Pet Monologues

CHICAGO — More than 1,000 phony registrations were submitted, Lake County official says. Read the rest of this entry »

Court Reverses Bush Decision to Strip Protection From Wolves in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Read the rest of this entry »

Send Comments to Secretary Kempthorne. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced devastating changes to the Endangered Species Act, signaling the end of protection for thousands of imperiled species. Read the rest of this entry »

AB 1634 is a controversial bill (authored by Democrat Lloyd Levine) in the California State Legislature which would require that dogs and cats in California be spayed or neutered by 6 months of age. Read the rest of this entry »

Parts of Endangered Species Act may soon be extinct.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration wants federal agencies to decide for themselves whether highways, dams, mines and other construction projects might harm endangered animals and plants.

New regulations, which don’t require the approval of Congress, would reduce the mandatory, independent reviews government scientists have been performing for 35 years, according to a draft first obtained by The Associated Press. Read the rest of this entry »

Saudi Arabia. Bans dogs and cats.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — To keep the sexes apart in the state capital, a pet ban is in effect. As every single man knows: Walking a dog in the park equals sure babe magnet. Saudi Arabia’s Islamic religious police, in their zeal to keep the sexes apart, want to make sure the technique doesn’t catch on here. Read the rest of this entry »

Madisonville TX—The Madisonville City Council has repealed a heavily debated article of an ordinance that will ease the minds of certain dog owners. Read the rest of this entry »

$24M pet food settlement.

CAMDEN, NJ—A judge granted initial approval to a $24 million settlement in which companies that manufactured or sold contaminated pet food would compensate pet owners fro all costs related to the death or illness of their dogs and cats. Read the rest of this entry »

The polar bear is finally getting a break and maybe global warming worries have made it possible: The government has declared it a threatened species in need of increased protection. But another round of legal battles surrounding the majestic animal may be just beginning.

The Interior Department put the bear under the protective umbrella of the Endangered Species Act on Wednesday, concluding what biologists have been saying for years—the bear is on the way to extinction because of the rapid disappearance of the Arctic sea ice upon which it depends.

Scientists predict sea ice melting will continue and even accelerate because of global warming.

“This in my judgment makes the polar bear a threatened species, one likely to become in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future,” said Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, punctuating his point with an array of slides, charts and maps showing the changing ice flows of the Arctic.

But Kempthorne also said that he did not view the increased protection of the bear afforded by the Endangered Species Act as a back door to regulate greenhouse gases coming from power plants, automobiles and industrial sources. Read the rest of this entry »

Pets on lap while driving may soon be a no-no in Calif.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)—Pull over and put down the dog. A California lawmaker wants to ban motorists from holding pets on their laps while driving and getting caught can net a $35 fine. The bill passed the Assembly on a 44-11 vote on Monday, and heads to the Senate. Read the rest of this entry »