting climate and […]
“Asian murder hornet”: surrogate for COVID-19 terror
Or, how two “great sparrow bees” incited a national hunt for alleged Chinese alien invaders BLAINE, Washington––How did the Asian giant hornet, known for centuries in Japan as the “great sparrow bee,” generally regarded as beneficial to farmers for killing insect pests, suddenly become feared in the U.S. as the so-called “murder hornet”? After […]