Letters

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2012:

Watchdog Report

The CNN Special Investigations Unit on June 14, 2012 exposed how SPCA International took in $27 million last year, but spent most of it on further fundraising. I checked my ANIMAL PEOPLE Watchdog Report on Animal Charities and saw that ANIMAL PEOPLE exposed SPCA International back in 2009.

I never make a donation without checking my current ANIMAL PEOPLE Watchdog Report. I get it annually for $25.00. Just because a charity uses the word “wildlife” or SPCA in their name doesn’t mean it is legitimate or does not allow killing the very animals they purport to save. Many friends of mine have contributed to such organizations and were amazed and furious when I showed them what they really do, as revealed in the Watchdog Report.

–Marilyn Weaver, executive director League of Humane Voters-FL <www.LOHV-FL.org>

Editor’s note:

The 2012 edition of the ANIMAL PEOPLE Watchdog Report on Animal Charities will be available in late summer. Read more

Obituaries

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2012:

 “I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones.”--William Shakespeare

Susan Davila, 58, former manager of the Wyoming County SPCA in Attica, New York, was found dead at her home in Attica on July 8, 2012. “We believe it was an overdose of her prescription medications, but the investigation is ongoing. We do not see any foul play at this time,” Wyoming County District Attorney Donald O’Geen told Bennet J. Loudon of the Attica Democrat & Chronicle. Davila was charged with 20 counts of cruelty after 518 cats were removed from the Wyoming County SPCA shelter in February 2012 by the Erie County SPCA and New York state police. “Former board president Janet Foissett is charged with tampering with evidence,” added Loudon. Between 40 and 50 cats were euthanized due to severe health issues, Erie County SPCA spokesperson Gina Browning told Carolyn Thompson of Associated Press. Nearly two dozen organizations helped to find homes for the remaining cats, Browning said. Read more

Fire kills 500,000 hens

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  June 2012:

Fire kills 500,000 hens

 ROGGEN,  Colorado–An April 30,  2012 fire at the Boulder
Valley Poultry egg farm razed three of the 10 barns at the facility,
killing nearly half a million of the one million resident hens.  Fire
crews from Wiggins,  Hudson,  and Fort Lupton fought the blaze,
which attracted a large crowd,  including an  unidentified lone
demonstrator who stood with a sign reading “Save the Chickens,”
reported Sharon Dunn of the Greeley Tribune.

Oliver, 55, chimp called "The Humanzee"

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  June 2012:

Oliver,  55,  chimp called “The Humanzee”

Oliver,  55,  a chimpanzee who was promoted in his youth as “The Humanzee,”  was found dead on June 2,  2012 in his sleeping hammock at the Primarily Primates sanctuary near San Antonio,  Texas, operated by Friends of Animals.   Oliver’s companion Raisin was at his side.

Oliver differed from most chimps in usually walking on his hind legs,  having shorter hair on the top of his head,  having a lighter build,  having finer facial features,  and having an easy-going nature,  but genetic testing showed that he was a chimp, not a member of an otherwise unknown species,  former Primarily Primates president Wally Swett told ANIMAL PEOPLE. Read more

Houndsmen are convicted by video in Maine & worried in Indiana

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  June 2012:

Houndsmen are convicted by video in Maine & worried in Indiana

BELFAST,  Maine;  LINTON,  Indiana–A Superior Court jury in Waldo County,  Maine on April 23,  2012 deliberated for less than an hour before convicting Randall Carl of Knox,  46,  of aggravated cruelty for setting four bluetick coonhounds on an illegally trapped and tethered bobcat in February 2009.  The bobcat was killed.     Read more

SCAD/Soi Dog Foundation merger falls through

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  June 2012:

SCAD/Soi Dog Foundation merger falls through

BANGKOK— -Soi Cat & Dog Rescue,  of Bangkok,  and the Soi Dog Foundation,  of Phuket,  will not merge after all,  SCAD advisory committee chair Annelize Booysen announced on May 19,  2012.  The two leading expatriate-founded humane societies in Thailand had jointly announced a merger on February 28,  2012.

“Despite the announcement,”  Booysen said,  “we have not been able to successfully conclude our merger.  The Soi Dog Foundation will proceed with their expansion plans in Bangkok without SCAD and we wish them all the best.  This development has forced us to take a very long and hard look at SCAD,”  Booysen continued,  describing SCAD as “an overstretched team with overstretched finances.” Read more

Animals’ Angels of Germany finds EU livestock haulers come up short

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  June 2012:

Animals’ Angels of Germany finds EU livestock haulers come up short

FRANKFURT–“Despite increased enforcement efforts,  livestock transporters and organizers still do not comply with the very basic requirements of European Union legislation on the protection of animals during transport,”  charged the German charity Animals’ Angels in a May 2012 document entitled Report on insufficient internal heights in long distance transports of cattle from Estonia,  Hungary and Slovakia to Turkey, observed between 16th and 19th April, 2012. Read more

Exotic cat exhibitor Joe Schreibvogel responds to HSUS exposé with threat of "a small Waco" if cats are confiscated

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  June 2012:

Exotic cat exhibitor Joe Schreibvogel responds to HSUS exposé with threat of “a small Waco” if cats are confiscated

Wynnewood, Oklahoma–– National television broadcasts on May 16,  2012 featured longtime traveling tiger exhibitor Joe Schreibvogel and his GW Exotic Animal Park at Wynnewood in central Oklahoma,  but the self-described “Joe Exotic” probably did not enjoy the spotlight.

“With Congress and the state of Ohio considering bills to restrict private ownership of dangerous exotic animals,  CBS This Morning broke news of another Humane Society of the U.S. undercover investigation,”  blogged HSUS president Wayne Pacelle,  describing Schreibvogel as “perhaps the largest private owner of tigers in the nation.” Read more

Top non-breed-specific insurer pays record sum to settle dog bite claims in 2011

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  June 2012:

Top non-breed-specific insurer pays record sum to settle dog bite claims in 2011

LOS ANGELES–State Farm Insurance,  believed to be the largest U.S. home insurer that does not enforce breed-specific restrictions on what dogs it will cover,  in 2011 paid 9% more dog bite claims than in 2010,  and paid out 21% more money to settle the claims,  spokesperson Eddie Martinez told media on May 16,  2012.

State Farm in 2011 paid out $109 million to settle 3,800 dog bite claims nationwide,  up from $90 million paid out in 2010 to settle about 3,500 dog bite claims,  Martinez disclosed.  The Insurance Information Institute estimated that all U.S. home insurers combined paid out nearly $479 million to settle dog bite claims in 2011,  spokesperson Loretta Worters told Sue Manning of Associated Press–a 16% increase from $413 million in 2010. Read more

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