A Project of Animal People, Inc., 1992-2013
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2013:
JAKARTA, UBUD––Doublecrossed in January 2013 by Solomon Islands dolphin hunters, Dolphin Project founder Ric O’Barry was doublecrossed again a few weeks later in Indonesia. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, January/February 2013:
MELBOURNE––Run since 1861 on the first Tuesday of each November, fourteen years longer than the Kentucky Derby, the Melbourne Cup is marketed as “’The race that stops a nation.” What stopped Australian attention most in November 2012, though, may have been undercover video posted online by the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses, showing injured racehorses being shot dead at the Laverton Knackery west of Melbourne. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, January/February 2013:
Rewriting history
I just wanted to thank you for setting the record straight in your November/December 2012 Watchdog page article “Wildlife SOS ended dancing bear acts in India, but WSPA claims credit.”
I was in India during the 21st International Conference on Bear Research and Management in New Delhi, and I can’t tell you how dejected International Animal Rescue, Free The Bears, and of course Wildlife SOS cofounders Kartick Satyanarayan and Geeta Seshamani were with regards to the World Society for the Protection of Animals shamelessly trying to position themselves as the organization that solved the problem. I don’t know that people were shocked because this fit into a pattern; however, people felt really downtrodden, realizing that WSPA had their marketing wheels in motion trying to rewrite history. Thanks for making it harder for them to take full credit. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE Jan-Feb 2013
NEW YORK CITY —The American SPCA on December 28, 2012 announced that it has paid $9.3 million to Feld Entertainment Inc., producer of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, to settle two federal court cases originating from allegations that Ringling abuses elephants, thereby violating the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November/December 2012:
WELLINGTON–People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals was
mentioned in the first sentence of international coverage of the
November 28, 2012 world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected
Journey, perhaps the most publicized film debut ever.
The American Humane Association drew global attention to the
72-year-old AHA pursuit of broader authority to supervise the use of
animals in film making.
Wellington, hosting the world premier, billed itself “The
Middle of Middle Earth.” As many as 100,000 people attended Hobbit
screenings and a parade in honor of the cast. The New Zealand
government struck commemorative coins for the occasion.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first of a planned
$500 million prequel trilogy, following the success of director
Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, also based on the
writings of J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973).
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November/December 2012:
NEW DELHI–Three years after Wildlife SOS took custody of the last known dancing bear in India in December 2009, having rescued 460 bears in seven years, Wildlife Trust of India founder Vivek Menon and World Society for the Protection of Animals director general Mike Baker claimed credit for the accomplishment at the 21st International Conference on Bear Research and Management in New Delhi. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 2012: (Actually published on November 1, 2012.)
MANILA, SINGAPORE, TAIJI, ATLANTA–Quezon City Regional Trial Court Judge Evangeline Marigomen on October 18, 2012 vacated a 72-hour temporary environmental protection order against exporting 25 captive dolphins from the Philippines to Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore. Quezon City Regional Trial Court first executive judge Bernelito Fernandez issued the temporary environmental protection order on October 12, 2012 at request of the Philippine Animal Welfare Society and Earth Island Institute. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2012:
Ringling wins right to proceed in racketeering case vs. ASPCA, AWI, HSUS, and Born Free USA
WASHINGTON D.C.–Rejecting motions seeking dismissal, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on July 9, 2012 issued a highly technical 87-page ruling that Feld Entertainment Inc., owner of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, may pursue a lawsuit under the federal Racketeer Influenced & Corrupt Organizations Act against the American SPCA, the Animal Welfare Institute, the Fund for Animals, the Humane Society of the U.S., and the Animal Protection Institute. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2012:
Taiji plans “swim with dolphins” park
TAIJI, Japan–Notorious for killing as many as 2,000 dolphins and small whales per winter, the coastal Japanese city of Taiji plans to make Moriura Bay, where the 2009 Oscar-winning documentary The Cove was clandestinely filmed, “a huge pool where people can swim and kayak among small whales and dolphins,” the Daily Yomiuri disclosed on May 1, 2012. Read more