Vaquita porpoises & a clouded jaguar seen alive, but Colombian environment minister wants to see feral hippos dead SAN FELIPE, Mexico; TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras; BOGOTA, Colombia––Recently reported good news about vaquita porpoises and jaguars, among the most endangered species in Latin America, was offset by the April 1, 2026 announcement by Colombian environment minister Irene Vélez […]
Ingrid Newkirk to Tracy Reiman: Is PETA changing the guard, or just the titles?
Founder Newkirk becomes PETA “principal,” succeeded by 35-year staffer Reiman NORFOLK, Virginia––People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals [PETA] founder Ingrid Newkirk, 76, on August 1, 2025 announced her retirement as president, after 45 years, naming as her successor longtime PETA executive vice president Tracy Reiman, 57. Reiman, a PETA employee since 1991, will now […]
Trump pardons Florida shark rescuers convicted in “prosecutorial overreach”
John Moore Jr. & Tanner Mansell released 19 hooked sharks & two goliath groupers WEST PALM BEACH, Florida––John Moore Jr., 59, and Tanner Mansell, 32, were on May 28, 2025 presidentially pardoned for committing shark rescue. Among the presidential record 1,600-odd pardons and commutations of criminal sentences issued by Donald Trump during his first four […]
The Dolphin Company & SeaQuest: sharing “encounters” & bankruptcy
The Dolphin Company is big, SeaQuest was small, but both are drowning PANAMA CITY BEACH, Florida––The Gulf World Marine Park, one of four Florida marine parks owned by the Mexican-based Dolphin Company, has reportedly denied access to Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission inspectors investigating recent dolphin deaths. Reported local television stations WJHG and WECP […]
Live markets torture animals & perhaps poison people in your city too
by Eric Mills, coordinator, Action for Animals, Oakland, California. The San Francisco Commission of Animal Care & Control met on February 13, 2025. On the agenda: animal cruelty in the city’s many live markets, presented by the Washington, D.C.-based organization, Animal Outlook, replete with videos of the abuses and violations. The involvement of Animal Outlook, […]
SeaQuest Woodbridge animals remain onsite after New Jersey impoundment
As many as 6,000 animals at other sites owned by the bankrupt SeaQuest interactive aquarium chain remain in limbo WOODBRIDGE, N.J.––A clue to the possible disposition of at least some of the estimated 7,500 animals left in limbo by the December 2024 application for Chapter 11 bankruptcy of SeaQuest Holdings LLC came in a January […]
SeaQuest bankruptcy leaves animals hanging in the scales of justice
Hearing ends without a ruling on disposition of assets, including animals, but sale to 4% owner is rejected (See also SeaQuest Woodbridge animals remain onsite after New Jersey impoundment.) BOISE, Idaho––The fate of anywhere from hundreds to thousands of animals surviving at the five remaining SeaQuest interactive aquariums still hangs in the scales of justice, […]
A goldfish “funeral for the ages.” The ASPCA & Fish Feel did not attend.
Where were animal advocates & fish advocates in particular during a four-month New York City “educable moment”? BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, Brooklyn, New York––“It was a goldfish funeral for the ages,” trumpeted the New York Daily News on October 26, 2024. “Creative Brooklynites who turned a broken piece of sidewalk surrounding a leaking fire hydrant into a tiny […]
Big fish, little fish, red fish, blue fish: hard times for aquariums
Hurricane damage, Animal Welfare Act fines, & bad publicity drive out even “Codfather” Vince Covino SARASOTA, Florida; MYSTIC, Connecticut; NIAGARA, Ontario––The Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium in Sarasota, Florida is plugging ahead with a $130 million upgrade and expansion of facilities scheduled to open before the site reaches 70 years of age in early 2025. […]
Richard Ellis, 86, & Wallace J. Nichols, 56, sought to save marine life
Surfers, divers, authors & scientists Marine biologist, author, and illustrator Richard Ellis, 86, an almost lifelong resident of New York City, died of cardiac arrest on May 21, 2024 at an assisted living facility in Norwood, New Jersey. Sea turtle researcher, Wildcoast conservation group cofounder, and author of the 2014 book Blue Mind Wallace […]