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A federal lawsuit filed in California contends that state laws and regulations prohibiting veterinarian telehealth appointments — using zoom and other video conferencing technologies for care instead of in-person appointments — violates the First Amendment. The current pandemic waiver which allows families with sick pets to conduct zoom appointments with their veterinarians is set to expire in June. The California Veterinarian Board will then require once again in-person exams. If the lawsuit is successful, millions…
Arguing that the “overwhelming majority of the animals of the overwhelming majority of species appear to have significant suffering but little (or no) happiness in their lives,” a growing number of philosophers, biologists, zoologists, and others are calling for proactively working to improve the lives of wild animals. In an article entitled “The wild frontier of animal welfare,” they argue that wild animal suffering is staggering and we ought to do something about it, such…
It is time to close the book on concerns about COVID-19 transmission vis-a-vis dogs and cats. Despite a year of alarmist headlines, here is what we know, based on peer-reviewed studies: Dogs are highly resistant to COVID-19 and in the rare chance they do get it from a COVID-19 positive person in their household, they cannot transmit it to other dogs, other animal companions, or people because they are dead-end hosts. Cats and a number…
My article defending dogs from a cruel and racist claim made by University of California Riverside Professor Katja Guenther in her new book that treating them as family perpetuates whiteness and oppresses people of color is the second most read article in Areo Magazine so far this year with over 20,000 readers. In her book, Guenther argues that treating animals as family and showing them affection are “white” values, while treating animals “as resources, whether…
In 2012, Best Friends promised a No Kill Los Angeles by 2017. It didn’t happen and the five-year plan was extended to 10-years. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. And if you still do not succeed, well, just go ahead and lie about it. That is what Best Friends has done with this week’s announcement by CEO Julie Castle that the City of Los Angeles achieved No Kill in 2020 with a…
The Centers for Disease Control has recently issued guidance on care of pet dogs and cats in the age of COVID-19 and it has led to a number of news articles about it. Unfortunately, that guidance is — I want to say — a bit bonkers, but “bonkers” isn’t a word I normally use in articles, preferring more sober language. It is, though. And I say this as someone who always wears a mask outside,…
Even when — as is the case more often than not — simply getting the animal out of the pound can resolve any concerns. Last year, the Denver Dumb Friends League, the flagship of the regressive sheltering establishment in Colorado, lied to the media, the public, and legislators by claiming that there isn’t a single pound in the state that kills animals: “There are no kill shelters in Colorado.” Worse, the organization and its allies introduced…
Extremists on both ends of the spectrum — the NRA on the Right and, on the Left, critical race theorists — are keeping dogs on chains. “And homeless near a thousand homes I stood” — William Wordsworth SB 650, a bill to ban perpetual chaining of dogs, is pending before the Florida legislature. The bill had broad bipartisan support; at least it did until the National Rifle Association objected. In an absurd claim, a lobbyist…
Unfortunately, the magazine accepted their excuse, overlooking the real reasons why Newsweek has a recurring feature they call “Fact Check” in which they evaluate various claims circulating on social media, ostensibly to determine whether those claims are true. The magazine recently evaluated the claim that PETA kills thousands of animals every year. There is no denying that PETA has killed over 40,000 animals. Those records come from PETA itself which it is required to report…