But Trump Jr., though not charged with poaching, may be an idol of other bear poachers "No one in this world, so far as I know,” observed journalist H. L. Mencken (1880-1956), “has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people.” For that reason, … [Read More...]
4th Cane Corso attack at U.K. farm kills child; cops probe own weak past response
Survivors warned that next incident could be fatal MANCHESTER, United Kingdom––Greater Manchester police are reportedly investigating themselves after alleged weak response to three previous dog attacks on passers-by led up to the May 15, 2022 fatal mauling of three-year-old Daniel John … [Read More...]
Bird flu means “cage free” & “free range” hens can run around indoors in the dark
"Cage free" & "free range" producers protect their "girls" by keeping them in jail Think that “cage-free” or “free-range” label on a box of eggs or meat package amounts to more than bull-feathers? Even if it is certified by any of the major farmed product certification organizations? Amid … [Read More...]
Bali: rabies is back. Vaccines can stop it. Killing dogs cannot. Will officials listen?
The time to vaccinate is now, ahead of recovering tourism & ahead of panic BALI, Indonesia––Tourism to Bali is back, rebounding from a two-year bout with COVID-19, but resurgent canine rabies may menace the Balinese economic recovery. That can practically be guaranteed if the Bali government repeats past mistakes, trying to kill rabies by killing dogs, instead of vaccinating … [Read More...]
Yes, the Colombian Supreme Court banned sport fishing. What does that mean?
The verdict may be more symbolic than substantial BOGOTA, Columbia––Did the Colombian Supreme Court really ban sport fishing on May 2, 2022, or is that just the biggest fish story coming out of Colombia this fishing season? Word of the Colombian Supreme Court ruling percolated north three days later with the headline “Colombia bans sports fishing citing animal cruelty,” above a detailed … [Read More...]
Life-or-death difference: rabies-infected, or rabies-suspected?
Verifying alleged outbreaks is critical to effective control & prevention TABANAN Regency, Bali, Indonesia––Rabies-infected, or rabies-suspected? That is the question that Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases moderator Arnon Shimshony and Shamsudeen Fagbo, a leading Saudi-based One Health and animal rights advocate, took up in mid-May 2022, responding to recurring … [Read More...]
Rottweiler killing of seven-year-old brings murder charges in Virginia
Rottweiler raised from puppy by man who called himself "Nitemare" WAYNESBORO, Virginia––Waynesboro, Virginia police officers and Augusta County Sheriff’s deputies on May 13, 2022 arrested the parents and grandparents of seven-year-old Olivia Grace Floyd, killed by a four-year-old family Rottweiler named Ranger on January 29, 2022. The Rottweiler, acquired by adoptive grandfather Stephen … [Read More...]
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 after a house fire on November … [Read More...]
Russian war on Ukraine kills dolphins, but fishing kills more
The Black Sea was hard habitat for dolphins even before the shooting started ISTANBUL, Turkey––That war kills animals as well as humans is scarcely in doubt, but whether war is worse than peace for Black Sea dolphins may be disputed. Nearly three months after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 2022, evidence is surfacing along the coasts of Turkey and Bulgaria that war––predictably––is … [Read More...]
Cockfighters cut deals & hack reporting doesn’t cut it in Kentucky
Bill Estep of the Lexington Herald Leader is unapologetic about crediting wrong two groups with roles in busts; does not name the right two LEXINGTON, Kentucky––Cockfighting cases usually result in plea-bargained sentences. Few people, if any, might therefore have been surprised when alleged cockfighters Rickie D. Johnson, 55, and Hiram B. Creech Jr., 47, pleaded guilty on … [Read More...]
Who will look after tigers, wolves, birds & horses as sanctuarians age?
Longhopes Donkey Shelter founder Kathy Dean raises questions that many refuse to face BENNETT, Colorado––From her Longhopes Donkey Shelter, located in the foothills just east of Aurora and Denver, Kathy Dean has seen fellow sanctuarians come and go for long enough to be looking ahead, something most never seem to do. An ANIMALS 24-7 reader from our first beginnings, Dean has read in depth … [Read More...]
“Trapping defender” Proulx explains why all fur trapping is cruel
Mammal Trapping, Wildlife Management, Animal Welfare & International Standards Edited by Gilbert Proulx Alpha Wildlife Research & Management Ltd. 287 pages. Free download from: https://cwbm.ca/product/mammal-trapping-e-book/ Reviewed by Merritt Clifton Wildlife biologist Gilbert Proulx, 68, of Sherwood Park, Alberta, may know more about the technology of trapping animals … [Read More...]
Vultures circling overhead are good news for Planet Earth
Both black vultures & turkey vultures are rapidly expanding U.S. range and numbers Feeling down about global warming, chemical pollution, and reports about loss of species? See the vultures circling overhead? Both black vultures and turkey vultures are rapidly expanding in numbers and range across the U.S. Turkey vultures have even appeared in southeastern Alaska in early 2022, … [Read More...]
“Birds Aren’t Real” ––if only those in poultry barns were not
The good news is, vegan food technology means the birds on the menu need not be real MEMPHIS, Tennessee––The avian advocacy world is still aflutter, a week after CBS News 60 Minutes reporter Sharyn Alfonsi extensively exposed the “Birds Aren't Real” hoax conspiracy theory orchestrated from Memphis by 24-year-old University of Arkansas dropout and former psychology major Peter … [Read More...]
Sustainability: salmon taste, texture, odor replicated by pond scum
And the pond scum will be healthier than salmon for you & Planet Earth HERZELIA, IsraeI; BATON ROUGE, Louisiana; WASHINGTON D.C.––Far from the longtime hubs of the salmon industry, along the coasts of the North Sea and the Pacific Northwest, the future of both canned and fresh salmon may be determined by desert greenhouses north of Tel Aviv, Israel, and U.S. federal courts … [Read More...]
Pit bull hoarder Heidi Lueders jailed; bad day at Black Rock Canines
Ex-Bully Breed Rescue president sentenced; cop charged who ran police & military dog training center BRIDGEPORT, Connecticut––One high-profile Connecticut mass cruelty case involving high-risk “status dogs” ended on May 4, 2022––pending appeals––just as another began, 20 miles north. The permanent status of five former Bully Breed Rescue pit bulls is dead. Likewise for at least four … [Read More...]
How “Napalm the dog” protests funded the “Animal Revolution”
Without Kent State, would there have been an animal rights movement? KENT, Ohio––The shots fired by National Guard members into demonstrators against the Vietnam War at Kent State University on May 4, 1970 were in a sense the first shots fired in what British historian Richard Ryder would call, 30 years later, the Animal Revolution, in the title of his 2000 book subtitled … [Read More...]
U.K. Dangerous Dogs Act exempts the two breeds most likely to kill
Two-year-old & 17-month-old are two latest victims of legal omission WORCESTERSHIRE, United Kingdom––A pre-inquest review of the March 28, 2022 fatal Rottweiler mauling of two-year-old Lawson Bond, now set for August 31, 2022 in Stourport, is likely to investigate every aspect of Bond’s death except the obvious: that the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, supposed to protect the British public … [Read More...]
Birds, bees, broiling heat, & adding insect parts to food on purpose
The bees-at-the-airport disaster story went global––but mass media missed the biggest issues KENAI, Alaska––More than 300 Alaskan beekeepers, most of them fruit and vegetable farmers, without native honey bees to pollinate introduced food crops, on April 23, 2022 expected to receive two million bees from Sacramento to help start their short growing season. Soldotna beekeeper … [Read More...]
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 habitat … [Read More...]