Ending animal acts boosts Nanjing Zoo paid attendance

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  September 2013: (Actually published on October 8,  2013)

NANJING,  China––Ending trained animal acts in 2011 led to two consecutive years of record attendance at Nanjing Zoo,  show attendance figures obtained by the Animals Asia Foundation.  The Nanjing Zoo attracted 867,513 visitors in 2010,  the last year that the zoo featured animal acts,  but drew more than a million visitors each in 2011 and 2012. “Too often zoos fail to realize that they are losing customers because appetites for animal performances and exploitation are diminishing fast,”  commented Animals Asia Foundation welfare director Dave Neale.

Virginia humane society fined for recording released feral cats as “adopted”

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  September 2013: (Actually published on October 8,  2013)

PORTSMOUTH––The Virginia Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services has fined the Portsmouth Humane Society $1,250 for releasing sterilized feral cats,  who were recorded in the PHS shelter tracking records as having been adopted by executive director Jenn Austin and four other staff members. “I felt that these cats were not legitimately adopted and remained in the custody of the facility,”   VDACS veterinarian Dan Kovich told Tim Eberly of the Virginian-Pilot. “State investigators,  tipped off by a former employee,  issued three violations last month to the Portsmouth shelter,  which has the contract to serve as the city’s animal pound,”  Eberly wrote.  “Austin acknowledged that she and her staff have been personally adopting feral cats and releasing them for about a year and a half.” Read more

EXCHANGE: The long and winding road to environmentalism

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  September 2013: (Actually published on October 8,  2013)

I have been involved in animal rights since 1985,  and am grateful for the way that our movement has grown and evolved.  When I first began practicing animal law,  the idea that animals had rights to which we must pay heed was revolutionary.  Courageous activists went to jail to put it on the agenda. Read more

BOOKS— Devoted: 38 Extraordinary Tales of Love, Loyalty and Life with Dog

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  September 2013: (Actually published on October 8,  2013)

Devoted:  38 Extraordinary Tales of Love,  Loyalty and Life with Dog by Rebecca Ascher-Walsh National Geographic Society (1145 17th St. NW,  Washington,  DC  20036),   2013.  160 pages,  hardcover.  $19.95.

Devoted: 38 Extraordinary Tales of Love, Loyalty and Life with Dog is as sweet and compelling as any book I have ever reviewed for Animal People about our unique relationship with dogs.  Author Rebecca Ascher-Walsh invites us into the lives of 38 outstanding dogs and their people,  and describes what makes them special.  The stories of Effie and Cheyenne are two examples. Read more

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