Front pages on rat poison, pig organs, vegan film reviews, + bird deaths 3/13/25

There has been so much major animal news, much of it on front pages, over the last few days that I am compelled to send out an update for those of you who are inclined, or even compelled, to respond (bless you!)

Rat poison was on the front page of Tuesday’s Washington Post, Pig to human organ transplants were on the front page of yesterday’s New York Times, with that paper also bringing us news of a relaxation on fines for companies that accidentally kill birds, and today’s New York Times front page features a film reviewer who gives animal cruelty warnings that include animal product consumption.  Meanwhile the Los Angeles Times has prominently covered the way birds are affected by wildfires, and also a troubling new strain of bird flu.

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The Tuesday, March 11 Washington Post front page tells us, “Rat poison is sickening and killing an increas­ing num­ber of birds and mam­mals in the Dis­trict, a study found.” The bulk of the story is on pages B1 and B3. It opens:

“A wildlife rescue center in D.C. has found that an increasing number of birds and mammals across the city are consuming, falling ill and dying from rat poison.

“Rodenticide, which contains anticoagulants and causes rats to bleed to death, can easily be purchased online, and experts say its use has increased and sickened animals other than rats.”

Sarah Sirica, the director of the City Wildlife Clinic is interviewed and we read:

“One of the most shocking findings, she said, was that 82 percent of the squirrels were positive for rodenticides.

“’They’re such an important player in our food chain … so if animals like birds, foxes and coyotes are eating squirrels, they’re also going to become positive as well,’ Sirica said.”

And we read the following about pets, depressing in so many ways:

“Pets were not part of the study, but veterinarian Patrick Hilson said he sees about one to two rodenticide cases in each of his 12-hour shifts at clinics in Alexandria, H Street and Georgetown…

“Hilson said the cost of treating pets that have ingested rodenticides can range from $500 to more than $8,000, depending on the level of treatment a pet needs. ‘Most people can’t afford it,’ he said, so a pet getting into rat poison is ‘a death sentence.’”

I am happy to provide this gift link to the full article in the hope you will be moved to send a letter that gives animals, whether they be rats or others, a voice.

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Yesterday’s, Wednesday, March 12, New York Times’ front-page feature was the article about pig organ transplants, which I shared with you on Monday. In print it was titled, “In Coddled Pigs, Transplant Patients See Hope.” Here, again, is a gift link to that one. Front-page stories are always more likely to have follow-up letters printed, so I appreciate Carole Hamlin letting us know that one, and the story coming up next, made the New York Times front page, so that we have a chance to weigh in for animals.

On Monday I had suggested leaving a comment, but now the paper tells us: “The comments section is closed. To submit a letter to the editor for publication, write to letters@nytimes.com .”

Good idea! And here’s more information from the paper on sending letters, in case you are moved to respond to one of the THREE important animal stories in the New York Times I cover in this alert.

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Today’s, Thursday March 13, New York Times front page brought us, “No Animals Harmed, Except Those on the Menu.” The subheading reads, “A film critic who provides ”vegan alerts” for animal cruelty goes beyond onscreen violence. Milk and eggs are problematic, too.”

The article opens:

“Inside a dark theater in Midtown Manhattan, Allison McCulloch watched ‘Kraven the Hunter,’ an origin story for the obscure Spider-Man villain, while jotting notes on a white piece of paper smaller than a Post-it.

“Fur clothing.

“Taxidermied animals.

“Characters eating steak.

“McCulloch is the Roger Ebert of vegans, a dedicated cinephile who cares as much as anyone about acting and cinematography — and more than almost anyone about onscreen portrayals of dairy, poultry and beef.

In the short reviews she writes for the app Letterboxd, she includes her overall critique as well as ”vegan alerts,” flagging signs of animal products in a one-woman quest to highlight animal welfare onscreen, even in details most viewers would overlook.

”’People might think a glass of milk is innocuous,’ she said. ‘It’s not. It’s full of violence.’”

It’s a fun and fascinating read, for which I can provide this gift link compliments of activist Teresa D’Amico.

What a joy to see it on the front page!

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Not on the front page, but in Wednesday’s New York Times, page A14, we got bad news in an article titled, “Companies That Kill Birds Will Not Have To Pay Fines.”

That one opens:

“In a reprise of the first Trump administration, migratory birds are again facing weakened protections under federal law.

“The issue at hand: Should companies be held responsible if birds are killed accidentally, for example in oil spills or waste pits?

“The answer has ping-ponged back and forth in recent years under different interpretations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, one of the nation’s oldest environmental laws.

“Now, as part of a sweeping suspension of legal opinions made by the Interior Department under President Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Trump administration is again prioritizing energy companies and other industries that do not want to be penalized when birds die accidentally because of their actions.”

Here’s a gift link to that article.

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Yesterday’s Los Angeles Times ran a lead story, page B1, titled, “Smoke detectors in the sky: Does wildfire affect behavior of birds?” It discussed the study of how smoke from the January wildfires will affect the regions birds, and impact the disaster is likely to have on the Los Angeles ecosystem, already stressed by a changing climate. Here’s a Yahoo link in case you hit a paywall at the LA Times link.

And today’s Los Angeles Times, Thursday March 13, page A5, gave us more bad news on Avian Flu under the headline, “Study shows widespread bird flu infections in dairy cattle.” The online titled is more worrisome: “Bird flu-infected San Bernardino County dairy cows may have concerning new mutation.” And the article tells us, “The genetic mutation is one that researchers have dreaded finding because it is associated with increased mammal-to-mammal transmission and disease severity.” Here’s a Yahoo link to that one.

Either of those stories provide a great opportunity to send a letter to the editor discussing our relationships with other species. Angelenos, please dash one off! The LA Times will also publish strong letters from elsewhere, so don’t hesitate to write if you are moved by the topic, but we are always the most likely to be published when submitting letters to the papers local to us.

As always, I thank Elaine Livesey-Fassel for keeping us up to date with what’s going on at the Los Angeles Times.

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I’ll update you with weekend news on Monday, but there was just too much going on this week to wait!

Yours and all animals’,
Karen Dawn of DawnWatch