animal rights news stories on Newser

Sea Shepherd Founder Arrested

Matt Cantor — Mon, 14 May 2012 05:58:02 CDT

A leading anti-whaling activist has been arrested in Germany. Paul Watson, founder of Sea Shepherd, was busted on Saturday over a 2002 clash with a Costa Rican "illegal shark finning operation" off Guatemala, the group says in a statement. The group says the warrant is tied to an "alleged violation...

Trump Sons Slammed for 'Desecrating' Elephant

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 09:53:12 CDT

Donald Trump's sons went on a hunting safari in Africa last year, and thought it would be a good idea to pose in photo after photo with the animals they killed. Said photos surfaced yesterday, and not surprisingly, animal rights groups are outraged, TMZ reports. One picture in particular shows...

Report: PETA Kills 95% of Pets It Takes In

Matt Cantor — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 07:31:49 CST

PETA's controversial campaigns for animal rights dominate headlines—but behind the scenes, the picture is quite different, according to newly released documents. Last year, the organization killed more than 95% of the pets in its charge at its Norfolk, Va., headquarters, the Daily Caller reports. Documents released by the state's...

Feds Halt Chimp Research

Matt Cantor — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:55:02 CST

A new report suggests that the use of chimpanzees in health research is rarely justified, and the National Institutes of Health has taken it to heart. The organization has placed a temporary ban on using chimps in new research, "effective immediately," the Washington Post reports. A committee will examine research...

PETA Sees Benefit to US Horse Slaughter

Matt Cantor — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:48:05 CST

Congress’ new spending bill ending an effective ban on domestic horse slaughter may sound like a custom-made PETA target—but actually, the group sees some good in the change, the Los Angeles Times reports. Activists say it’s better to allow the slaughter of horses inside the US than to export...

PETA Sues SeaWorld for Whale 'Slaves'

Matt Cantor — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 10:17:19 CDT

Never known for half-measures , PETA is suing SeaWorld—for violating the 13th Amendment. You know, the one that outlawed slavery. In a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of killer whales Tilikum, Katina, Corky, Kasatka, and Ulises, the animal rights group contends that SeaWorld keeps its orcas in conditions that violate...

Ukraine Accused of 'Barbaric' Dog Slaughter

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:49:47 CDT

In four Ukrainian cities that will host the Euro 2012 soccer championship next summer, more than 9,000 dogs have been put to death in the last year—and animal rights activists, who believe the number is actually much greater, accuse authorities of using illegal, inhuman methods including poison to...

China Cancels Annual Dog Meat Festival

Kate Schwartz — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 14:49:42 CDT

Puppy lovers, rejoice. Officials in eastern China last week canceled the Jinhua Hutou Dog Meat Festival. If that name makes you a little queasy—well, there's good reason for that. The 600-year-old tradition saw at least 5,000 of dogs slaughtered on the spot, and served up as the main...

West Hollywood May Ban Fur

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 08:56:34 CDT

If you live in West Hollywood and PETA has not yet convinced you to go fur-free … you may soon have little choice. The City Council is considering banning the sale of any clothing or attire made of animal hair, wool, or fur. (Of course, you could still pop over...