Alerts

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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Today’s, Wednesday August 28, New York Times includes an article on the deli meat market’s challenges, and a thoughtful write-up on the HBO series “Chimp Crazy.” The latter refers to an edition of New York Magazine that I am sorry to have missed when it came out but was happy to still find on newsstands today, which focuses on our relationships with the nonhumans in our families — whether they are good for them and us. I will share more on that below. Also, today’s Charlotte Observer has a front-page story on a lawsuit filed by Perdue against a whistleblower. Before I discuss those, let me thank all of you who wrote to the New York Times regarding the “What to eat...

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Canadians: The Toronto Star has run a superb column, by Linda McQuaig, on page 13 of the Thursday August 22 paper, titled “Ford helps factory farmers keep secrets.” It is also available on Rabble. Will you take just a moment to jot off a very quick note of thanks to the editor , which says something on behalf of animals? Yours and all animals’, Karen Dawn of DawnWatch

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