Monkey Dies From Head Injury After Zoo Break-in

A break-in at Zoo Boise early Saturday left a Patas monkey dead from blunt force trauma to the head and neck and police were analyzing blood found at the scene to determine if it came from the monkey or one of two human intruders.

Two males wearing dark clothing were spotted by a security guard at 4:30 a.m. outside the fence near the primate exhibit, police said. Both fled, one of them heading into the interior of the zoo. Boise police used a thermal imager in searching the 11-acre zoo grounds but didn't find the person.

Police said late Saturday that a grey baseball cap with a distinctive skull design found near the site was probably left behind by one of the intruders and it might help in tracking them down.

"I've been here for 15 years and we haven't had anything like this happen," Zoo Boise Director Steve Burns said. "It's unfortunate that we have to let kids know that something like this happens. Monkeys are always among the most favorite animals here."

Patas monkeys, often called the military monkey, have reddish-brown fur with grey chin whiskers and distinctive white moustaches. They are widely distributed across central Africa south of the Sahara Desert and can live more than 20 years in captivity.

During a search of the zoo before dawn, Burns heard a groan that at first he thought sounded human. It turned out to be an injured Patas monkey barely moving near the perimeter fence.

The zoo's veterinarian was called, but the monkey died just before 6 a.m. as it was being examined. A necropsy later determined that blunt force trauma was the cause of death, police said.

An inventory done by zoo staff found no other animals missing or injured. The zoo has one remaining Patas monkey — another male — but it's unclear if it will remain at the zoo or will be sent to another zoo where it can socialize with other Patas monkeys, Burns said.

"They're not endangered in the wild, but there are not many in zoos in the United States," he said. "Monkeys are social animals. We only have one."

The two Patas monkeys came to Zoo Boise about three years ago from Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo in Florida. They had an outdoor enclosure during the summer in Boise but were moved indoors to the primate building when colder weather arrived.

Burns said the monkeys hadn't been given names, and he didn't know their ages. The monkey that was killed was about 2 ½ feet tall and weighed about 30 pounds, Burns said.

Burns declined to discuss details of the police investigation, including how the intruder entered the primate building, if the monkeys might have been specifically targeted, or how the monkey ended up near the perimeter fence. The zoo doesn't have surveillance cameras, he said.

"It's very disturbing that someone would intentionally break into the zoo and harm an animal," said Sgt. Ted Snyder of the Boise Police Department in a statement. "We're doing all we can to find who did this."

Amy Stahl of Boise Parks & Recreation said the death shocked zoo workers.

"They're hit hard," Stahl said. "They care for the animals on a daily basis and they care about them deeply."

The zoo was supposed to open at 10 a.m. but remained closed while police gathered evidence, opening about 2:30 p.m.  (Associated Press, Nov. 18, 2012)

MAS Continues to Starve Dogs; Puppy Cannibalizes Littermate Out of Hunger

This is a difficult story to tell. It is the story of 2 puppies, impounded by MAS along with 4 others (whose outcomes are unknown), who are both now dead. The details are horrifying but must be shared if there is to be any hope of justice. In my view, justice for the deaths of these two puppies would be nothing short of immediate arrests, criminal charges, and a complete overhaul of MAS – starting with the state Attorney General placing the facility into receivership, as we requested more than a year ago. This ongoing crisis of suffering, neglect and needless killing at MAS must be met with swift and decisive corrective action. It has gone on far too long.

On September 4, 2012, a Memphis animal control officer responded to a call from a school reporting puppies on the property. The ACO impounded 6 puppies, including dog ID #245825 and #245826, who were listed as 4 month old Lab mixes. On September 5, both pups were dewormed and vaccinated. Each weighed a little over 14 pounds. Both pups had the note “nasal discharge” entered into their medical histories on September 17 but no weights were recorded.

On September 13, an adopter expressed interest in puppy #245825 but MAS would not release him without a background check and a yard inspection because, although his medical history says Lab mix, and his littermate’s records say Lab mix, puppy #245825′s cage card says Pitbull mix. And MAS has special adoption requirements for Pitbulls. There are no notes indicating those tasks were ever completed. On September 19, the would-be adopter was phoned and advised that the puppy she wanted had been found dead in his kennel that morning.

In fact, the two pups had been caged together and one ate the other. Puppy #245826 ate his littermate’s face, trachea and esophagus as well as his shoulder. Someone with initials RC, presumably the MAS vet Rebecca Coleman, performed an examination on the remains of the partially eaten puppy and found he was very recently deceased and not suffering from an upper respiratory infection. The final notes are:

Cause of death undetermined. Body was cannibalized post-mortem.

There is no way of knowing whether this puppy was dead when the littermate ate him and I see nothing in the the records that supports this conclusion. He was not sick and in fact, there is no known cause of death. This conclusion seems irresponsible, at best.

Dr. Coleman then killed puppy #245826 marking “behavior” and “health” on the card. She performed a necropsy on this puppy, noting that portions of the other puppy were readily identifiable amidst the stomach contents. His body condition score (BCS) was 1/5. Anyone who has sat in a vet’s office looking at posters on the wall probably knows what a BCS of 1 looks like (see an illustration here). It indicates an emaciated animal. In an apparent contradiction, she also notes the pup had “good fat” under the skin and around the internal organs. The fat around the organs is among the last reserves to be used in the case of starvation. And the “good fat” beneath the skin is inconsistent with an emaciated puppy although the mere presence of fat in no way indicates the puppy was being fed enough.   To read the rest of the story Click Here.

Urge Health & Human Services to Retire Chimpanzees

Despite scientific evidence demonstrating they are unnecessary, more than 900 chimpanzees languish in U.S. labs today. Many are elderly and sick, and 80-90% are not even being used in studies. A law already exists that would retire these chimpanzees to sanctuary, however it is not being fulfilled. In response, NEAVS, the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance (NAPSA), Save the Chimps, Fauna Foundation, Animal Protection of New Mexico, the Kerulos Center, Sen. Bob Smith (lead sponsor of the Senate version of the CHIMP Act), and Friends of Washoe – under the counsel of Katherine Meyer of Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal in Washington, D.C., a premier law firm with extensive experience and success in animal protection – filed a Rulemaking Petition asking the government to define when a chimpanzee is not needed for research and therefore eligible for retirement. The Rulemaking Petition holds them accountable to the law.

The time for HHS to exercise its authority and responsibility is long overdue. Sign the petition urging the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to enforce the CHIMP Act and retire chimpanzees to sanctuary.

Heartbreaking Story - Wolf Hunting Season

Yesterday, when I logged into to my homepage on att.yahoo.com, I saw a very disturbing story on the front page that read "First wolf hunts set for Minnesota, Wisconsin".  Wisconsin's season is set to open Oct. 15 and Minnesota's season is on track for Nov. 3.    Both states will allow hunters to bait, shoot and trap wolves.  Wisconsin also will allow night hunting and the use of dogs.  What was even more disturbing, was a quote from a lady (questionable) in Grand Rapids, Minn.  She said, "To get a (wolf) as a trophy would be awesome, " she said.  I am speechless!

If anyone else read this story or knows about it, please comment.

 

The Terrible Truth About Some ASPCA/HSUS Rescues, such as on Caboodle Ranch

You read the magazine adds or watch the three-minute infomercials by the ASPCA and HSUS about the terrible plight of abused animals across our country, and then the request for money.

Then you see the newspaper article and news reports on Channels 6, 7, 9 etc., about a local non-profit rescuer who had 90 or 150 or even 400 cats who were all rescued from deplorable conditions by the City Animal Services along with the local or national ASPCA or HSUS. The reporter is told that the number of animals just got out of hand and the owner just wasn’t able to take care of the animals anymore.  To read the rest of of the story, Click Here!

 

HSUS Gets Another 'D" from Charity Watchdog

The Humane Society of the United States has once again gotten a “D” grade from the American Institute of Philanthropy/CharityWatch, according to the group’s August Charity Rating Guide. CharityWatch has now given HSUS a “D” grade for two years. (It previously had a “C-minus”—which would still get you grounded by your parents.)

CharityWatch writes in an accompanying article that HSUS gets a “D” for “spending paltry amounts on their programs and maintaining high fundraising costs.” The watchdog finds that HSUS spends as little as half of its budget on programs and spends as much as 48 cents to raise every dollar. HSUS is a factory fundraising machine—and a deceptive one, at that.

To learn more or to become a member of CharityWatch, Click Here.

Killing a Dream

A cat started it all. Nothing much to look at, just an ordinary calico cat that wandered into a home, a heart, and a new life.

Craig Grant had to decide if he was going to care for the cat his son could not take, or leave it to an uncertain, but likely cruel fate. But it wasn’t his decision to make. It was Pepper’s. And Pepper...

became Craig’s cat.

And one cat became two, and then two more, and finally the flock overwhelmed the heart and became bigger than the house. So Craig did what he knew he was meant to do. He became the savior of cats. The shepherd of lost kittens. The kind of man with the kind of dream America needs. He knew he had to save, not kill. Create, not destroy. Define your dream, marshal all your resources, and do it.

So with his goal in mind, Craig used all his savings, his creativity, and his persistence to build what would become Caboodle Ranch, the largest free-range cat sanctuary in the world (Guinness Book of World Records, 2012).

He searched for the right kind of property. One with no restrictions on the numbers of animals. Maybe in a poor county, where he could offer jobs to local people and others could benefit. And in 2003, he found the right spot. Thirty acres of woods in Madison County Florida. This was ranch country, so his daughter named the spread the Caboodle Ranch. And a magical place was born.

There were a few cats at first, but as the word got out that there was a place that could give cats a second chance at life, a place where feral cats, sick cats, old unadoptable cats, could live without cages and without the constant threat of the needle, well, in 2003, the cats started coming.

By January of 2012, 653 cats lived a happy, safe life at Caboodle Ranch. By March of 2012, the cats were gone. What happened? Where did the cats go? And why were they taken? There were two reasons, one local and one political.

For some unknown reason, the Madison County Board of Commissioners decided the county really, really needed an ordinance to control the number of animals allowed on 2 1/2 acres or more. Not the cattle or goats, or bison, but the cats or dogs. It was very important to have this ordinance, so the Excess Animal Habitat Ordinance was created. The EAH would limit the number to 30, but a sanctuary could apply for a permit, if it could meet all the requirements that the county could think of. And Craig applied for the permit and began to work.

So while he sweated and worked, and thought he was exactly on the right track, and spent thousands on fencing and barns, and whatever they came up with next, the raid was being planned. Craig was given a deadline of March 27 to finish all the requirements for the permit, but a month before the deadline, they struck.

On February 27, 2012, the rainiest day in Florida in months, the Sheriff’s Department, the ASPCA, and hundreds of volunteers from rescue groups flown in from all over the country, poured onto the ranch. Sheriff’s deputies arrested Craig Grant for animal abuse. The raiders chased the terrified cats, caught them and put them into carriers and then into a truck. They turned over the charming little buildings; they tore down part of the fencing; they carted away Craig’s files, his money, his medicines, his dream.

The cats were put in cages in an unused shelter in Jacksonville. Everyone was assured that this would be over soon, and the cats, at least those that were adoptable, would soon be happier than they ever dreamed. Those that were still alive, that is. The ASPCA , the victorious rescuers of already rescued cats, they announced the incredible victory over a hoarder, a criminal abuser, someone who should never, never even hold a cat again.

There were hearings to be heard, and trials to be tried, and all the while the cats were in cages in a hot building in Florida all through March, April, May, June, July, and part of August. The cost didn’t matter, as the ASPCA had told the sheriff the raid wouldn’t cost the county a penny. After all, donations funded all the ASPCA rescues. That was such a coup for the county. No more Caboodle cats that annoyed somebody, somewhere enough to want to wipe them off the map.

Victory is ours, said the ASPCA, but you know what? Let’s see if we can have the Sheriff get Caboodle Ranch pay us back for our expenses. Even though we don’t have to do that, our donations take care of rescue events, why, we have spent $700,000 on car rentals, $150,000 on airline tickets, $15,000 on pheromones to calm the cats and just a teeny, teeny bit on Dilly Bars from Dairy Queen! Maybe we can get a few nickels from the broken man. The costs hearing is being scheduled.

So for months the cats lived in their cages. They had vet care, just like they did at the ranch. They had ample food, just like they had at the ranch. They had volunteers to watch over them, but they didn’t have their Papa. They didn’t have their freedom, and some of them soon, wouldn’t have their lives.

Oh, there was another reason for the raid. A political one. Some annoying legislators wanted to pass a law making it illegal for shelters to kill an animal when a qualified non-profit rescue organization is willing to save that animal. Some people didn’t want that law. No-kill shelters might end up as hoarders by taking in more animals than they could handle. It could happen. It might be kinder to the animals if they died before they could suffer the abuse of over-crowding. Keep them in the kill shelters.

How can that proposed law be stopped? How about if someone makes an incriminating, misleading video of a sanctuary, then persuades the sheriff to take the video as evidence of abuse to the state attorney, who after considering the possibilities, decides to press charges against the sanctuary. A huge, dramatic raid would be a perfect public relations event. Let’s do it.

So they did. And with the raid, the accusations, the hearings, the trials, the legal fees, they—the unknowns who wanted Caboodle to be a memory—they broke the man. They “disposed” of almost all of his cats, and in spite of a court order demanding that the ASPCA make a good faith effort to locate and identify Craig’s personal pets, Tommy, Meatball, Toot, Snoop Dog, and Crackers, Craig hasn’t seen any of his cats for months. The ASPCA was also asked to keep them from being adopted, and to hold them until the court decides to end Craig’s despair, and return them to him. Nobody knows where they are or if they are even alive. And the ridiculous charges of animal abuse against the cat man still loom.

There is already a book called An American Tragedy, so I won’t borrow that title, but the name fits. Caboodle Ranch has been taken from Craig Grant, but also from all the people who had lost jobs, then houses, and found a home for their beloved pets at the ranch. It’s lost to the shelters that were overcrowded, who knew Craig would take in their excess cats. It’s lost to the tourists and visitors who came by the hundreds, and then spent their money in local shops. It’s lost to the volunteers who got so much personal satisfaction because they knew they were helping families and animals and Craig.

The trials and hearings are not over. For Craig, the threat of jail time exists; the threat of poverty is real. The legal bills are huge, but thousands of Caboodle Ranch fans are praying for Craig to prevail, and are sending donations, writing letters, sharing the story on Facebook and Twitter.

Out of the ashes a new Caboodle Ranch will be born, but certainly not in Madison County, Florida. And a new group of unwanted, unloved cats or just plain unlucky cats, will be given a second chance at life. And, as he was meant do to, at the helm will be Craig Grant, a man building his dream.

Tell Congress to End Chimpanzee Experiments

Chimpanzees—humans' closest living genetic relatives—are extremely social, intelligent individuals who have rich mental and emotional lives. They have incredible memories, they share cultural traditions that are passed down through generations, they care deeply for their families and friends, and they grieve the loss of their loved ones when they pass away.

Sadly, more than 900 of these remarkable beings are imprisoned in U.S. laboratories, where they are forced to endure decades of invasive procedures as well as fear, loneliness, and pain. This hellish experience leaves lifelong emotional scars on chimpanzees, and many of them resort to self-mutilation or suffer from depression and other psychological disorders after experiencing the trauma of having their minds and bodies violated.

Despite international criticism, the U.S. remains the only nation in the industrialized world that continues to conduct invasive experiments on chimpanzees.

Many of these chimpanzees have been intentionally infected with diseases such as HIV and hepatitis—even though scientists agree that they are archaic and unreliable models for researching human illnesses. A landmark National Academy of Sciences report examining the scientific validity of experiments on chimpanzee has even concluded that "most current biomedical research use of chimpanzees is not necessary." In response, the National Institutes of Health has announced that it will suspend consideration of funding for any new experiments on chimpanzees. The agency has also stated that all currently funded experiments on chimpanzees will be reevaluated and that funding for many may be ended.

Further to these efforts, Congress has introduced the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act (H.R. 1513/S. 810), which would permanently end the use of chimpanzees—and all other great apes—in invasive experiments and retire more than 600 federally owned chimpanzees to sanctuaries where they could live in peace at last.

Please help protect chimpanzees and other great apes now by asking your congressional representatives to cosponsor and support the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act.

To learn how you can send a letter to your Senators and Resprestative, please visit PETA now.

Caboodle Ranch Becomes a Ghost Town

The once highly praised and beautiful sanctuary for cats becomes a ghost town, a virtual abandoned safe haven for the cats that once lived here. Gone are the 'happy tails' and curious faces that passed through this path just 5 months ago. Gone are the playful antics of hundreds of saved cats that used to run up trees, play in the tall grass or bat a bizzy ball around. When PETA and the ASPCA were contacted by "haters" of the ranch, they quickly came down to do their well known damage. The job they do best, destroying any chance that these cats had at a safe and peacceful life. A life they were already living at the ranch, some for 11 years. But these activists groups had it in their head to (as an ASPCA officer told us) "Seize first, investigate later". And with this 'policy' they turned the ranch upside down for 5 days and nights, in the rain, chasing down and terrorizing and trapping all the cats that just that Monday morning were safe in their beds enjoying a sunny sleepy morning.

After they took the caboodle cats aways to the Jacksonville ASPCA for their "rescue and treatment", the onslaught of false accusations, lies and staged photos came to the court in order to shame the man who built this oasis and saved over a thousand cats over the years. These cats had no where else to go. There were no other no kill shelters that could take them. They came to the ranch from all over the US and other countries. But that did not matter to the ASPCA or PETA. They continued to drag Craig Grant and its workers through the mud telling everyone that they were horrible people and cruel to boot. The "haters" made it their mission "to destroy Craig Grant and Caboodle Ranch" and despite the most gallant of efforts and thousands of dollars in legal fees, they succeeded. The ASPCA recently held an adoption event on August 11th and 12th. Succeeding in adopting out only about 300 cats of the 650+ that were taken away. So what's the next step? More adoption events? A court order AT LEAST prevents them from euthanizing any of the remaining cats. But that does little to ease the bone marrow deep grief that Craig Grant, the workers and supporters feel.

Craig is a broken man. Not a man that has given up, but a man who has had his 'family' taken from him, his dream destroyed, his ranch demolished after putting 250K into it to make it a magical joyful place for the cats. He is a man that has been brutally beaten down at every turn for the mere fact that he wanted to make a difference and give people an alternative to euthanasia or having a cat live forever in a cage. The level of injustice that has been done to this man, this ranch and most of all the cats is an atrocity to the so called legal system. In a court order, Judge Parker said that Criag will have his personal cats returned to him. He has over 12 personal cats and the two Great Pyranese that were the watch dogs. The judge only mentioned 5 cats. So why return his cats if this man is cruel and neglectful in the care and treatment of animals? Exactly. The county of Madison had an agenda that involved closing the ranch altogether and went about it so corruptly it's a wonder that Dateline or 20/20 hasn't been here yet to investigate. And we hope they DO come. This cannot happen again. Every rescue and every shelter and every person out there that is trying to save lives, to make a difference will be next, because PETA and the ASPCA feel and are treated, as if they are above the law.

Someone has to step up and stop this insanity. These precious cats were happy. And the people behind the events that have taken place from February 27th 2012 to present will be held accountable, eventually, for their atrocious actions.  Want to Read More! (Caboodleranch's Journal, August 16, 2012)

HSUS Fall Flat in the Hoosier State

The Humane Society of the United States was at the Indiana State Fair pushing a federal egg mandate that's before Congress. That’s a tough task for a group that’s on the record as wanting to get rid of animal agriculture. Apparently HSUS and its six-figure CEO Wayne Pacelle tried to hold some kind of press event to gin up support for the bill they’re pushing. We say “tried” because Pacelle didn’t appear to draw much of a crowd (see below).

A little birdie emailed us the details:

Apparently, when Pacelle took to the microphone, the TV cameraman started panning the audience (or lack thereof) and packed up and left in the middle of his presentation. Must have been tough since all of the old tractors that are right there in Pioneer Village simultaneously (and completely coincidentally ;-)) were cranked up just as Pacelle took the microphone . . .

If ever there was a non-event, this was it.

No kidding. Where are all those “11 million supporters” that HSUS claims to have?

Sorry, Wayne. Better luck next time. But we wouldn’t count on it. (HumaneWatch, August 15, 12)

Reports of Needless Suffering and Death at Companion Animal Alliance

Many people heard the buzz about the Companion Animal Alliance (CAA) in Baton Rouge, LA and their supposed no kill efforts. Local volunteer Amanda Brice has put together a well documented 14 page recent history of the pound, aptly title “Not No Kill”. If you are unfamiliar with CAA’s story and/or if you would like to see how a volunteer can make an important contribution simply by documenting online activity, please take a look at this document.

Ms. Brice used to help out with the cats at the Companion Animal Alliance. She stopped visiting the facility because her offers to care for the stray cats, whom she felt needed the most help, were refused and she no longer feels welcome there. Management advised her that volunteering with the stray cats is a “privilege, not a right”.

Ms. Brice says that CAA does not vaccinate all pets upon intake and the sick cats are not separated from the healthy ones. One employee has been in charge of caring for the stray cats at CAA but when that person took a leave of absence, Ms. Brice says she saw the cats were being neglected. She offered to help but her offer was refused by management. To see the entire story Click Here.  (YesBiscuit, July 31, 2012)

Pledge to End Animal Homelessness!

Homelessness is not just a human problem. U.S. animal shelters must put to death nearly 4 million dogs and cats every year because of simple math: There are too many animals and not enough worthy adoptive homes. You can help prevent this—it's as easy as Animal Birth Control!
Never Breed or Buy. Always Adopt. Always Spay and Neuter.

To sign the petition go to the Pledge to End Animal Homelessness page located at peta.org.

A Dog Crate Is a Cage Is a Prison

What if, at your local pet-supply store, you could purchase a dog-training tool that would make your dog weaker, klutzier, and less intelligent? And what if this tool increased your dog's frustration and fearfulness about the world and made him or her less likely to bond with you? Would you buy it? Of course not! Yet, millions of these "tools" are sold every year to unsuspecting American dog lovers who want the absolute best for their dogs. The tool is a "crate," which is just a euphemism for a cage. In fact, dog crates are substantially smaller than the cages that are used to house dogs in laboratories.

Dogs Hate Crates: How Abusive Crate Training Hurts Dogs, Families & Society is a new book by Ray and Emma Lincoln in which they discuss in detail the detrimental effects of crating on dogs' well-being as well as on American society. They explain how the crating trend got started, what continues to fuel it, why it's so harmful, what can be done about it, and what the alternatives to crating are. The authors are experienced dog trainers and behavior specialists who found that they were spending much of their training time trying to undo hundreds of psychological and behavioral symptoms caused by crating. These specific symptoms and their connection to classic studies on the effects of isolation and excessive confinement are thoroughly analyzed. To read the full story Click Here. (Peta, August 2012)

This is How it's Done!

Image via Facebook

In an apparent act of retaliation, pound director Val McCullough instituted several policy changes including banning volunteers from caring for animals on weekends when the staff is off and banning photography at the pound. Ms. McCullough, in a pretty lame attempt to disguise petty vindictiveness, offered:

“It’s more of a safety precaution,” she said. “When nobody is here, we don’t know who’s here for sure. If somebody were to fall and get hurt, you know.”

Yeah, we know.
A volunteer on the pound’s advisory board filed a complaint with the state attorney general’s office and a criminal complaint with the Saginaw Co prosecutor’s office. The sheriff’s office is investigating.
Volunteers mobilized local pet lovers to complain to the county commissioners. The county summoned the director to appear at a public meeting on Wednesday in response to the hundreds of complaints received.
Pet advocates filled every chair in the room at the county meeting. When the chairs were full, they stood in the doorways. When there was no more room in the doorways, they stood in the hall. When the hall filled up, they sat in an adjoining room so they could listen to the speakers at the meeting.
Speaker after speaker asked the county to reverse the new policies. The director was a no-show. But the county listened and reversed the policy changes.
This fight is not over. The director is still in place, still mouthing platitudes to the media, such as:

“Unfortunately, it’s a cruel world,” she said. “We would love to be able to find homes for all these animals.”

But she has no army of apologists backing her. The “Friends” at the Saginaw Co pound are friends to the pets, not the regressive director. They speak out publicly. They take action. They don’t give up.
If you want to institute reform at your pound, this is how you do it.  (YesBiscuit August 10, 2012)

Animal Firghting Tools Outlawed in NY

Help Stop Animal Fighting Now

Animal fighting is illegal in all 50 states — a conviction carries with it hefty fines and potential jail time.
Still, dog fighting and cock fighting happens every single day in the United States. It's clear that simply illegalizing the activity isn't enough to stop it for good. For one, it's extremely difficult to prove an owner is harboring dogs for the purpose of game fighting. But more often than not, true dog fighters will own fighting "tools" which give little doubt as to their involvement with the crime.
Such equipment includes cat mills, which provoke the biting of other animals, or razor sharp knives used to slash roosters' feet during a fight.

The Animal Rescue Site is trying to reach 35,000 signatures and as of today they have 34,752.  Please go to The Animal Rescue Site now to help them reach their goal. 

Cruelty Behind Cheese: Cattle Burned for Maker of Cabot

In late 2011 and early 2012, PETA conducted an undercover investigation at Adirondack Farms, LLC, a dairy factory farm that takes 180,000 pounds of milk—intended for their calves—from approximately 1,800 cows every day in Clinton County, New York. Adirondack Farms sends that milk to Massachusetts-based Agri-Mark, Inc., the self-proclaimed "largest supplier of farm fresh milk in New England." Agri-Mark makes Cabot and McCadam cheeses and had $900 million in 2011 sales. During the course of the investigation, PETA's investigator found that workers routinely jabbed and struck cows with a pole and cane—on the face, udder, and hindquarters—when leading them into a room to be milked. When PETA's investigator brought these abuses to the attention of a farm manager, the manager admitted that the workers "get carried away with" striking cows. This same manager—who failed to stop the abuse—was caught on video by PETA's investigator electro-shocking a cow in the face repeatedly. A month after PETA notified Adirondack Farms' owners of the behavior of this manager and others responsible for the abuse and neglect and asked that they take appropriate disciplinary action—including termination—the manager was still on the job! PETA released additional footage of him jabbing a fully conscious downed cow, whom he called a "dumb bitch," in the ribs with a screwdriver and using a skid loader to drag her approximately 25 feet...Read More.

Did Anyone See the Documentary "One Nation Under Dog: Stories of Fear, Loss and Betrayal" on HBO?

Did anyone see the documentary "One Nation Under Dog: Stories of Fear, Loss and Betrayal" that aired on HBO?  It is a documentary about America's relationship with dogs and some of the problems these pets face.  HSUS's PR office is busy promoting the HBO documentary, but why don't they do more for these animal shelters?  We would love to know your thoughts!

Will HSUS Lobbying Squash Rescue Groups?

The dog-breeding community is up in arms over a proposed rule from the USDA that would change licensing requirements for selling animals. Essentially, we read the rule to be like this: If you sell pets, you need to allow buyers come to your premises personally to observe the animal before purchase, or get a federal license and allow the USDA to inspect your business. Hobby breeders with four or fewer breeding animals would be exempt.  The main idea is to clamp down on “puppy mills” that sell dogs over the internet or phone. But could the regulations rope in more than just the bad guys?  Before the formal commenting period opening on the proposal, the USDA held a Q&A conference call for interested parties to ask questions, since this is a volatile issue. A speaker from the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Association asked the USDA if shelters and rescues would also come under the regulations. Read More! (HumaneWatch June 20, 2012).

Urge Tyson Foods to Ensure Better Treatment for Pigs

The Humane Society of the United States released undercover video footage revealing cruel treatment of animals and inhumane conditions at a Wyoming pig breeding facility owned by a supplier to Tyson Foods. Tyson now admits that it purchases pigs from the facility HSUS investigated and that Tyson will at least temporarily suspend purchases from them. However, Tyson needs to do more: It must stop allowing its suppliers to confine pigs in tiny metal “gestation crates” where they cannot even turn around for nearly their whole lives -- a standard pork industry practice.

The investigation revealed workers kicking piglets like soccer balls, swinging sick piglets in circles, and ruthlessly beating mother pigs. Along with individual acts of animal abuse, this investigation also highlights the suffering pigs endure when locked in gestation crates.
Burger King, McDonald's, Wendy's, Safeway, Compass Group (the world's largest food service provider), and other major food companies have announced that they'll remove gestation crates from their supply chains. As several leading pork producers are actively moving in that direction, Tyson lags far behind and still defends this extreme confinement. We need your help to move the company to do the right thing.  Take Actions Now!

In 2011, PETA kills 713 Dogs

The numbers are in. In 2011, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) impounded 760 dogs. They killed 713 of them. Only 19 were adopted. An additional 36 of them were transferred to kill “shelters” where their fates and the fates of those animals they displaced are unknown. In 2011, they impounded 1,211 cats. 1,198 were put to death. A paltry 5 of them were adopted and another 8 were transferred to kill “shelters” where their fates and the fates of those animals they displaced are unknown. They also took in 58 other companion animals, including rabbits. 54 were put to death. Only 4 were adopted. All told, 2,029 companion animals were impounded. 1,965 were put to death. Only 28 were placed in homes.  To read more, please check out Nathan J Winograd's blog.

Recommended eBooks You Will Need to Raise a Happy Dog

Having a dog as part of your family should be a joy, not a burden.  If you are frustrated by your dog's behavior, check out some of these ebooks by Cesar Millan - Cesar's Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems , Cesar's Rules: Your Way to Train a Well-Behaved Dog , and How to Raise the Perfect Dog: Through Puppyhood and Beyond .

Keep Your Pet and Keep Them Healthy in Today's Economy

Many of us know someone who is compacted by today's economy and according to The Humane Society of the United States, thousands of family pets are not ending up at the local pet shelters, simply because their families can no longer afford to take care of them.  FloridaPets.net offers resources to help you keep your pet and keep them healthy in today's economy.  To read more, click here.  To subscribe to their free newsletter, click here.

Humane Watch's Pledge to Shut Down Their Site

This weekend marks the 2nd anniversary of The HumaneWatch 50% Pledge.  They promise to shut down their website for good if the Humane Society of the United States makes one simple promise:  to give 50% of its budget to pet shelters.  Currently, HSUS gives 1% of its budget to hands-on pet shelters.  In a recent poll of HSUS donors, many of them would have reconsidered their gifts if they only knew the truth.  To learn more about their pledge, visit humanewatch.org.

Tellin' Ellen Campaign

Have  you heard about the Tellin' Ellen Campaign?  Angel's Paws is a program that offers complete end of life care for pets and their families.   For their 2 year anniversary, they are asking everyone to send a letter to Ellen to consider having Tammy Wynn, owner of Angel's Paws as a guest on her show.  To learn more about the Tellin' Ellen Campaign please visit angelspaws.com.

Ask For a National Animal Rescue Day

Join The Animal Rescue Site to help support legislation that would designate every first Saturday in October "National Animal Rescue Day".  Support rescue animals and sign in to support of H.R. 220 today!

As Few as 3,200 Tigers Left

Why are tigers disappearing?  Mostly because of illegal trade and deforestation.  The Save Tigers Now is a global campaign by World Wildlife Fund and Leonardo DiCaprio.  Please help #SaveTigersNow.  You can donate to this cause at www.savetigersnow.org.

Secrets to Dog Training: Stop Your Dog's Behavioral Problems Humanly

Your dog is always learning. The problem is - how do you get your dog to learn good habits and NOT bad habits? Dogs understand things very differently to us humans, so frequently when you are training your dog (or even when you think you are NOT) you are actually making behavior problems worse!  To learn more Click Here!

90 Percent of HSUS Donors Are in the Dark

HUMANEWATCH.ORG has already established through public polling that the vast majority of Americans—you know, the regular folks who are the targets of HSUS’s disclaimer-less, deceptive TV ads—mistakenly believe that HSUS is a pet shelter umbrella group.  Read more...(Humane Watch, May 15, 2012)

Take Action Now! Medical School Curricula with Live Animal Laboratories

Below is a list of U.S. medical schools that still use live animals to teach basic concepts in human physiology, pharmacology, and/or surgery. More than 90 percent of all United States medical schools, including Harvard, Stanford, and Yale, have eliminated these old-fashioned laboratories in favor of modern, cost-effective and humane alternatives. Please write to your local universities and alma mater to express your concerns about these crude exercises...(PCRM)