by Wayne Pacelle Guam Agriculture Department director Chelsa Muna-Brecht has publicly announced that the agency will develop import restrictions on the movement of fighting roosters, though the rigor of those limitations is still an open question given the agency’s close association with the U.S. cockfighting community. The move comes after Animal Wellness Action documented a … Read more
by Josh Marquis The 2011 movie “Contagion” turned out to be prescient. The movie, featuring Matt Damon, posited a world-wide pandemic from a “zoonotic virus” (one that jumps from one species into another) that rapidly turns deadly as one of the film’s main characters says, “The wrong bat met the wrong pig.” And just as … Read more
by Wayne Pacelle Despite the unmistakable verdict of California voters that they want to wrap up the era of extreme confinement of farm animals, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and other agribusiness and food-industry players are working to bully the courts and the Congress to undermine Proposition 12 and to allow the indefinite imprisoning … Read more
by Marty Irby American horse racing remains steeped in controversy because of deaths on the track, recurring scandals involving doping of horses, and questions about the enforcement authority for the recently enacted Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA). It’s an especially vulnerable time for horse racing, with the surge in sports betting threatening to leave … Read more
Oregon’s second city, Eugene, is home of the University of Oregon, storied track and field athletes, and Lane County District Attorney Patty Perlow. The first woman elected to the top prosecutor’s post in Eugene, Perlow has held almost every position a lawyer can have in serving as a career prosecutor. She began as a deputy … Read more