Free Republic

HOLLISTER — A revolt is brewing on the rangelands of San Benito and Monterey counties over state game laws that protect mountain lions. Hunters, ranchers and farmers appear to be fed up with what they see as depredations on deer and livestock by an out-of-control mountain lion population. They are resentful of regulations they say were imposed on them by big-city voters who never saw one of the big cats outside of a television program or a zoo, and distrustful of state Department of Fish and Game enforcement. And they seem to be waging their own guerrilla warfare against the...

Yes, the pet world just gets stranger and stranger. No longer is it enough to put a bandana on your bulldog for Halloween – no he must dress link a lion complete with shaggy mane. Labs must don reindeer antlers come Christmas. And now, Chihuahuas and other alien canines apparently will sport alien antennae and other ET garb. Roswell, New Mexico, home to an annual UFO Festival has added a canine constme show to the mix. Dogs from all over come to compete while showing off their extra-terrestrial fashion sense. Meatball, [pictured] a 13-week-old Chihuahua who won second place came...

Hollywood funnyman Ben Stiller had the time of his life when he was beaten up by two monkeys recently on the set of his new movie Night At The Musuem: Battle Of The Smithsonian. The incident took place when the actor was filming a fight scene with the mischievous animals and they gave him several slaps on his face and body, reported contactmusic.com. Though Stiller wanted to punch them back, he dropped the idea for the sake of animal rights laws and took out his frustration on a dummy monkey instead. "We have two (monkeys) this time. I had to...

July 9, 2009 Three NYPD officers and a civilian were injured by ricocheting bullets after cops opened fire on a pit bull in an Upper East Side housing project last night, police said. The wild scene unfolded when six officers from the 19th Precinct and Manhattan North task force responded to a call of an assault with a gun in progress at the Stanley Isaacs Houses at 10:30 p.m. When they knocked on the door of an 11th-floor apartment at 1806 First Ave. at East 93rd Street, a woman who answered sicced the pit bull on the officers, according to...

There were two naked women showering in downtown Lansing Wednesday afternoon — but, to the dismay of many male onlookers, they didn't want to eat any meat. The women, Ashley Kemp, 22, and Lindsay Rajt, 27, were showering on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), as part of the animal rights group’s “Clean Your Conscience” campaign touring the Midwest. The showering was a gimmick to attract attention to the fact that it takes 2,463 gallons of water to produce one pound of meat — the equivalent to about six months of showering. But the anti-meat message...

JOURNAL STAFF AND WIRE REPORT Published: July 3, 2009 A 60-year-old Winston-Salem woman was sentenced to 120 days in jail after she was found guilty of misdemeanor cruelty to animals Wednesday afternoon. Pearleana Henderson of Marmion Street had been charged Feb. 12, 2008, with one felony count of cruelty to animals in connection with the November 2007 poisoning death of a cat that belonged to William Alderman, her next-door neighbor. A jury declined to convict her of the felony, choosing the misdemeanor conviction instead. Judge William Z. Wood of Forsyth Superior Court then sentenced her to 120 days. Prosecutor Matt...

-snip- Fox 8 in Cleveland has identified the woman as 26-year-old Amber Finney. Finney said a friend found the squirrel injured with a broken leg on the street and gave it to Finney, knowing she was an animal lover. As to why she showed up at the police station with it tucked in her top, Finney told Fox 8, "Everybody knows you cannot take an animal into the police station. This animal needed 24-hour-care and I couldn't just leave it outside. So the only place I could hide it was in my shirt." Finney said she has helped the squirrel...

Thursday, July 02, 2009 By LORI STABILE lstabile@repub.com BELCHERTOWN - Ellen M. Majka was inside her home on Prescott Hill when she saw a bald eagle swoop down into her neighbor's yard. It was the first time she saw a bald eagle in the neighborhood. But even more surprising was what she saw in its talons when it flew back up - a black cat. "I've never seen anything like that in my life. I was shocked. I said, 'Oh my God,'" Majka said. The incident happened early, just after 6 am. on June 23. According to eagle experts, a...

Wednesday, July 8, 2009 Reported by: Stacy Daniel A pit bull attacks a horse at a popular Central Coast beach. The horse's owner, who did not want to go on camera, fearing some sort of retaliation, says she and two friends were riding on a trail in Oceano when the dark-bluish gray pit bull came from out of nowhere. The horse's owner said, "It's a very big safety concern because that dog was off leash, and if that dog is still out there and were to attack somebody else, I'd kind of hate to think what would happen." The horse...

German police called to clear a road of a dead badger found the animal in question had in fact gorged itself on over-ripe, fermented cherries and, blind drunk, staggered out into the middle of the road. "The animal's stomach had turned the fruit to alcohol and the badger was, to put it crudely, drunk as a skunk," said a police statement on Wednesday. "In addition, the badger was suffering from diarrhoea studded with cherry stones." Prodding the reluctant beast with a stick, officers managed to persuade it to leave the road near the town of Goslar in northwestern Germany and...

MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, Mich. - Police have arrested a Muskegon Heights man after they say he threw the family cat up to 20 times, possibly breaking the animal's back and leg. Police say the 30-year-old man told them he found the cat eating his food on the kitchen counter, picked it up and threw it.

Wildlife officials respond to several confrontations Tuesday night. Authorities responded to several reports of bears in homes or yards west of Boulder on Tuesday night, including one in which a bear walked into a house in Sunshine Canyon. Rice said it was the second time in recent weeks that a bear was in his house. He said in the previous break-in, the bear — he thinks it was the same one — got in through a doggie door. After officials left Rice’s house Tuesday night, a bear also walked under the porch at the home next door, belonging to Schindler....

While out saying goodbye in the pouring rain and lightning to friends in my driveway, I noticed that traffic in the nearby road was backed up.This is very unusual, as busy as the road is for Southern New Hampshire. There was a very pretty female dog limping up the street,fortunately a very nice lady in a yellow SUV stopped and grabbed her by the collar.Thank God the animal had ID tags from the town (Secretely I was hoping I may have to keep her).The Animal control officer came right away and assured us that they can find her home from...

Bucks County may have another snake scare. Yesterday around noon, an 8-to-10-foot snake was seen slithering across Snowball Drive in Levittown. Or at least that's what a witness told police. In June of 2007, in Bristol, about five miles south, a nine-foot albino python was caught, and a 12-foot boa constrictor or python was reportedly hiding in a crawl space - and possibly eating newborn kittens. The latest snake, described as resembling a python, went into a small wooded area near the intersection with Shell Flower Road, perhaps headed toward Mill Creek, according to the witness. "We went out and...

CHICAGO, July 6 (UPI) -- Illinois prosecutors say they're seeking the death penalty for a Chicago man who allegedly beat his landlord to death with garden tools. Cook County, Ill., officials said Sunday Martin Vega, 27, is eligible for the death penalty for allegedly killing landlord William Hallin, 67, using the garden tools, an ice scraper, a BB gun and a pipe before setting the body on fire, The Chicago Tribune reported. Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil has denied bail for Vega, the newspaper said. Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Emily Stevens alleged Vega killed Hallin Friday when the landlord came...

When the Cox family of Novato unpacked from a weekend coast trip, they were initially humored by what looked like a small kitten that had sneaked in through a front door they had propped open as they brought bags inside. "My son J.D. said, 'Look, a kitten came in the house,'" said Kim Cox, recalling the events that occurred about noon Sunday. "We all thought it was a kitten, and he was wandering around the living room. But then it freaked out and hid underneath the couch." The Coxes, a self-described "dog family," then called friend Sue Hunt, who is...

Elementary expository! Thanks for viewing!

A South Florida teenager accused of killing and mutilating 19 cats excitedly described to police how he dissected cats in class, and where to find cats for experimentation, according to police. Tyler Weinman laughed when police told him they had information he was the cat killer, an arrest document said. Tyler Weinman laughed when police told him they had information he was the cat killer, an arrest document said. When Miami-Dade police told Tyler Hayes Weinman someone was killing cats in the neighborhood, the 18-year-old reacted by laughing, according to a newly released arrest affidavit made public Monday. Most of...

Forget that little guy selling insurance. Geckos are a lot more than that. Need proof? Just visit the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia from now through Sept. 7 and check out “Geckos: Tails to Toepads,” an interactive exhibit featuring dozens of the small, agile – and surprisingly noisy – creatures. “Geckos are among the most diverse and interesting of all reptiles,” said Dr. Aaron Bauer, a Villanova University professor and an Academy research associate who is a world expert on geckos. “This exhibit will give people a good look at their unique specializations and an appreciation for why they...

Teen charged with assault in alleged pit bull attacks By CASEY MCNERTHNEY SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF A 16-year-old girl who deputies say used a pit bull as a weapon in an attack on two women in SeaTac last month was charged Monday with two counts of third-degree assault and being in a minor in possession of liquor. If convicted, the sentence range is up to 90 days in detention with up to 450 hours of community service and up the three years probation. "Because of the seriousness of the case, the King County Prosecutor's Office intends to seek an exceptional sentence above...

Katherine Varjian, 65, had been feeding feral cats, or felines that are not under her ownership, in her Beverly Hills neighborhood for the past 12 years. The Beverly Hills Municipal Court will now decide whether or not her actions are within the confines of the law. Varjian was feeding between 20 and 30 cats daily in the alley behind the 100-200 blocks of Palm, Maple and Oakhurst Drives. She was issued citations twice for this behavior – first in January of this year, then again in February. The violation is considered a misdemeanor by the City and will be heard...

There is a species of spider that builds models of itself, which it uses as decoys to distract predators. The spider may be the first example of an animal building a life-size replica of its own body. So believe the scientists who made the discovery, which is published in the journal Animal Behaviour. The arachnid's behaviour also offers one explanation for why many spiders like to decorate their webs with strange-looking ornaments.

Teen who Allegedly Mutilated 19 Cats Fits Profile of Sociopath, Detective Says A south Florida teenager accused of killing more than a dozen cats fits the profile of a sociopath and responded with laughter when police first spoke to him about the cat deaths, a detective said in an affidavit released Monday. The 10-page affidavit notes that Miami-Dade County detectives used an electronic device to track 18-year-old Tyler Hayes Weinman's car and traced his cell phone before charging him with the macabre crimes. The tracking device showed the car had stopped near places where at least two dead cats were...

Mummy, where are my stripes? Pure white Bengal tiger astonishes keepers By Daily Mail Reporter 06th July 2009 A beautiful rare snow white Bengal tiger doesn't have to earn her stripes because she was born without them. [Pic in URL] The playful six-month-old cub called Fareeda is so unusual none of her kind exist in the wild today and she is the first-ever to be born in Africa. Her parents Geena and Shiva are both white Bengal tigers and carry the gene for white colouring. Enlarge Fareeda is a snow white tiger cub who only has stripe markings on her...

Woman calls emergency services to report missing hamster 12:15 PM, July 5, 2009 Hamster What's not to love about a hamster? They're pocket-sized, fuzzy and make great substitute racehorses. But one Yorkshire, England, woman took her love of the small rodents a step too far by calling 999 (the British equivalent of 911) when her beloved pet escaped. "It's my hamster. It's got out of its cage. It's gone into the bathroom and it's gone down into the floorboards," the woman can be heard telling an emergency-line operator in the recently released recording of her frantic 999 call. A short...

At first Stewart Loew was excited by the sight: a mountain lion on the family's farm near Amado. In 40 years on the Agua Linda Farm, Loew said this was first large cat he had seen when it appeared in the donkey pen about a month ago. But soon, his animals started to turn up mauled or dead. First there were four sheep. Then, on June 15, an awful sight: 16 pygmy and nubian goats — all the mammals in the farm's petting zoo — were killed. Only the geese were spared. Loew and his wife, Laurel, who run the...

LAWRENCEVILLE - Betty Macaluso doesn't need an alarm clock; she has cats. The Lawrenceville woman is awakened each morning by Tom 2, a wide-eyed orange and white cat, who gently paws at her arm about 6 a.m. wanting his breakfast. If Tom 2 happens to sleep through his job or gets distracted, Tiger, a heavier gray and black tabby, steps in. Since Macaluso can't hear the ringing of an alarm clock - she has been deaf all her life - her cats serve as her ears. She adopted Tom 2 and Tiger, both now about a year old, from PetSmart...

JohnBoehner July 01, 2009 WASHINGTON, D.C. House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today released a new YouTube video targeting the failure of Washington Democrats trillion-dollar stimulus bill and asking where are the jobs? The tongue-in-cheek web video, inspired by a classic 1984 TV commercial by now-Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), features a job-sniffing GOP bloodhound named Ellie Mae and a down-home voiceover by Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA). This is a lighthearted web video, but the underlying point is no laughing matter...

Abstract Coyotes (Canis latrans) pose a risk to domestic cats (Felis catus). We captured, radiocollared, and tracked 8 coyotes from November 2005 to February 2006 for 790 hours in Tucson, Arizona, USA. We observed 36 coyote–cat interactions; 19 resulted in coyotes killing cats. Most cats were killed in residential areas from 2200 hours to 0500 hours during the pup-rearing season. Single coyotes were as effective killing cats as were groups (>1) of coyotes. Documented cases of predators killing cats could encourage cat owners to keep their cats indoors and assist wildlife managers in addressing urban wildlife issues. Journal of Wildlife...

There were lots of plausible presences at the La Vista Embassy Suites to oppose what many see as the worst livestock impacts of the federal government’s National Animal Identification System. The skeptical manager of the Bassett Livestock Auction, the indignant rancher from Valentine, the long-suffering hog producer from Minnesota — all seemed to have an obvious place in June 30 proceedings aimed at overhauling the program’s most objectionable features. Chris Bambery of Lincoln, proud owner of two chickens on Sumner Street and promoter of what he describes as “backyard chicken PowerPoint presentations,” didn’t blend in as easily. But it turns...

Sorry for the vanity, but....I have a doggie concern, and I need some advice for caring for the situation. My vet is out of town and I have a sick dog. This has been ongoing all day with no relief. My dog is unable to stand any longer. He was able to walk earlier, but with difficulty and with leaning to the right. His eyes are also darting from left to right. I was able to get through to the vet's assistant and they advised to keep watching my dog and that the earliest I could get in would be...

> Three circus elephants scored a decisive victory over three human competitive eaters at a cross-species eating contest Friday, chomping down on 505 hot dog buns in six minutes. The humans forced down only 143 buns in the bout at Brooklyn's Coney Island. >

Patriot Streak’n Rocket, who answers to “Streak,” stood out among the chaotic group of Labradors and golden retrievers roaming Discovery Green. At 11 inches tall and 10 pounds, he didn’t seem like much of a contender in the long-jump competition. As a terrier, he’s not a natural swimmer. And the 2-foot drop to the water below the dock must have seemed like a small cliff. But Streak gleefully leapt without hesitation in every round of the recent Dock Dogs competition held at the downtown park....

BATH – Twilight is coming on at Willie Minot's farm and the cows in the pasture graze contentedly as another day fades. But one cow nibbles on wet grass apart from the rest of the herd, different from all the others, with their spots, round bodies and, well, attitude. She's taller. She's in that gangly, awkward adolescent phase, wanting to be a part of the crowd, but not quite fitting in. Largely, because she is a cow of a different species. She's a moose. "We looked out about three weeks ago and said, 'Hey, there's a moose," said Minot, who...

Lol...

THREE new species of Australian dinosaur have been discovered in a prehistoric billabong in western Queensland. Premier Anna Bligh announced the discovery in the central western town of Winton today as she opened the first stage of the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History. The dinosaurs have been nicknamed after characters created by poet Banjo Paterson, who is said to have written Waltzing Matilda in Winton in 1885. Banjo (carnivorous theropod), Matilda and Clancy (giant plant-eating sauropods) were found in a vast geological deposit near Winton that dates from 98 million years ago. The first new sauropods to...

A 51-year-old St. Charles man was behind bars Thursday on charges he bit a woman during a custody dispute over a dog, police said. Donald C. Paul, of the 0-99 block of North 12th Street, was arrested about 6:15 p.m. Wednesday after an altercation in a minivan parked on the 1100 block of Dean Street in St. Charles. Police said Paul and the victim were arguing over which one of them would care for a dog when Paul bit the woman's wrist in an attempt to wrest the animal away from her. She was not seriously injured. Paul also smashed...

Walter Pacheco Sentinel Staff Writer 11:39 AM EDT, July 2, 2009 The pit bull that was left alone with two unsupervised children in Orlando has been put to sleep. Vanessa Bouffard of Orange County Animal Services said officials euthanized the 2-year-old puppy named Scrappy on Tuesday because of his bad temperament. "It's unfortunate, but it's a hard decision we have to make when we don't have a good adoption candidate," Bouffard said. The dog's former owner, Mary Ann Ayala, remains in Orange County Jail without bond after Orlando police arrested her on June 25. Ayala faces two counts of child...

65-Year-Old Woman Faces Jail Time For Feeding Cats Amanda Peabody Published 07/02/2009 - 6:29 p.m. CST Katherine Varjian, 65, had been feeding feral cats, or felines that are not under her ownership, in her Beverly Hills neighborhood for the past 12 years. The Beverly Hills Municipal Court will now decide whether or not her actions are within the confines of the law. Varjian was feeding between 20 and 30 cats daily in the alley behind the 100-200 blocks of Palm, Maple and Oakhurst Drives. She was issued citations twice for this behavior – first in January of this year, then...

The world's largest cat, the Amur tiger, is down to an effective wild population of fewer than 35 individuals, new research has found. Although up to 500 of the big cats actually survive in the wild, the effective population is a measure of their genetic diversity. That in turn is a good predictor of the Amur tiger's chances of survival. The results come from the most complete genetic survey yet of wild Amur tigers, the rarest subspecies of tiger.

Slimy saliva contains digestive enzymes that help canines (and humans) break down their food. Saliva also wets the throat for a smooth snack-slide right into the belly. But that all happens inside the body. Drooling occurs when there's a saliva spill. It's simply biomechanics: Some dogs, such as bulldogs and mastiffs, have such short snouts they have trouble containing their saliva and the leakage constantly pours out. Bow-wows with folded skin around their mouths, such as St. Bernards, bloodhounds and Bassett hounds, are also big drippers.

Many animals and people experience chronic joint pain. In dogs, a common source of joint pain is hip dysplasia, a developmental defect of the hip joint. Implantation of gold into the soft tissues around the hip joints of dogs with dysplasia can relieve pain and lessen stiffness for several years. Joint pain in animals and man may be due to injury, wear or deformity. Hip dysplasia of dogs is a congenital defect that makes itself known during the growth phase, leading to varying degrees of pain and loss of function as the dogs age. Dog owners will as a rule...

A distraught caller trying to save the life of a 2-year-old Florida girl strangled by a pet python screams "The baby's dead!" in chilling 911 tapes released in the toddler's death.Shaiunna Hare died early Wednesday morning after being attacked in her crib by the snake, which escaped from its aquarium, police said. "The baby's dead!" a sobbing caller from the house screamed to a 911 dispatcher. "Our stupid snake got out in the middle of the night and strangled the baby." Authorities did not identify the caller and removed the person's name from the recording. "She got out of the...

London, July 2 : Late King of Pop Michael Jackson's old friend Bubbles the chimp will not be attending his funeral. The ape will be kept 3,000 miles away when Jackson is laid to rest in California, and it will spend the day listening to "calming flute music" at the animal sanctuary in Wauchula, Florida, where it presently lives. "It is sad for Bubbles but it is better that he stays here," the Sun quoted a spokesman for the Centre For Great Apes as saying. He revealed that staff at the centre have "not said anything" to Bubbles about Jackson's...

Missing feline Linus 'thinks he's a dog,' owners say. Linus, a cat that "thinks he's a dog," is missing. And a Batavia woman -- who the cat's owners say accused their feline of killing chipmunks -- is charged after allegedly luring Linus with tuna. Brenda Scharlau, 55, of the 100 block of North Harrison Street is charged with misdemeanor theft in connection with the missing 9-year-old American shorthair, which is owned by Scharlau's next-door neighbors, Batavia Deputy Chief Gregory Thrun said Tuesday. Linus' owner, Jody Lay, alleges her neighbor, angry that Linus was harassing chipmunks in her yard, caught the...

t’s a doggone shame, but it happens during thunderstorms, when trucks backfire and when kids set off firecrackers. And Dawn Randazzo anticipates that her dog, Coocoo, will go cuckoo during Saturday’s fireworks extravaganza. The 6-year-old Shih Tzu is one of the city’s many mutts that are sensitive to loud noises. “He’s a real scaredy-cat dog and always has been,” says Randazzo, 26, a receptionist at a Staten Island veterinarian’s office. “But it’s gotten worse as he’s gotten older.” Signs that he’s freaked out by noises are easy to read. The pint-sized pup runs to a corner to hide, then shakes,...

WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- A homeless man was accidentally shot and wounded during a SWAT standoff on Wednesday. The shooting occurred at a home near 4th Street and Division Avenue around 6:30 p.m. A search warrant was being served at the residence when the owner ordered his pitbull to attack the officers, according to a police report. After non-violent attempts to subdue the animal failed, four SWAT members shot and killed the dog. A stray bullet ricocheted and hit John Poe. He taken to a hospital for treatment of non life-threatening injuries. Sources told WPTV that Poe was probably...

A previously unknown giant volcanic eruption that led to global mass extinction 260 million years ago has been uncovered by scientists at the University of Leeds. The eruption in the Emeishan province of south-west China unleashed around half a million cubic kilometres of lava, covering an area 5 times the size of Wales, and wiping out marine life around the world. Unusually, scientists were able to pinpoint the exact timing of the eruption and directly link it to a mass extinction event in the study published in Science. This is because the eruptions occurred in a shallow sea – meaning...

BOSTON -- The beating death of a cat in front of shocked children prompted protests Sunday in Worcester. A group of people gathered in front of the city police department, demanding police put Tom Foley behind bars. Foley admittedly beat a cat named Lily to death in front of several children on Friday. The owner, Lisa Tuttle, said her cat Lily had just given birth to a litter of kittens and may have been feeling territorial when she charged Foley's dog and scratched Foley several days earlier on Dupuis Avenue. "I just came out. I saw the cat in a...

Who could forget Bubbles? Since the death of the pop icon, many have wondered what happened to Jackson's primate companion. It turns out the monkey is alive and healthy in a Florida animal sanctuary, People.com reports. Jacko's treasured pet chimp was a source of joy to the singer and drew a lot of mockery from the media. The chimpanzee lived with Jackson through the 80's and accompanied the singer to movie premieres, parties, and recording sessions. The pair often dressed in similar outfits. He may not be getting dressed up these days but Bubbles, age 26, is now at the...