Animal testing and zoo woes on NY and LA Times front pages + kangaroo kills, July 7, 2025

I hope you and all your loved ones of every species had a safe and happy 4^th. We had cause to celebrate on Friday, thanks to a New York Times front-page story on the end of animal testing at the Environmental Protection Agency. Today’s, Sunday July 6, Los Angeles Times front-page looks at the fate of that city’s zoo, giving us an opportunity to weigh in on those institutions. And todays Guardian looks at a US Senate bill that would ban the sale and manufacture of kangaroo products in the US, showing a notable, regrettable, slant against it.

—

The New York Times front-page story on Friday, July 4, was titled, “Loving Homes Wanted for Rats and Zebra Fish.” It opened:

“Employees at the Environmental Protection Agency’s research campus in North Carolina are preparing to take on a new responsibility. Bring home lab rats as pets.

Or maybe some zebra fish.

“Both animals have long been used at the E.P.A. facility to test the toxicity of chemicals. But as the E.P.A. shuts down its research arm as part of the Trump administration’s deep cuts to government scientific work, the animals need new homes.”

However we also read:

“The agency said the adoptions were unrelated to the funding cuts. Instead, they were driven by concerns over animal welfare, said Brigit Hirsch, the press secretary. ‘The Trump E.P.A. is working to get as many of the animals into loving homes as possible,’ she said.”

The article continues:

“The federal government has indeed faced a yearslong campaign by activists to stop the use of animals in testing. Ending the practice has emerged as a conservative cause supported by people who say taxpayer dollars should not be funding such research, and the Trump administration has been sympathetic.

“Still, the move away from animal testing comes at a time when the agency has proceeded with plans to eliminate its scientific research arm, cutting back on chemists, biologists, toxicologists and other scientists.”

The reference to this issue emerging as a conservative cause is telling. While that should be a cause for mass celebration for animal advocates given that the right is currently in power, many of us have noted (as I have in these alerts) that as an unfortunate result we are suddenly seeing slants in favor of animal testing from the most prominent mainstream media papers, such as the Washington Post. I hope that will encourage left-leaning animal advocates to double down on attempts to get, or keep, the media onside.

Here’s a gift link to the full article, which ends with the welcome note that rats make wonderful pets!

And here’s guiding information for those who wish to respond.

—

Today’s Los Angeles Times front-page story, “L.A. Zoo’s $50- million breakup” mostly discusses the issue of zoo funding but opens the door for letters dealing with the overall issue of zoos. Here’s an MSN link for those who hit a paywall at the Los Angeles Times site, and a link for those who wish to respond.

Let me also share a piece published today by the president of World Wildlife Fund Pakistan, titled, “Time to Shut Down Zoos” as it may inspire you. It tells us:

“The continued existence of zoos is increasingly hard to justify in an era that claims to value conservation, education and animal welfare. Animal rights advocates argue that modern technology, including immersive documentaries and virtual reality, now offer far better tools for education and awareness, without subjecting animals to lifelong confinement.”

—

In the realm of major media backlash against our cause, today we see the Guardian headline, “Wild kangaroo harvests are labelled ‘needlessly cruel’ by US lawmakers – but backed by Australian conservationists.”

“Harvests”?

The subheading reads, “The campaign to ban kangaroo products is ‘muddled’ and not based on knowledge, wildlife experts say.”

(Sigh. Not all of them.)

The article opens:

“The bill, introduced into the US Senate last month, came with plenty of emotive and uncompromising language.

“’The mass killing of millions of kangaroos to make commercial products is needless and inhumane,’ said the Democratic senator Tammy Duckworth, as she introduced the Kangaroo Protection Act to ban the sale and manufacture of kangaroo products in the US.

“With the high-profile former Democratic presidential nominee Cory Booker as a co-sponsor, the two senators said Australia’s commercial kangaroo harvest was ‘unnecessarily cruel’ and their proposed ban would protect ‘millions of wild kangaroos and their innocent babies who are needlessly killed every year’.

“Backed by animal rights campaigners, the move is the latest in a string of attempts in recent years in the US Congress to ban kangaroo products. A similar push is ongoing in Europe.”

It then goes on to spell out how those folks have got it all wrong. While it does share both sides, I think if you read the full article you’ll notice the troublesome slant in favor of the idea that we are helping the animals by killing them en masse.

I hope you’ll respond  on behalf of the kangaroos, or perhaps on behalf of other animals who die for human sporting goods. Please remember that studies have shown that papers are far more likely to publish letters that praise rather than criticize their content, so while I have shared with you, fellow activists, my disappointment with the slant, I would highly recommend letters with a tone of gratitude for the coverage and the senate bill, sharing your thoughts and feelings on the issue.

—

In other major media animal news shared over the last week on the DawnWatch Facebook Page and/or DawnWatch X Feed:

• FOX 4 News brought us beautiful coverage of North Texas Wildlife Center’ search for a new home. They’ve got 60 days to find one!

• Fox LA has followed up on the case of the Los Angeles dog trainer and his girlfriend who have been formally charged with the deaths of 11 dogs who died of heat stroke, and at least one of blunt trauma, while in their care.

• KCTV in Kansas covered a pig who jumped from a transport truck and landed in a loving home.

• The Sun brings us in-depth coverage looking back at Lolita/Tokitae’s death at the Miami Seaquarium, including the quote from Humane World for Animals: “Through the years Tokitae became the very embodiment of the wrongs done to her species and other sentient wild animals used in aquariums, circuses and other performing acts.”

• And finally, from the UK, the Mirror has reported, today, “New movies and TV shows are driving a surge in exotic pet ownership,” with the animals abandoned when people realize they can’t cope with their needs. I hope folks in the UK, or invested in that field, will respond with a letter appreciative of that coverage, which can be sent to youvoice@mirror.co.uk.

Yours and all animals’,
Karen Dawn of DawnWatch