Council rejects ‘puppy mill’ law to ban retail sales of commercially bred dogs
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~ After a four-hour hearing peppered with heated moments, the Oceanside city council rejected a proposed ordinance that would have made it illegal for pet...
‘Landmark’ whistle blower case: Farmer alleges that chicken producer Perdue illegally punished him for exposing unsafe and inhumane practices
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~ “The world just got lifted off my shoulders by speaking out,” chicken farmer Craig Watts recently told readers on a Reddit forum. “I call...
New ‘puppy mill’ pet store ban passes, while animal advocates debate exemption to the law
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~ The Oceanside, California city council decided last night to ban the sales of dogs and cats from high-volume commercial breeders. Exemptions under the new...
New ‘puppy mill’ pet store ban planned in Oceanside, California
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~ One more American town will probably soon join the ranks of several dozen others that have enacted bans on pet stores selling dogs and...
Slated for skinning by California breeder, 420 rescued chinchillas now await adoption at shelter
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~ More than 400 chinchillas allegedly kept in small, “barren” cages and destined for electrocution then skinning by a southern California breeder find themselves in...
Breaking news: Hundreds of chinchillas rescued from southern California company
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~ In a rescue operation that required eight hours and four teams of trained personnel, a local animal protection group removed more than 400 chinchillas...
Venereal disease, tar pits, poisonings plague ‘ghost’ dogs in Greek town
The following article about the “Ghost Dogs of Aspropyrgos” was first published on Animal Policy Examiner in July 2012. Recently one of the volunteers who cares for the dogs...
Puppy rescued from Chinese dog meat market steals the show at Humane Society benefit gala
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris It’s true that influential congress members, film and television stars, and other powerful patrons mingled among the 500 revelers at The Humane Society of the...
Taking the heat for what we eat: Does animal agriculture cause climate change?
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~ Earth Day just ain’t what it used to be. Forty-four years ago, when U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson established an annual commemoration to “force this...
A baby goat’s last day (Part 4): ‘How is he to blame?’
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris The people who planned to eat Astio on Easter didn’t want to watch him die. “Kostas” and “Stephania” (not their real names), my neighbors in...
A baby goat’s last day (Part 3): A date with the butcher
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~ “The lambs and goats you buy in town are inspected by a veterinarian before they’re slaughtered,” our neighbor Stephania explained. We stood with our...
Slamming baby pigs to the ground is accepted method of killing them, says pork industry rep
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~ A piglet is hoisted high in the air then slammed hard to the floor. Other piglets, held upside down by the legs, are tail-docked...
A baby goat’s last day (Part 2): Of sex, milk, and babies
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~ In a rural village on the Greek island of Kefalonia, our neighbor “Stephania” (not her real name), worked daily in a government office, but...
A baby goat’s last day (Part 1): An idyllic life
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~ In a rural village on the island of Kefalonia in Greece, church bells rang, calling the faithful to the Sacrament of Holy Unction, during...
European Union should help Greek fur industry workers switch to other trades, says animal advocate
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~ Animal Issues Reporter spoke with Mariza Christodoulou, vice president of the Panhellenic Animal Welfare and Environmental Federation in Greece during a demonstration she helped lead...
Fur trade is important to the Greek economy, says industry spokesman
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~ As the fourth annual “Fur Excellence in Athens” International Fur Fair takes place this year on March 27-30, Animal Issues Reporter takes a look...
‘Burn the fur industry,’ say Greek protestors
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris As the fourth annual “Fur Excellence in Athens” International Fur Fair approaches this year on March 27-30, Animal Issues Reporter (AIR) takes a look back at...
Animals killed cruelly ‘for money and vanity,’ say fur fair protestors
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~ As the fourth annual “Fur Excellence in Athens” International Fur Fair approaches this year on March 27-30, Animal Issues Reporter (AIR) takes a look...
High sales at Greek fur fair despite bad economy, protestors, and tight security: a look back
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris Greece’s withered economy and confrontations with protestors do not deter hundreds of furriers from gathering every spring in a heavily-secured exhibition hall near Athens. They...
Radio announcers joke about abuse and killing of Chihuahuas
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~ Referring to a recent news story about a man allegedly caught on a gruesome video in the act of deliberately running over his own...
Second dog owned by man accused of killing Chihuahua is now missing, reports say
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~ A second dog belonging to a man suspected of deliberately driving a car over his own Chihuahua has disappeared, according to the Daily Breeze....
Where do baby turkeys come from? Brace yourself (Opinion)
by Kalypso Arhilohou ~ Mommy, Daddy, where do baby turkeys come from? Let’s hope little Suzie never asks you that question. As if it’s not tricky enough getting across...
Taiji dolphins spared from death last month may be slaughtered today
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~ If you’re a wild bottlenose dolphin in the waters off Taiji, Japan, the hunters waiting there might have different plans for you today than...
Missouri breeds 30% of puppies sold in U.S. pet stores, says farm bureau
By Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~ “Puppy mill capital of America,” is what The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) calls Missouri. It was on that battleground last year...
USDA asked to review study on damaged mental health of puppy mill dogs
By Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~ When you think about the set-up of the places known as “puppy mills,” it’s not a big stretch to assume that the dogs kept...
Puppy mills make dogs ‘autistic,’ says study
By Katerina Lorenzatos Makris “Empty shell with no emotion. In a sort of world of her own. We call her our little autistic girl.” ”Always seems to be in...
Lobbyists to ‘pay the price’ for helping animal welfare groups in Missouri
By Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~ In this year’s election season, lobbyist firms who helped in the push for a law to regulate dog breeding in Missouri—condemned by animal protection...
‘These guys are good—we don’t like them, but they are good at what they do’: farm bureau about Humane Society
By Katerina Lorenzatos Makris “The emotion of the puppy, man’s best friend. How do you not want to protect these little innocent puppies?” asked Missouri Farm Bureau’s Kelly Smith...
Law would have required better care for dogs than for children, says farm bureau
By Katerina Lorenzatos Makris While in the past few years the Missouri Department of Agriculture has seized 5,500 dogs from neglectful commercial breeders, a representative of the state’s farm...
More than 5,500 dogs seized from Missouri breeders since start of ‘Operation Bark Alert’
By Katerina Lorenzatos Makris The fact that the Missouri Department of Agriculture has confiscated thousands of dogs from neglectful commercial dog breeders in the past few years is proof...