“Do you have the ability to freeze off a bunch of guinea pigs and/or rabbits?” TUCSON, Arizona––A copy of a text message forwarded to KVOA News 4 chief investigator Chorus Nylander clarifies the probable fate of more than 300 missing guinea pigs, rabbits, and other small mammals who were transferred on August 7, 2023 from […]
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 […]
Would Moses have practiced Kaporos? Did Jesus handle snakes?
Israel discourages Kaporos. U.S. authorities ignore it. Many U.S. Jews protest against it. TEL AVIV, Israel; New York City, N.Y.––Compared to the slaughter of 25 million factory-farmed chickens per day for human consumption, the annual sacrificial killing of 50,000 to 100,000 by the estimated 130,000 Hassidic Jewish households worldwide in the practice of Kaporos scarcely […]
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, […]
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 […]
Reptile diversity study findings are less scary than a snake in your boot
Mainstream reportage focused on the bad news, but reptiles remain likely to outlive us WASHINGTON D.C.––All dinosaurs except birds, all ichthyosaurs, and all pterosaurs are confirmed extinct. Dragons, griffins, and Godzilla are alive and well in human imagination, the only habitat they ever actually occupied. Among the other 10,196 reptile species for whom population and […]
What Wildlife Services did not say about the newly released 2021 body count
Only 4% of the toll of 1.76 million animals were “livestock predators,” but 44% were “invasive” starlings RIVERDALE, Maryland––Released on March 22, 2022, the USDA Wildlife Services program activity report for 2021 tells a different story from the sunny spin put on it by the accompanying media release from USDA Animal & Plant Health […]
Save Animals Initiative cofounder Anil Malhotra, 80
Anil & Pamela Gale Malhotra created reputedly the largest non-governmentally managed wildlife sanctuary in India Anil Malhotra, 80, died on November 22, 2021 at the SAI (Save Animals Initiative) Sanctuary he and his wife Pamela Gale Malhotra cofounded in 1991 at Theralu Village & Post, South Kodagu, Karnataka state, India. Posted Pamela Gale Malhotra to […]
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, […]