Why Do European Zoos Kill Healthy Animals?

On Thursday, the Odense Zoo in Denmark is scheduled to dissect a lion for the educational benefit of children on school holidays.  The 9-month-old female lion was considered "surplus." Officials at Odense said they had too many female lions. And they also were concerned about inbreeding, according to reports. The lion was offered to other zoos, but when no takers were found she was killed and stored in a freezer earlier this year.

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Too Many People Are Still Not Adopting Animals

For most people concerned about animal welfare, adopting pets from an animal shelter or rescue organization is unquestionably the right thing to do, both for the pets brought into loving homes as well as to create more room and resources for animals left behind. And as we observe "Adopt a Shelter Dog Month," it's easy to assume the general public understands this imperative.

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Ecotourism Could Bring New Dangers to Animals

Ecotourism seems like it should be a win-win. Visitors get to experience exciting, often exotic locales and see creatures in their natural habitats. The money raised through these visits goes to local communities and to preserving ecosystems.  But what if nature tourism is hurting the very animals we want to protect?

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Animals Deserve To Be Treated Humanely

Thank you for publishing columnist Kirsten Powers’ piece “It’s time for evangelicals to speak up for animals.”  The animal rights movement is the logical successor to the other major social justice movements of the second half of the 20th century: the civil rights movement, the women’s rights movement and the gay rights movement.

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Humans Harder on Animals Than Radiation

The site of the worst nuclear disaster in history might be turning into an accidental wildlife sanctuary.  More than 100,000 people had to leave the 1,600 square miles surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear plant, after an explosion in one of the nuclear reactors spewed tons of radioactive material into the air in 1986.  The number of deaths, particularly those from radiation exposure and cancers, has been disputed over the years, with some figures being as low as 43 and others closer to 4,000, or higher.

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We Don't Own the Animals

I was recently honored to receive a humanitarian award from Peta. During the evening, I was reminded of Pope Francis' historical new encyclical on the environment. He praises animals, and calls on all of us to embrace a more humane path: "We read in the Gospel that Jesus says of the birds of the air that 'not one of them is forgotten before God' ( Lk 12:6)." How then can we possibly mistreat them or cause them harm?"

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The Secret Lives of Dogs

A dog’s tail wagging could be worth a thousand words, and with the help of a new gadget, we’re a little closer to translating its message.  Believing a dog’s tail is a window to the canine soul, founders of New York-based tech company DogStar Life created a smart device to help owners decode the messages transmitted when pups wag their tails and better understand the emotional lives of their furry friends.  TailTalk is a lightweight sensor that sits on a dog’s tail and documents the peaks and valleys of the pup’s feelings throughout the day, according to the creators.

http://tinyurl.com/q8mwp4k

Campuses Debate Rising Demands for ‘Comfort Animals’

Rachel Brill and Mary McCarthy are seniors and longtime roommates at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. This year, they share their four-bedroom campus apartment with two other female students. Also, Theo and Carl.  Theo, easygoing and unflappable, is a tawny, 103-pound, longhaired German shepherd. Carl, an energetic charm magnet, is a jet-black, 1.5-pound Netherland Dwarf rabbit.  House rules: Carl must reside in a pen under Ms. McCarthy’s raised bed; Theo snoozes in a crate in Ms. Brill’s bedroom. Carl cannot be let loose in the living room, where Theo likes to hang out. “We’re still very careful because we don’t want there to be an issue with Theo and Carl,” Ms. McCarthy said. “We’re both very anxious people.”

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The Furriest Animal In the World

In the coldest parts of the world, insulation is essential for survival.  One way is to have a good thick layer of blubber under your skin. But anyone that's seen a walrus flopping across the beach knows that fat can have its downsides. To stay both warm and agile, fat won't do.  The Arctic fox can withstand polar winters, surviving long periods below -20 °C (-4 °F), thanks to some incredible adaptations.

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World Day for Farmed Animals Seeks To Give People Pause

Nobody’s going to ask you to stop eating turkey sandwiches, hamburgers or pork chops. That’s the sort of request that tends to irk devoted carnivores—i.e., the vast majority of humans who, worldwide, will consume upwards of 65 billion farm animals this year.  Not even the most passionate vegan organizer behind World Day for Farmed Animals (Oct. 2) is expecting legions of meat-eaters to dramatically change their diets overnight, no matter how many distressing facts they offer up on their website (dayforanimals.org) or on placards carried by supporters at the many rallies planned for Saturday.

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