Category: North America

21 polo ponies die of overdose

Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2009:
OCALA, Florida–Franck’s Pharmacy chief operations officer
Jennifer Becket on April 23, 2009 admitted in a prepared statement
that the custom drug-mixing firm had erred in preparing a vitamin
mixture that was given to the polo ponies on the Lechuza Caracas
team just before the start of the U.S. Open polo tournament on April
20 at the Inter-national Polo Club Palm Beach. The mixture was
apparently significantly stronger than it was supposed to have been.
Twenty-one horses died from lung hemorraging after receiving
the overdose. The vitamin mixture was reportedly similar to Biodyl,
a supplement not approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
Humane Society of the U.S. director of equine protection
Keith Dane called on the U.S. Polo Association to introduce a policy
restricting the use of drugs in polo ponies.

Neglect cases fuel drive to restart horse slaughter

Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2009:
HELENA–Montana governor Brian Schweitzer on April 3, 2009
vetoed two parts of a bill passed by the state legislature to
encourage entrepreneurs to start a horse slaughterhouse, but on
April 16 both houses of the legislature returned the same bill to him
without amendment.
The provisions of the bill that Schweitzer vetoed would
require anyone filing a lawsuit seeking to stop construction of a
horse slaughterhouse to post a bond worth 20% percent of the
estimated construction costs, would hold plaintiffs liable for
damages incurred by the defendants due to legal action, and would
prevent state courts from halting construction after a horse
slaughterhouse site and design have received the requisite permits.
Schweitzer must now either veto the bill as a whole or sign
it into law. There was no indication, as ANIMAL PEOPLE went to
press, which he would do.

Read more

Ontario pit bull ban appealed to Supreme Court

Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2009:
TORONTO–Civil rights lawyer Clayton Ruby on April 16, 2009
petitioned the Supreme Count of Canada to appeal an October 2006
Ontario Court of Appeal verdict which upheld the breed-specific Dog
Owners Liability Act.
The 2005 act forbids breeding, selling, or keeping a pit
bull within Ontario, except for pit bulls who were already licensed
in Ontario when the act took effect. Those dogs must be sterilized,
and must be kept leashed and muzzled when in public. A lower court
weakened the act in March 2007, holding the term “pit bull terrier”
to be too imprecise, but the Ontario Court of Appeal restored the
act as written.

Read more

U.S. Supreme Court to review “crush video” ruling

Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2009:
WASHINGTON D.C.–The U.S. Supreme Court on April 20, 2009
agreed to hear an appeal by the U.S. Solicitor General of a Third
Circuit Court of Appeal ruling that in July 2008 overturned the 1999
federal Depiction of Animal Cruelty law and reversed the conviction
of “crush video” and dogfighting video dealer Robert Stevens, of
Pittville, Virginia.

Camp Lejeune follows Army, bans pit bulls

Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2009:
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. –The U.S. Marine Corps on April 16,
2009 banned pit bull terriers, Rottweilers, wolf hybrids, and “any
other breeds [of dog] with dominant traits of aggression” from Camp
Lejeune, the largest Marine base on the Atlantic Coast.
Camp Lejeune commanding officer Colonel Richard P. Flatau
Jr. signed the order just over three months after the U.S. Army
banned pit bulls, Rottweilers, wolf hybrids, chows, and Dobermans
from Army base housing throughout the world.
The Camp Lejeune order covers the housing of approximately
50,000 active duty Marine Corps personnel, plus more than 100,000
civilian dependents of Marines and civilian base staff.

Read more

Irate chimp shot at alleged puppy-mill

Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2009:
ST. LOUIS–Responding to a “loose chimpanzee” call from
Winston, Missouri, 60 miles north of Kansas City, Daviess County
sheriff’s deputy Larry Adams on March 30, 2009 initially tried to
help Brent Hudson, 49, Cherace Hudson, 41, and Mary Overton, 52,
to get the chimp back into secure premises.
When the chimp opened the door of Adams’ patrol car, grabbed
his leg, and tried to hit him, Adams fatally shot the chimp, a
nine-year-old male named Timmy.
Adams reported seeing three other chimps and 100-200 dogs at
the scene, but when the Missouri Department of Agriculture and
Humane Society of Missouri arrived two days later with a
search-and-seizure warrant, they found only 15 dogs and three cats.

Read more

Indianapolis considers requiring pit bulls to be sterilized

Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2009:
INDIANAPOLIS–Indianapolis city/county council member Mike
Speedy on April 24, 2009 introduced an ordinance to make
Indianapolis the biggest city in the U.S. to mandate sterilizing pit
bull terriers.
The introduction comes three years after a breed-specific
ordinance proposed by another Indianapolis councillor met intense
opposition. Her ordinance was watered down into a conventional
dangerous dog law, providing penalities of only $50 for the first
violation and $100 for the second, with impoundment coming only on
third offense.
“An Indianapolis Star review of dog bite data for 2008
revealed that pit bull bites soared 33% from the previous year and
were three times higher than in 2006. Pit bulls also account for
more bites and more severe bites than any other breed,” reported
Heather Gillers of the Star.

Read more

Hunted turtles need more than a shell

Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2009:
LITTLE ROCK, TALLAHASSEE–The Florida Fish & Wildlife
Conserv-ation Commission on April 15, 2009 unanimously voted to ban
capturing or killing freshwater turtles. The proposal–if ratified
in June 2009–would bring into effect the strongest restriction on
turtle hunting in the U.S.
But the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission on March 29, 2009
rejected a proposal to stop “commercial harvest, sales and export”
of turtles.
Commission director Scott Hender-son acknowledged that, “We
have seen a lot of pressure on turtles in the last three years.”
The most recent available data indicates that Arkansas turtle
hunters are exporting about 200,000 turtles per year. However,
Henderson told the Conway Log Cabin Democrat, “Our staff
recommendation is that it is not an emergency and should be included
in our regular fishing regulations process.”

Read more

Obama family accepts a “second chance” dog from Ted Kennedy

Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2009:
WASHINGTON D.C.– Massa-chusetts Senator Ted Kennedy and his
wife Victoria in early April 2009 ended months of speculation that
President Barack Obama and family would adopt a shelter dog for
daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, by giving the Obamas a
purebred Portuguese water dog– not a shelter dog, but a “second
chance” dog, who was returned to the breeder after reportedly
failing in at least one previous home.
Originally named Charlie, according to the anonymous
FirstDogCharlie web site that leaked the news on April 10, 2009,
the dog was renamed Bo by the Obamas.

Read more

1 … 46 47 48 49 50 … 321