Uncategorized /
Polar Bears Listed as Threatened, but Still on Thin Ice
Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced yesterday that the polar bear would be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, ending months of speculation over the fate of this proposed listing.
Talk Back /
Talk Back: Questions and Comments
Today I’d like to post a few comments that have come into the blog, and answer a couple questions as well.
In response to the problem of crippled cows at livestock auctions:
Uncategorized /
NRA is the Poacher's Best Friend
When the NRA walks the halls of the U.S. Congress these days, it may stand for “No Rational Argument.”
Uncategorized /
Crippled Cows Need Protection at Every Step of their Journey
The Humane Society of the United States yesterday released the next wave of its groundbreaking investigation into rampant mistreatment of sick and crippled cows. Last time, the downed animals were tormented and processed at a California slaughter plant for the National School Lunch Program.
Uncategorized /
Hunting Industry Group Sets its Sights on Pets
The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance takes aim at animals when they’re most vulnerable. Polar bears in the Arctic, as their ice floes are vanishing, body weights are declining, and populations are dwindling. Mourning doves in states where they’ve been protected for decades as backyard songbirds, still nursing their young during September target practice. Endangered antelope stocked in fenced pens for captive trophy hunts, where they have neither the opportunity nor the inclination to escape.
Uncategorized /
Play Misty for Me
The nationally syndicated comic strip MUTTS is read in more than 700 newspapers, and fans know that artist Patrick McDonnell turns his attention not only to humor, but also to the cruelties and challenges that face animals. He regularly features the stories of animals in shelters, and his new hardcover book, “Shelter Stories: Love. Guaranteed.,” celebrates these pets and the people who’ve rescued them.
Ballot Measures /
A Perfect Storm for Farm Animals
It’s been an exciting week for farm animal protection in America. On Sunday, more than one thousand animal advocates in 43 states gathered at our Party Animals events around the country to rally for laws to protect animals from the worst abuses of industrial factory farming.
Uncategorized /
State Lawmakers Horsing Around
When legislators want to duck an issue, they often say it’s outside their jurisdiction. Federal lawmakers tell you to deal with the states, and their state counterparts tell you to deal with the feds.
Uncategorized /
Companions in Creation
Pope Benedict XVI’s first visit to the U.S. as pontiff was historic for many reasons, but for animal advocates it was especially noteworthy because of the pope’s long history of advocating for kindness and mercy toward animals. As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 2002, for example, he criticized some of the worst abuses of factory farming, including battery cages and foie gras:
Uncategorized /
Protecting Our Closest Living Relatives
Christine Kenneally recently penned a thought-provoking "Washington Post" column about how alike people and animals are in so many ways. Chimpanzees are perhaps the most striking example, as our closest living relatives understand and construct sentences and favor different tools for hammering and fishing. As Kenneally wrote, “chimpanzees make sense of the world in many of the same ways we do. The implication is indisputable: Humans are not unique.”
Elections /
Paoli and Penn Hills with Pigeon Shoots in Between
I’ve written before about the presidential candidates trotting out their hunting bona fides to strut their stuff in rural primary states.
Ballot Measures /
The Golden State's Golden Opportunity
Last week, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen certified the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act for November’s general election, setting the stage for this year’s biggest ballot box battle on animal protection. Thanks to 4,000 California volunteers who gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures, voters in the Golden State will have the opportunity to stop cruel and inhumane treatment of animals on industrial factory farms.
