Dairy closure, hunting front pages + dog tests, Pnut, humane myth, MAHA meat + more 3/24/25

Sunday’s Los Angeles Times ran a frontpage article announcing good news of dairy closures in an environmentally sensitive area of California, but with an unfortunate headline slant. That paper also announced the likely cancellation of the salmon fishing system due to low salmon numbers, and the finally successful two-year search for a beloved dog. Sunday’s Dallas Morning News front page celebrated hunting. The UK’s Sunday Express ran a strong piece against factory farming. Online today we have a beautiful coverage from the New York Times of animal friendly memoirs, a stunning Washington Post piece by Jane Goodall and Marc Bekoff against experimenting on dogs, and a disappointing piece in the Atlantic on the US public’s passionate return to meat. And we have good news in the way of coverage on the lawsuit on behalf of those who loved Peanut the Squirrel and Fred the Raccoon. Those stories and more below.

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Saturday’s front page Los Angeles Times story was titled, “Emotions churn over these Point Reyes dairies.” The online title of the same story reveals the slant of the piece, “Treasured California dairies to close. Point Reyes locals say it’s conservation gone mad.”

The other side of the story is shared, thank heavens, though it gets relatively short shrift:

“Environmental groups say they are sympathetic to these concerns, but that it is the duty of the National Park Service to protect and preserve the land — and that the land is being degraded.

“’This degree of water pollution, which threatens aquatic wildlife habitat and public health, shouldn’t be happening anywhere, and definitely not in a national park,” said Jeff Miller, of the Center for Biological Diversity.’

“’If you listen to the rancher narrative, it makes it sound like ranching has always been this environmentally sustainable activity that serves all,’ said Erik Molvar, of the Western Watersheds Project, another of the groups that sued. ‘But what we’re seeing was this herd of elk, locked up, having massive die outs. We had severe water pollution, some of the worst water pollution in California.’”

I can provide this AOL link for those who hit paywall above and hope that those of you who feel strongly about the dairy industry and what it does to animals and the environment will respond, though I would urge you to so doing your best to speak for animals without slamming the paper. That’s so important. The animal advocacy movement has had a long, wonderful relationship with the Los Angeles Times, a relationship challenged by recent staff turnover in which some animal allies were lost. Let’s do everything we can to nurture that relationship, for animals’ sake.

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“Low salmon numbers could again cancel fishing season” was on the cover of Sunday’s Metro section, page B1. That story opens the door for letters from those who love fish – alive.  Here’s a link to it without a paywall.

Also on the cover of Sunday’s Metro section we found the story “A French bulldog owner unleashed army to find him.” And here’s an AOL link to that.

Any one of those stories offers a beautiful opportunity to send a letter to the Los Angeles Times, giving animals a much-needed voice in one of the world’s most influential newspapers – the one read by the entertainment industry.

I send thanks, as always, to Elaine Livesey-Fassel for keeping a close eye on that paper for us.

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I sent Texans an alert on Sunday regarding the Dallas Morning News front-page fluff piece on hunting. While Texans do love their hunting, Dallas and the Dallas Morning News generally lean liberal, and are not as gun mad as you might think, so responses that speak for animals are worthwhile. I am going to share what I sent to Texan subscribers, because I think my point about tone is important, and because it is perfectly appropriate for nonTexans to respond to the online version of the article:

Today’s, Sunday March 23, Dallas Morning News has a sorrowful and shocking photo on the front page, above the fold, of a beautiful scimitar-horned onyx who was shot, being dragged away, and the headline, “Big Game and Big Revenue: Inside how exotic hunting helps support conservation in Texas.”

One of the subheadings of the article is “Hunters as the ultimate conservationists.”

It includes a description of “a good shot” where the animal ran off and collapsed about 600 yards from where he was shot. We all know that others are not so “lucky.”

The whole thing is heartbreaking.

I urge you to respond, remembering that legislators look to letters pages as barometers of public opinion. Please also remember that papers have been proven to be far more likely to print letters that praise them rather than criticize them (about 10:1 more likely) and that animal rights activists have a reputation for being scolding, which it would be great if we did our best to overcome. Without telling you what to write – and asking you not to copy anything I have written, as the paper wants your thoughts, not mine — I will guide you to do your best to find a way to speak for animals, and for conservation that doesn’t involve killing, without speaking against folks who hunt for food (most people eat meat and animals fare no better in slaughterhouses) and, especially, without scolding the paper. It’s a challenge, but I know we can do it!

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From the UK, the Sunday Express ran a superb piece by actress Miriam Margolyes, on behalf of Compassion in World Farming, titled, “Enough is Enough…Let’s end factory farm cruelty now.”

It includes:

“I was horrified to learn that it is the biggest cause of animal cruelty on our planet.

“Did you know that? I didn’t. Every species deserves a life worth living and so here I am, writing to you to tell you the truth about the factory farmed animals that go into our food.”

I hope you will share it widely. I have shared it and tagged relevant folks on the DawnWatch X Feed and on the DawnWatch Facebook page.

And I especially urge folks in the UK to submit a letter to express.expressletters@reachplc.com .

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New York Times book coverage, by Alexandra Alter, looks at the burgeoning world of memoirs detailing relationships with other species – not just traditional pets, but wildlife. Because I worry about wild animals being hassled and held captive by humans, and also because I have such strong reactions against the overuse of the word “anthropomorphism” I was delighted by this section of the piece:

“Portraying wild creatures as willing companions to humans carries risk. Biologists and naturalists caution against interacting with wildlife, for the safety of animals and humans, and some narratives about human and animal friendships might leave readers thinking that animals want to be our cuddly sidekicks.

“Another critique of some animal memoirs is that authors stray into anthropomorphism, assigning human traits to their nonhuman subjects. But writers who have spent time with members of other species say it’s foolish to assume that we’re so very different.

“’For the longest time, it was in vogue to say, oh that’s anthropomorphism, and that is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,’ Montgomery said. ‘It implies that emotions, individuality, personality are all human characteristics.’”

It is a delightful write-up, for which I can provide this gift-link compliments of Teresa D’Amico. Please take a moment to comment on it, which lets the paper know this is the kind of content that gets positive attention.

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The Washington Post online (so far) piece by Marc Bekoff and Jane Goodall is grueling but vitally important. It includes:

Dogs in the experimentation industry are routinely mutilated. Sometimes their vocal cords are cut so that their barking will not disturb animal experimenters.

And:

“They are used in all sorts of lab experiments: to test drugs, pesticides and medical devices, for example. Some are specially bred to have diseases or operated on to give them the symptoms of diseases. A common technique for toxicology testing is “oral gavage,” in which a tube is shoved down dogs’ throats and they are forced to ingest substances. Dogs rarely make it out of a lab alive.

And:

“For example, under the AWA, dog cages need to be only six inches longer and taller than the dog’s full body length and height; doubling this space eliminates the requirement to ever allow the dogs outside the cage.”

I can provide this gift link to article.

You can comment right now, and, as the piece will surely be in print sometime this week, I would urge you to also send your comment as a letter to the editor.

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The Atlantic has released online today, March 24, a depressing article, “America Is Done Pretending About Meat: Plant-based eating has lost its appeal” by Yasmin Tayag.

It opens:

“Making America healthy again, it seems, starts with a double cheeseburger and fries. Earlier this month, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited a Steak ’n Shake in Florida and shared a meal with Fox News’s Sean Hannity. The setting was no accident: Kennedy has praised the fast-food chain for switching its cooking oil from seed oil, which he falsely claims causes illness, to beef tallow. ‘People are raving about these french fries,’ Kennedy said after eating one, before commending other restaurants that fry with beef tallow: Popeyes, Buffalo Wild Wings, Outback Steakhouse.”

(Note: Vegan health guru Dr Michael Gregor of https://nutritionfacts.org, to whom everybody should subscribe, also recommends against seed oils for our health – though of course our consuming them is better for the cows’ health than beef tallow.)

The piece includes:

“It’s not just MAGA bros and MAHA moms who resist plant-based eating. A wide swath of the U.S. seems to be sending a clear message: Nobody should feel bad about eating meat.”

I can share this gift link and I encourage you to respond on behalf of animals.

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In other major media animal news, which I have shared over the past week on the DawnWatch X feed and/or DawnWatch Facebook page:

Vox’s Kenny Torella writes, “A newly surfaced document reveals the beef industry’s secret climate plan: What the beef industry knew about its environmental impact — and how it spent decades blocking climate action.”

AOL shared a video from Pet Helpful showing a shark harmed by plastic pollution seeking help from one of the better humans.  What a nice change from the idiocy of Jaws!

KOMO news in Washington informed us, “Washington state’s Makah Tribe submits permit for traditional whale hunt this year.” In my post on that I noted that  reporter Stella Sun in her fur trim collar probably wasn’t the right choice for that assignment, as exemplified in her choice to interview Makah whalers but no animal rights activists. Most of KOMO’s viewing audience would probably prefer that whales were left alone.

A superb op-ed in the Sacramento Bee, by veterinarian Monica Bando, asks, “Does ‘humane’ slaughter of livestock exist, or is it merely a myth to make us feel better?” I hope you’ll “join the conversation” and comment briefly on that one, so that the paper sees how appreciated that kind of content is by readers.

WSYX Cleveland brought us great coverage of the rescue of animals from a fur farm by Humane World for Animals (previously HSUS), with the animals now recovering at the Ohio Wildlife Center. I have that on X and on Facebook tagged with the reporter and station and relevant organizations if you wish to share.

The Associated Press covered a study that challenged the notion that grass feed beef is better for the environment than factory farmed beef.  That appeared in many papers including the San Antonio Express News.

Let me end with long-time animal rights advocate Nora Marino nailing it in this segment on Fox News, on behalf of her client, Mark Longo, whose beloved Peanut the Squirrel and Fred the Raccoon were taken and killed by New York officials. I am disappointed that the Democrats ceded this ground, perhaps just because it was in New York and demonstrated government overreach, but I am thrilled, for animals’ sake, that Fox News is running with it.

Enjoy!

Yours and all animals’,
Karen Dawn of DawnWatch