Free Republic

Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives re-introduced a bill last week that would make malicious acts of animal cruelty a felony nationwide. A person convicted of the crime could face a fine or up to seven years in prison, or both. The bill, known as the Preventing Animal Cruel and Torture (PACT) Act, is co-sponsored by Democrat Ted Deutch and Republican Vern Buchanan. PACT would criminalize "crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating and impaling animals." The measure would also address bestiality and other attempts to sexually exploit animals. Deutch tweeted, "We will get this done. It's bipartisan, common-sense policy that...

A planned hunt of grizzly bears near Yellowstone National Park has trophy hunters and environmentalists on edge as a federal judge may rule as early as Thursday if the planned hunt can still go forward. U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen is set to hear arguments in six lawsuits brought by environmental groups against a planned grizzly bear hunt that hunters say they should be allowed to participate in. About 700 grizzlies living in and around Yellowstone National Park lost their protected status last year when they were removed from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's threatened species list. Ranchers and...

BY THE OREGONIAN/OREGONLIVE (Compiled from news accounts, court records, public notices) Last week's arrest of a long-sought accused eco-saboteur pushed the spotlight back on a tight-knit cell of radical environmentalists responsible for a $48 million run of firebombings and other crimes across the West in the 1990s and early 2000s. Six men and five women prosecuted in Oregon received sentences ranging from three years to 13 years. They were arrested starting in 2005 in what the FBI called "Operation Backfire," a task force that tracked down the suspects with the help of an informant deep within the underground group....

A 26-year-old West Ashley woman was ticketed Friday after Charleston police said she caused an accident by scaring two carriage horses with a Tyrannosaurus rex costume. Nicole Wells of Ashley River Road was cited on a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct and wearing a mask or disguise on a public street, a city code violation, police said. Wells was released after turning herself in Friday morning, spokesman Charles Francis said. She was not jailed. The incident was reported shortly after 5 p.m. on Thursday near Tommy Condon's restaurant on Church Street. Two Palmetto Carriage Works horses, named Yogi and Boo...

Many animal-rights and welfare organizations pose serious threats to all animal agriculture, the livestock sector and production agriculture in general. Altogether, they have combined annual budgets of $300 million. The ones that pose the greatest threat are the Humane Society of the United States, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the Sierra Club, Citizens for Decent Agriculture, the Dust Police, and the Animal Liberation Front. This group actually supports elimination of all animal agriculture, turning all domestic animals loose to roam, and even goes as far as to advocate assignation of people to free all farm animals. This group...

Joint legislative panel meets Friday in Newport to hear their viewsState Rep. Peter Buckley and a cache of wildlife advocates on Friday will begin their bid to convince the Oregon Legislature to suspend the state's plan for managing cougars while searching for less lethal ways of reducing cougar-human conflicts. A joint Oregon Legislature committee will hear Buckley and others during a meeting in Newport on the two-year-old Cougar Management Plan, reviled by some wildlife activists for its study to see whether killing cougars reduces complaints. Activists say this amounts to indiscriminate cougar-killing that flies against public will and a 2006...

The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) has announced the winners of its 4th annual Tarnished Halo Awards. CCF awards these prizes to America's most notorious animal-rights zealots, environmental scaremongers, celebrity busybodies, self-anointed public interest advocates, trial lawyers, and other food & beverage activists who claim to know what's best for you. The Reverend Rooster Category Awarded to Al Sharpton, the publicity-seeking preacher, for joining PETA to crow at KFC restaurants and attempting to instigate a boycott from the African American community. It's odd that Sharpton would stand side-by-side with PETA, which advocates a complete end to chicken consumption. When the...

TAHOMA - Public reaction to the shooting Friday of three bears - a mother and two yearling cubs hibernating beneath a west Lake Tahoe cabin - is so intense the homeowners who authorized it fear for their lives. "It's a nightmare - every other call is a threat from someone who's going to burn down my cabin or shoot me on sight," Russ Tonda said Wednesday. Several weeks ago, the Granite Bay man and his wife discovered about $100,000 in damage to a cabin they've owned for 40 years in the Chamberlands neighborhood here. The culprits apparently were the bears,...

Pet store animals cooked in school Fri Jan 21 2005 08:35:35 ET A Guinea pig and rabbit purchased from a Geauga County pet store ended up on plates at a Cleveland area high school. A 16-year-old student skinned and cooked the animals during a living skills class on Wednesday, prompting student and parent complaints to the Thompson Township Police Department and Geauga Humane Society. Officials at both agencies said they are investigating. Friday editions of the CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER detail how the incident may warrant animal cruelty charges. Geauga Humane Officer Sarah Westman said it's illegal to needlessly kill "companion...

Scientists create pre-plucked chicken by George Wright A new breed of "naked" chicken created by scientists in the search for tastier, healthier poultry has angered animal rights campaigners. 'Monster': the featherless chicken Despite its bizarre appearance, the red-skinned broiler could become a supermarket success because it is designed to grow faster and contain less fat than normal chickens. It will also be cheaper to produce since its lack of feathers means there is no need to pluck it before it hits the shelves. The new, genetically modified breed was reared by Israeli genetics expert Avigdor Cahaner, of the Rehovot...