Avanzino in 23 years at the San Francisco SPCA helped to create the “no kill movement,” but in 17 years as founding president of Maddie’s Fund tended to discredit the concept PLEASANTON, California––Maddie’s Fund on September 29, 2026––nine days after Richard Avanzino’s actual death, announced that “Rich Avanzino, affectionately and widely known as the father […]
Ed Duvin: “I saw the best minds of animal advocacy destroyed by madness”
The no-kill movement is not yet old enough to be suffering from advanced dementia This will be a different essay than I normally write, not carefully constructed and edited, but a stream of thoughts shared with fellow activists. Why? Issues that should elicit a sense of urgency in the movement, from the rising bloodshed by […]
L.A. Animal Services’ pays $31.85 million to victims of shelter dog attacks
The Los Angeles Animal Services payout for allowing dog attacks since allegedly achieving “no-kill” status in March 2021 could have bought 127,000 dog spays, preventing half a million puppy births LOS ANGELES––Los Angeles Animal Services, for the fourth time in as many years, will be shelling out a seven-figure settlement for injuries resulting from non-disclosure […]
Money down the drain: San Diego & L.A. cat-handling & dog attack cases
Donors & taxpayers could save multi-millions if agencies just obeyed laws LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK CITY, SAN DIEGO––The New York City-based American SPCA, with scant actual presence either in New York City or anywhere else, is catching a lot of online flak lately for paying ASPCA president Matt Bershadker upward of $1.2 million a year, […]
Marvin Mackie, 88, all but invented early-age & high-volume, low-cost s/n
Marvin Mackie, DVM, fixed more than 250,000 dogs & cats in 54-year veterinary career SAN PEDRO, California––W. Marvin Mackie, DVM, 88, remembered by United Spay Alliance cofounder Esther Mechler and much of the rest of the humane community as “a pioneer in the affordable spay/neuter movement, died on September 23, 2025. “He brought so much […]
Guinea pigs overwhelm Los Angeles, after San Diego & New York City
Hundreds of abandoned guinea pigs, but just a handful of rescuers struggle to cope LOS ANGELES, California––Three to four hundred abandoned guinea pigs could have been the “guinea pigs” for testing new ways of doing things at Los Angeles Animal Services. Most instead appeared likely, for several days, to come to even more miserable fates […]
Injunction vs. San Diego HS “return-to-field” cat practices made permanent
No more dumping kittens or cats with clear signs of ownership, orders judge SAN DIEGO, California––San Diego Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal on June 9, 2025 ended the long-running “cat control trial of the century” with a final ruling that the San Diego Humane Society has sufficiently amended how it handles cats found at […]
Best Friends Animal Society cofounder and former CEO Gregory Castle, 83
Gregory Castle was multi-talented & well-liked by all, but the Castle dynasty at Best Friends has been a disaster for dogs, cats, pit bull victims, spay/neuter funding, and reaching realistic no-kill goals KANAB, Utah––Best Friends Animal Society cofounder and former chief executive Gregory Castle, 83, on May 17, 2025 died suddenly from an embolism. “Born […]
Michigan DNR offers hope for an end to non-migratory Canada goose killing
Pressure from In Defense of Animals & United Poultry Concerns contributes to policy change LANSING, Michigan––Michigan Department of Natural Resources director Scott Bowen on May 9, 2025 “paused” scheduled massacres of “nuisance” non-migratory Canada geese, in favor of “alternative options for managing human-goose conflicts and health and safety concerns.” Possible translation: the Michigan Department of […]
Trump regime & labs at odds: where does monkey demand go from here?
FDA boss Makary says agency is “replacing animal testing,” but lab monkey suppliers are expanding full speed ahead WASHINGTON D.C., CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts––Guessing which way the monkey business goes from here amid Donald Trump administration budget cuts and policy moves may be riskier right now than trying to outguess the stock market. Laboratory demand for monkeys […]