The Iranian people have never been hostile toward animals, but the Islamist government & the Revolutionary Guard are another matter TEHRAN, Iran; JERUSALEM, Israel––Animal advocates and rescuers on opposite sides of shooting between Iran and Israel report similar responses among the dogs and cats in their care since U.S. and Israeli forces jointly bombed targets […]
Burning urgency to find homes for displaced captive marine mammals
Even if no marine mammals are displaced by fire at the Yeisk Dolphinarium, hundreds from failing dolphinariums have nowhere to go YEISK, Russia; TARANTO, Italy; ANTIBES, France; NIAGARA FALLS, Ontario; MIAMI, Florida––A marine mammal population of unknown size, including Black Sea dolphins, a beluga whale, sea lions, and seals, reportedly survived a September 9, 2025 […]
Peepers are out for spring, but where are the voices for frogs & turtles?
California Department of Fish & Wildlife continues to ignore the advice of California Wildlife Commission to stop the import & sale of frogs & turtles at live markets OAKLAND, California––Why is Eric Mills of Action for Animals apparently the only California animal advocate mobilizing to put pressure on the California Wildlife Commission and Department of […]
318 missing small pets: San Diego Humane vs. HS of Southern Arizona
Did the reputations of two major humane societies go to rat poop or to snake poop? Inquiring minds & people who care about animals want to know. TUCSON, Arizona; SAN DIEGO, California––Humane Society of Southern Arizona board chair Robert Garcia in an October 5, 2023 pledged to “explain everything that we know as of October […]
Reptiles invade Canada––but not by their own choice
Inhospitable habitat, even if herps are kept indoors EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada––Reptile breeder John Makaryshyn, 31, was on May 10, 2022 hit with 37 charges under Canadian federal law and 89 counts of allegedly violating the Animal Protection Act of Alberta in connection with the deaths of 674 reptiles and amphibians whose remains were discovered […]
Will captive lions caught in wildfire light a fire under South African legislators?
Promised bill to ban breeding lions for cub-petting, trophy shoots, & bone commerce awaits introduction––and action BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa––Five months after South African minister of forestry, fisheries & the environment Barbara Creecy announced that she would pursue legislation to ban breeding captive lions for cub-petting, trophy shoots, and exports of lion bones for use […]
Florida regulators “put foot down” amid venomous snakes & alligators
Breeding green iguanas, pythons, & tegu lizards will be banned after 2024 TALLAHASSEE, Florida––Trying to lock the Florida swamps decades after green iguanas, pythons, tegu lizards, and countless other reptiles well-adapted to the habitat slithered in, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission on February 25, 2021 voted unanimously to add green iguanas, pythons, […]
Fur sales, wildlife acts, & hiding dog bite history banned in California
Fur-bearing animals & adopters of shelter/rescue dogs win protections SACRAMENTO, California––The new animal-related law in California that Governor Gavin Newsom and mass media said least about, to help protect Californians against recklessly rehomed dogs with bite history, may in the end become the most emulated among the raft of bills sent to Newsom’s desk […]
Florida: Bashing the brains out of iguanas as alleged illegal aliens
Iguanas were in Florida first––by 16 million years FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida––Bashing or shooting the brains out of iguanas essentially for the hell of it would be illegal almost anywhere if done to pets. Braining iguanas in the name of research, however, brought University of Florida wildlife biologist and research coordinator Jenny Ketterlin and 14 […]
Hurricane Irma: survival stories from 27 zoos & sanctuaries
No losses of zoo & sanctuary animals reported! (See also Hurricane Irma: first reports on animals in the Caribbean islands, Hurricane Irma: Hemingway cats & dolphin rescuer Rick Trout rode it out in the Keys , and Hurricane Irma: how wildlife endured) Current USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service licensing data indicates that at least 217 […]