While federal lawmakers take another shot at opening hunting season on wolves, activists have launched a campaign to celebrate an animal once driven to near extinction.The yearlong “Big, Not Bad” campaign launched on Valentine’s Day, with an emotional video about wolves by Mindfruit Studios and photographer Jim Brandenburg.The goal is to teach people in the Great Lakes region about wolve.... Read More
A federal regulation finalized in the last days of the Obama administration would have ended the abusive practice of horse soring.But Donald Trump, on his first day in office, put the rule on hold, issuing a memorandum for all unpublished rules to be withdrawn and sent back to the relevant agency for review.Federal officials in Barack Obama’s administration had made regulatory changes under .... Read More
Donald Trump’s proposed wall along the U.S. border with Mexico threatens many kinds of life, from humans to endangered species.Trump announced his administration’s plan to build a barrier on the southern U.S. border on Jan. 25, pursuing an oft-repeated campaign promise. He proposes to build a “contiguous, physical wall” — considered the most expensive way to secure a border — and he .... Read More
The Agriculture Department has removed animal welfare inspection reports, enforcement records and other information about the treatment of animals from its website, citing privacy and other laws.Tanya Espinosa, a spokeswoman for USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, confirmed the removal of the information but would not say if the removal was temporary or permanent in the new Tr.... Read More
Legislation was introduced on Jan. 10 in Congress to strip federal protections from wolves in the Great Lakes region and Wyoming.With language preventing any further judicial review, the bill would overrule two court decisions that found the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wrongly removed Endangered Species Act protections for the wolf.“The new Congress is the most extreme and anti-wolf o.... Read More
Consumer health and food safety groups this week called on 16 fast-food restaurants to stop the unnecessary use of antibiotics in their meat and poultry supply.Medical experts say the overuse of antibiotics in livestock poses a public health threat by increasing the spread of deadly drug-resistant bacteria.The 16 restaurants petitioned by the organizations received “F” grades for .... Read More
Residents in rural western Illinois are trying to stop a leading U.S. pork producer’s plan for a massive hog facility.Bernadotte Township residents sent letters to state agriculture officials alleging errors and omissions in Professional Swine Management’s plan for its 20,000-hog confinement, Runway Ridge Farms LLC., the Chicago Tribune reported.The concerns are similar to those expres.... Read More
If President-elect Donald Trump really is concerned about immigration, perhaps he should be talking about ways to slow global warming.Rising sea levels, caused by the melting of the Antarctic and Greenland ice caps, will probably displace tens of millions of people in the decades ahead, and many may come to North America as refugees.Climate change, arguably the most pressing issue of our time,.... Read More
The world's fastest land animal, the cheetah, is in danger of extinction because it is running out of space, research led by the Zoological Society of London has found.After a sharp decline in numbers there are now just 7,100 cheetahs in the world, or 9 percent of the historic range, the ZSL, Wildlife Conservation Society and Panthera study found.In Zimbabwe, the study found, these pressur.... Read More
Bird enthusiasts are chirping about a much anticipated and celebrated campaign — the annual Christmas Bird Count coordinated by the National Audubon Society.The count, set to take place through Jan. 5, is in its 117th year, making it the longest-running wildlife census in the world. It involves tens of thousands of bird-loving volunteers.Each individual count takes place in a 15-mile-wide ci.... Read More
