Alerts

A Vox online article about “livestock auctions”, which came out today, is not to missed. And it relates to a New York Times front page story on Friday, about a couple of extremely rare horses who were found at a livestock auction. That paper also covered a new bill, in New York, that would let people take their sick leave days to care for ill pets. Plus, coverage of the Maryland bear hunt needs attention. Before I look at those, let thank Pennsylvanian subscribers who responded to an alert I sent them about a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial (the paper’s opinion) bemoaning that “a provision was sneaked into the state budget allowing large-scale, nationally operated rodeo companies to select up to...

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Pennsylvania: Today’s Pittsburgh Post Gazette includes an editorial (the newspaper’s opinion) titled “Rodeos might be fun, but not at the cost of our city’s right to rule itself.” It opens: “In 1992, after an incident at a rodeo in which a bull had to be euthanized, the city of Pittsburgh banned the use of electric prods, spurs and straps used to drive the bull to buck — effectively preventing any rodeo from being held within the city limits. “The ban made Pittsburgh an outlier in the state of Pennsylvania. We are the only municipality with such an embargo on the books. It’s the kind of ordinance a city ought to be able to enact, representing the wishes of the city government...

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Pandas are in the news, as the San Francisco Zoo vies for them and the New York Times releases a distressing report on the industry around them. Meanwhile the Los Angeles Times today has a front-page story on attempts to reopen an offshore oil pipeline that killed at least hundreds of marine mammals and birds, and countless fish in 2015. Before I look at those and other stories below, let me thank all of you who responded to the San Francisco Chronicles report on zoo conditions. The interest shown by readers surely made it easier for an op-ed to get published that slams the zoos attempts to bring in pandas. The paper ran that op-ed this week, penned by Justin...

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We have a lot of front-page animal stories this weekend! The New York Times front page discusses the pampering of pet dogs in Korea, opening the door for letters about any aspect of our relationships with other species. The San Francisco Chronicle front page covers a scathing report released about the San Francisco Zoo. Saturday’s Detroit Free Press (there is no Sunday edition) covers a new documentary on animal rights, “Dogs are people too: A four-legged civil rights movement.” Meanwhile The Hill has covered Big Ag’s interference with cultured meat and animal welfare measures. And the Los Angeles Times has covered, the intentional killing of a sea lion, the death of a beloved bear, the spread of bird flu among dairy...

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While papers have been largely packed, over the last week, with coverage of the upcoming election, today’s lead story, Sunday October 6, page one, above the fold, including a painfully adorable photo of a tiny jaguar cub, is  “Jaguar cub’s journey to sanctuary.” The article, by Brittny Mejia, has the subheading, “One mistreated animal’s story exemplifies the exotic pet trade’s dark underbelly.” It opens: “At less than a month old, unsteady on his small paws, the jaguar cub was already working. “While others born in the Amazon rainforest were still being nursed by their mothers, he was rented out to do a photo op in a Texas hotel room for $1,000 an hour. “People snapped their fingers to get the cub’s...

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Given the mission of DawnWatch is to encourage better coverage of animal issues in the mainstream media, so that people can make informed choices in line with their values, there is little that could delight me more than the headline “Confined Swine,” with a close-up of a sweet pig face taking up most of the front page of The Oklahoman this Sunday, and a four-page spread, mostly on gestation crates, from pages 9-12. The Oklahoman! Meanwhile we had coyotes on the front page of Friday’s Wall Street Journal, and the current edition of Nature has a strong piece on plant-based and cell cultivated meat. Before I share those, let me thank all who wrote to the Los Angeles Times regarding human/bear...

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Californians: The wonderful Los Angeles Times deserves some attention today! The lead front page story, by Lila Seidman, is titled,  “A bear swipes at a woman and a furious wildlife debate ensues.” It is extraordinarily thoughtful, including the information that the woman swiped and injured by Victor the Bear, who was then killed by authorities, “didn’t want her brother bear to hurt.” If you are stopped by a paywall, you’ll find the same article online at the Gazette Extra. The lead California Section story, Page B1, by Melody Gutierrez and Alene Tchekmedyian, is titled, “Action urged to rein in illicit puppy trade.” The online version opens with three bullet points which summarize it: –A Los Angeles Times investigation found a pipeline of puppies from Midwest...

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Today’s, Sunday, September 22, New York Times, has a superb front-page story on the advent of cell cultivated meat. The Los Angeles Times includes a thoughtful lead story on bears breaking into houses. And both the Los Angeles Times and Washington Post, and numerous other outlets, have covered a report suggesting, once again, that the Covid-19 pandemic began at the Wuhan live animal market, providing us with an opportunity to write about animal cruelty. Before I cover those, let me thank all who sent letters to the Los Angeles Times in response to last Sunday’s superb investigative report on puppy mills. Today’s Los Angeles Times has a stunning page of letters under the headline, “Turn off the Puppy Mill Pipeline.”...

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The Sunday, September 15th, Los Angeles Times front page lead headline announces a Times investigative report on the illegal flood of puppy mill dogs into California. The New York Times front page includes a headline, pointing to a Metro Section from page story on a troublesome situation with Happy, the elephant at the Bronx Zoo. Sunday’s Boston Globe shares that same New York Times story. I have posted a photo, on the DawnWatch Facebook page, of the stunning Los Angeles Times front page upper half, . “A Times Investigation” is above a photo of dogs in transport crates, with the headline, “A Puppy Mill Pipeline,” underneath it, and then the subheading, “Unsuspecting dog buyers in California can face heartache and thousands...

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The Wednesday, September 11, International edition of the New York Times includes an important article, titled, “Live Animal Markets Take Few Precautions,” which appeared in the New York edition on the 10th, titled, “Animal Wet Markets Unnerve Scientists.” Before I cover that and other recent animal news, let me thank all of you who responded to the New York Times coverage of the Transfarmation Project. The paper published activist Hilary Rettig’s superb letter in print yesterday. I have shared a print out of the web version on the DawnWatch Facebook page. Please remember that the New York Times is practically begging women to write. Legislators and other decision makers look to the letters pages as barometers of public opinion, so let’s...

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