Alerts

It’s been quite the week for animal media, with “transgender mice” making the news after last Tuesday’s State of the Union address, bald eagle hatchlings, an editorial against bear hunts with dogs, and concerns about ocean plastic, all in the Los Angeles Times, Whale watching in the Telegraph, a Danish art exhibit featuring real starving piglets making worldwide news, a New York Times piece asking DOGE to take a look at agricultural subsidies, and another in that paper on using pigs as spare parts for organ transplants, and a Sunday NPR “All Things Considered” piece on “lambing season.” That and more below!   ———– Because the issue is so touchy, before I address the “transgender mice” I wish to remind...

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Sunday’s, March 2, New York Times included an essay on horse racing well worth reading! It also included an article titled, “Mass Firing of Federal Staff May Imperil Food Supply, Cattle and Pets.” Meanwhile a Connecticut front page shared the superb news that a bill introducing bear hunting there has failed, as it does every year. Those stories and more below. First, let me thank all who responded to the concerning Los Angeles Times front page headline, “Vegan group with Bay Area ties linked to deaths in U.S.” The paper published a letter, by David Weiner, under the title, “They’re vegan. So what?” in which Weiner objected to the headline’s implication that “veganism is some sort of radical and dangerous ideology that leads...

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I must admit to procrastinating about sending out this week’s alert, as the most prominent story relevant to animal rights over the weekend was that of a murderous gang of vegans, who appeared on Sunday’s Los Angeles Times front page, and on some front pages in Canada on Saturday. That’s not the kind of news I love to spread, but with the papers doing that so prominently, perhaps we can undo some of the damage and reshape the story. We have also had news from Canada regarding Marineland, and a great piece on a shocking slaughterhouse expose. Those and more below. First, let me thank all who responded to the Los Angeles Times story last week about three bills being...

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Canadians: Today the papers in the vicinity of Marineland have a front-page story that needs responses, and Vancouver’s Province has a shocking op-ed from Jessica Scott-Reid which deserves some quick notes of thanks. Might you take a few minutes to jot off both? — “Is end near for theme park?; Marineland’s plans for future remain unanswered” is on the front page of the Niagara Falls Review, the Welland Tribune and the St Catherine’s Standard. The story opens with: “A major question regarding Marineland’s future plans remains unanswered following a meeting during which the theme park was granted approval to sever its lands in Niagara Falls. “Melissa Matlow, campaign director for World Animal Protection, said she wants to know where the marine...

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I am glad I fell asleep while trying to get yesterday’s weekly round-up out, because there is so much happening in animal news today (Monday February 17)! The New York Times has the price of eggs on the front page, while yesterday’s, Sunday NY Times, looked at an apparent weakening in the stigma around fur. Today’s London Times has a surprisingly strong editorial complimenting an article on Waitrose’s choice to stun prawns before cooking them. CBS Sunday Morning aired a tender tour of Black Beauty Ranch with Kitty Block, CEO of what was HSUS, but which has now been rebranded to Humane World for Animals. That and more below. First let me thank all of you who responded to last...

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Georgia: Today’s, Sunday February 16, Atlanta Journal Constitution has a beautiful lead story, page B1, titled, “Animal law prosecutor fights for more than dogs.” The article, by Alexis Stevens, opens with: “As Georgia’s animal crimes prosecutor, Jessica Rock fights for those unable to speak for themselves. “That includes dogs that have been abused or forced into fighting, or even roosters bred to fight and kill. It also includes children who Rock says are growing up in households where animal crimes are occurring, leading them to become desensitized to the violence, less emphatic and possible abusers themselves.” It is crying out appreciative letters, sent to Letters@ajc.com (always include your full name, address and telephone number for verification purposes). You can include any...

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Over the last week we have seen truly exciting animal news: a bipartisan congressional stand against animal testing. Both the Courthouse News and Center Square covered bipartisan animal testing bills, which I discussed on the Mark Thompson show last Monday. Then a groundbreaking Federal Government Oversight hearing, which took place on Thursday, was covered by the Washington Times and the UK’s Daily Mail. The Los Angeles Times put climate-driven rat infestations on Saturday’s front page, and a crisis in the crabbing industry, resulting from efforts to save whales, on today’s. That paper today again covers the California horseracing industry’s attempts to hang on through hard times. Canadian front pages announce the death of yet another Beluga at Marineland. And the New...

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Angelenos: I wanted to make sure you were aware that Avian Flu is still very much in the Los Angeles Times, crying out for letters on the way we treat other species. Today’s page A6 article  is titled, “Deadly form of H5N1 seen in dairy herds.” Here’s a Yahoo link in case you hit a paywall. And on Tuesday, the Times ran a story, page B3, on a bear holed up under a house in Altadena, who was treated, thank heavens, with kindness by the humans he met. That one also begs for letters on our relationships with other species, and here’s an AOL link. Why not take just minutes to dash off a couple of lines to the Los...

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Today’s, Sunday February 2, Los Angeles Times includes a heartwarming story about animal rescue after the Los Angeles fires, but it comes on the heels of a front-page story, on Thursday, of the ocean destruction those fires are wreaking. Today’s LA Times also has a story on the California horse racing industry, asking if it is too late to fix it. (Let’s hope so!) The New York Times has run an in-depth story on the death of volunteer dog-rescue pilot Seuk Kim. And the Guardian has a story on efforts to encourage plant-based eating in Denmark, which could serve as a course in effective activism. — Today’s lead Los Angeles Times story on post-fire pet rescue, on page B1, is titled,...

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Avian flu is back in the Los Angeles times today. Over the weekend, the New York Times covered a duck farm’s extermination of 100,000 animals to control the spread of that disease. The Los Angeles wildfires are still big animal news, with a Sunday LA Times op-ed covering the effect our building choices on wildlife, and an online piece looking at pet rescue in the fire aftermath. The Montreal Gazette has covered protests against the import of macaques for experimentation. A US Catholic Magazine’s rave review of Wicked, focusing on the animal rights message, got me to watch that movie. I look forward to sharing my thoughts on that with you, as well as the latest from Margaret Renkl, Glenn Greenwald’s...

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