Archives for July 2006

Humane Issues in the News

Although this article may disturb you a bit, the local option is a good one and better than some of the commercial slaughterhouses. The community gets local food and supports their local ranchers, farmers and butcher. Today most everything is so franchised that the small mom and pop or quality outlets are difficult to find. Anyway, read about how this small slaughterhouse/butcher works and get connected to the real story.

I regularly see splashes about animal abandonment by owners from Canada but this is one of the first I come across lately for the USA. Don’t get the wrong idea that it is not a problem here, it is. Read about the overflooded shelter problem.

For those unfortunate victims of disaster who lost or were forced to give up their pets, Katrina pet ownership disputes have arisen.

The ongoing battle over defining “pet guardians” from “pet owners” remains a signficant in the legal department since ownership allows the Katrina pet victim parents to get them back via the courts since the property return time limitation period is defined. Keep your eye on this issue as I suspect it will keep rearing its head in different ways.

Elephant Attack Kills Handler

Bummer, another elephant attack occurred recently killing one handler and injuring another. The facility is overseen by Carol Buckley, a former California resident whose elephant Tarra was known as the roller skating elephant. The elephant sanctuary takes in captive elephants from zoos and circus facilities and maintains a elephant web camera so you can watch the elephants live.

The loss of Joanna Burke is a sad one. Most animal trainers and handlers choose to devote their lives to their charges despite the risk.

It will be interesting to see how this incident is handled in the media, by animal rights groups, and by other elephant facilities. Read more about this elephant incident.

Here is a recent update on the incident. I suspect the elephant could not see and spun. Elephants are reactive and it will be interesting to see what the reports reveal once some time has passed.