On Monday, a science teacher in Florida took his students outside and drowned two raccoons. According to one student, the reason given by the teacher was that the raccoons had killed some chickens housed behind the school. The raccoons were placed in wire cages and submerged underwater for several minutes until they…
As part of a $63,000 research project to devise new and effective ways of pruning back the skyrocketing iguana population in south Florida, wildlife officials in the state have started to smash in the heads of iguanas, saying it’s a quick and “humane” form of euthanasia. Sounds dreadful—and it is—but the situation in…
This week, the Westminster Kennel Club is hosting its popular annual dog show, where canines of all shapes and sizes get to strut their stuff in front of discerning judges. Seems like harmless fun, but many purebred dogs are, or soon will be, in poor physical health—the result of an emphasis on cosmetic, and not…
An investigation into the oral health of captive orca whales is raising serious concerns about the health and welfare of these majestic creatures. Out of boredom and frustration, many of the whales turn to chewing on concrete and steel tank surfaces, causing wear and tear that leads to further problems.
German Shepherds are among the most popular breeds in the world, but their numbers have started to decline. New research suggests the decreasing demand for German Shepherds may have something to do with the breed’s propensity for health problems—likely the result of selective breeding for cosmetic traits.
A Pittsburgh man discovered a neglected cat with two pounds of matted fur when he paid a visit to his 82-year-old relative last week. The man brought the poor creature—who he named Hidey because she like to hide—to the Animal Rescue League Shelter & Wildlife Center.
Nineteen-year-old Azalea, a chimp who’s probably as smart as your kid, has to live in North Korea’s Central Zoo in Pyongyang. But that’s not why she’s smoking a pack a day. It’s because some asshole trained her to use a lighter, to puff smoke, and then bow and dance for delighted families all day.
Each year, around 6,000 birds are incinerated after chasing bugs within the Ivanpah concentrated solar thermal plant in the California Mojave Desert. Officials at the facility are enacting all sorts of measures to prevent this ongoing avian massacre—but it’s not clear if anything’s working.
If you’re like me and an American who hasn’t gone to a SeaWorld since 2002, then you probably haven’t heard of Marineland, which is a controversial amusement park in Niagara Falls, Canada that has been the subject of accusations of unfair animal treatment.
Here we go again: A jaguar that was brought out during an Olympic torch event earlier this week was shot and killed shortly afterward when it escaped its handlers. The local Games organizing committee is now investigating the incident, but animal welfare advocates say the big cat should never have been there in the…
Six months after researchers in China bioengineered monkeys to have autism, a Japanese team of scientists has used the same technology to create monkeys with Parkinson’s. It’s a scientific first, and it could lead to effective treatments—but do the ends justify the means?
SeaWorld has announced that it’s ended the practice of breeding orcas in captivity. It’ll also stop running its theatrical shows, replacing them with what it calls “natural” encounters with the animals—but only by 2019.
So there’s good SeaWorld news and bad SeaWorld news. The good SeaWorld news is that, after decades of criticism, the park will phase out its infamous Shamu show next year. The bad SeaWorld news is that the killer whales will just star in a new show.
If it’d been pigeons, he might have gotten away with it. But a 19-year-old Rhode Island man who mowed over three seagulls in a beach parking lot is facing felony charges for “maliciously killing or wounding animals.”
The U.S. Navy has agreed to set aside vast swaths of ocean territory off the shores of Hawaii and Southern California in an effort to protect sound-sensitive marine mammals from the effects of sonar and powerful explosives used in military exercises.
Since the 9/11 attacks, researchers in the United States have conducted exceptionally cruel, even superfluous, experiments on animals to develop countermeasures to weapons of mass destruction. But as BuzzFeed reporter Peter Aldhous asks: Is all this suffering really necessary?
A new study shows racehorses have gotten progressively quicker over the past 160 years, and in sprint races, especially. But given the startling number of race-related deaths each year, it’s nothing to be proud of.
Philadelphia-based Analog Watch Co. has unveiled its latest product, a watch-like accessory that houses anywhere from three to five harvester ants. The company calls it a "living conversation piece," but it's probably just an April Fool's joke. (Please let it be an April Fool's joke!)
The costumes are coming off, the shackles are being unlocked, and the boxcars are opening. After more than 130 years, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus will retire its elephants. It's an important step — but animals need legal rights, and not just laws that treat them like things.
In a bizarre bid for TV ratings, the Discovery Channel has announced an upcoming special Eaten Alive, in which a wildlife filmmaker in a "snake-proof" suit will supposedly crawl inside a live anaconda. Uh...does the anaconda get a say in this?
