A Project of Animal People, Inc., 1992-2013
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2013:
MELBOURNE, DELHI––The Supreme Courts of Australia and India on January 26 and February 6, 2013, respectively, struck down enforcement of recent appellate court rulings upholding dangerous dog laws. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2013:
Farm animal cruelty convictions lead to “ag-gag” laws rather than reform
RALEIGH, N.C., BOISE, Idaho––Former Butterball employees Terry Johnson and Billy McBride were on February 24, 2013 convicted of abusing turkeys at a farm in Shannon, North Carolina, in 2011.
“Johnson and McBride join Butterball workers Brian Douglas and Ruben Mendoza, who were convicted in 2012 of criminal cruelty to animals arising out of the same investigation,” said Mercy for Animals founder Nathan Runkle. Mercy for Animals conducted the undercover video investigation that led to the charges. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2013:
PONGOLA, KZN, South Africa––Fined the equivalent of $33,000 U.S. dollars by the South African Department of Agriculture & Environment for housing crocodiles in single pens shorter than the length of their bodies, Metroc Broedery owner Coen Labuscagne of Pongola, KwaZulu-Natal, “nevertheless has applied for permission to expand his operation to incarcerate 1,500 crocodiles,” South African National SPCA information officer Chris Kuch e-mailed to media on January 17, 2013. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2013:
Dogs of Courage: The heroism and heart of working dogs around the world by Lisa Rogak Thomas Dunne Books (175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010), 2012. 269 pages, paperback. $14.99.
Dogs of Courage: The heroism and heart of working dogs around the world begins with Ebony, a hyperactive giant schnauzer. Mike and Melenda Lanius, who own a cleaning business called MoldBlasters, send Ebony to a training academy to learn to sniff out mold. Ebony now works for a living, no longer bored or hyper. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2013:
Ousted In Defense of Animals executive director takes dossier to state attorney general’s office
SAN RAFAEL, California––Four executive directors and founder Elliot Katz have left the top management position at In Defense of Animals since 2009. Joe Haptas, the IDA executive director since July 2012, was suspended by the board on February 9, 2013, and responded on February 12, 2013 by demanding the resignations by 6:00 p.m. of the entire board of directors––Natalie Kaminki, attorney Michael Yadegari, and Marilyn Kroplick, the child and geriatric psychiatrist who has served as board president since November 2011. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2013:
New adoption center gives embattled Fresno humane community a point of pride
FRESNO, Calif.––Celebrating a rare “good news for animals” event in a city which has had little to celebrate, the Cat House on the Kings and the Petco Foundation on February 15, 2013 together opened a new 1,500-square-foot adoption center inside the Fresno Petco store.
Founded in 1990 by Lynea Lattanzio of Parlier, in rural Fresno County alongside the Kings River, the Cat House on the Kings is the oldest and most successful of many local “no-kill” organizations trying to knock down a rate of animal control dog and cat killing which––though less than half of what it was 10 years ago––remains among the highest in the U.S., more than three times the current national average. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2013:
RENO, Nevada––The U.S. Bureau of Land Management on February 1, 2013 issued new policy directives governing wild horse roundups.
“At all times, the care and treatment provided by the BLM and contractors will be characterized by compassion and concern for the animal’s well-being and welfare,” ordered BLM assistant director for renewable resources and planning Edwin Roberson. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2013:
HONG KONG––A Sea Shepherd Conservation Society video posted to YouTube on February 26, 2013 shows the Sea Shepherd vessel Bob Barker being repeatedly crunched between the much larger Japanese whaling factory ship Nisshin Maru and the Sun Laurel, a Panamanian-flagged fuel oil tanker reportedly carrying a South Korean crew. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2013
WASHINGTON D.C.—All five branches of the U.S. military were on March 3, 2013 due to send to Congress written plans to phase out live tissue training, meaning the use of deliberately mutilated animals to teach emergency livesaving techniques to combat medics. Read more