More than 800m Amazon trees felled in six years to meet beef demand (Guardian)
More than 800m trees have been cut down in the Amazon rainforest in just six years to feed the world’s appetite for Brazilian beef, according to a new investigation, despite dire warnings about the forest’s importance in fighting the climate crisis. A data-driven investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ), the Guardian, Repórter Brasil […]
California has the country’s strongest animal welfare law; now it just needs to be enforced (Vox)
Last month, in a welcome surprise to animal welfare advocates, the US Supreme Court sided with pigs over the pork industry. In a 5-4 decision, the Court upheld Proposition 12, a California law that partially bans the sale of pork from farms that keep pregnant breeding pigs, known as sows, in tiny enclosures called gestation […]
Hello kitty, goodbye kittens? Gene therapy spays cats without surgery
Experts call it the holy grail of pet contraception: a single shot or pill that would permanently sterilize cats and dogs without the need for expensive and time-consuming spay/neuter surgery. Scientists have struggled to develop such a product for more than 20 years, but every effort has failed—until now.
California has the country’s strongest animal welfare law. Now it just needs to be enforced.
Last month, in a welcome surprise to animal welfare advocates, the US Supreme Court sided with pigs over the pork industry. In a 5-4 decision, the Court upheld Proposition 12, a California law that partially bans the sale of pork from farms that keep pregnant breeding pigs, known as sows, in tiny enclosures called gestation […]
Utah to ban hunting trumpeter swans, North America’s largest bird
In a major change to swan hunting in Utah, state wildlife officials propose banning the taking of trumpeter swans, a rare large-bodied cousin to tundra swans. Tundra swans would remain legal to shoot during Utah’s 73-day fall swan-hunting season. Prompting the move is the unacceptably high number of migrating trumpeters killed each year by Utah […]
Horse deaths, 4 in 6 days, mar the start of Kentucky Derby week at Churchill Downs
Kentucky Derby week is off to a grim start at Churchill Downs. Three horses have died in the first two racing days of a meet that already began on a tragic note with the death of a Kentucky Derby qualifier, Wild on Ice, who was euthanized following an injury sustained in training last Thursday. Parents […]
Inside big beef’s climate messaging machine: confuse, defend and downplay
The U.S. beef industry is creating an army of influencers and citizen activists to help amplify a message that will be key to its future success: that you shouldn’t be too worried about the growing attention around the environmental impacts of its production. In particular, it would like you not to be especially concerned about […]
Sculpture of euthanized walrus Freya unveiled in Oslo
The artist behind a sculpture of a walrus that was controversially euthanized over public safety concerns says she hopes her creation becomes a “three-dimensional history lesson” after it was unveiled in Norway’s capital Oslo. The life-sized bronze statue shows Freya the walrus curled up on her side close to the water’s edge.
What do horses feel at the Kentucky Derby? Mostly fear and pain
For a horse, winning means nothing—they don’t even understand the concept. Yet every May, U.S. horse racing sells a narrative to draw in the public. The story goes that a group of young horses are locked in gritty pursuit of Triple Crown glory. But trophies, money, and adulation are all human-made abstractions. The main concern […]
World’s largest private rhino conservation project to be auctioned
South Africa’s privately owned Platinum Rhino breeding and conservation project, the largest of its kind in the world, is set to go on auction in mid-April 2023. The project has been in operation since 2009 and currently protects close to 2 000 Southern white rhinos on an 8 500-hectare (21 000-acre) savannah landscape in South […]
Climate change, not wind prep, is threat to whales
Climate change, spurred by the burning of fossil fuels, is the biggest danger to marine life including whales, a panel of Democratic officials and environmental groups said. The gathering, held in an oceanfront conference room as a half-dozen dolphins frolicked in the ocean behind them, also strongly criticized a bill in the House of Representatives.
Children’s cat-killing contest axed following backlash in New Zealand
A contest planned for children in New Zealand to hunt and kill feral cats as part of a drive to protect native species has been axed following backlash from the public and animal rights groups. The event would have been part of a fundraiser organized by the North Canterbury Hunting Competition for the Rotherham School, […]
