animal cruelty

There is something about an election year that makes politicians start bragging about how many furry or feathered critters they’ve killed. Otherwise, God forbid, voters might think they were interested in doing something about gun control.

Ecuadorean authorities are investigating the clubbing deaths of 53 Galapagos Islands sea lions, including 13 pups, found in January with their skulls cracked. Authorities say it will be hard to determine who killed the animals.

Industrial animal production, the practice of confining thousands of cows, hogs, chickens, or other animals in tightly packed facilities has become the dominant method of meat production in the United States

The U.S. EPA has proposed a "better approach" to making factory farms report their levels of air-polluting emissions -- don't make 'em report them at all!

An animal rights group said on Thursday that some retailers were selling coats made with real animal fur that were advertised as having fake fur.

The Humane Society of the United States said a follow-up to its investigation last year found that retailers including Bloomingdale's and Saks Fifth Avenue were selling jackets that had been mislabeled as "faux fur" but were trimmed with actual animal fur.

The Humane Society said in a statement that it determined the fur was real through laboratory tests and cutting open the lining of the fur trim on products it had purchased.

A pet store in the Bel-Air neighborhood deceived customers, including Hollywood celebrities, about the origin of their puppies, many of which come from unlicensed pet mills, according to a Humane Society of the United States investigation released Tuesday.

The International Otter Survival Fund today launched an anti-fur campaign. Furget-me-not is targeted at saving the otter, which it says is the forgotten animal of the fur trade. The campaign will raise funds to train local rangers and government staff in Cambodia, where many are hunted. But the main market for otter furs is Tibet where it forms part of the traditional dress.

ONE OF the country’s most exclusive department stores is shelving its tradition of selling animal fur products.

Brown Thomas will initiate a "no fur" policy from February, with management insisting it was taking animal welfare into account.

The move has been welcomed by animal rights activists who have recently campaigned outside the store’s Grafton Street branch.

Brown Thomas stores in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway will only sell synthetic fur, or leather, suede, sheepskin, and shearling.

Julie O'Connor, a co-founder of the Caring Activists Against Fur group and a Tenafly resident, said animals are being trapped in painful devices and confined in cages before being killed and skinned to make coats.

"In the wild, minks and foxes are able to roam for miles," O'Connor said. "If they are raised on a fur farm, they are kept in a cage. You see the animals circle constantly in their cage because they are being driven insane from not being able to move."

Want to brave the masses and mayhem of Black Friday but avoid the cruelty of animal fur?

The fur experts at The HSUS have put together some tips for painless post-Thanksgiving shopping—for you and fur-bearing animals.

Vote for your favorite fur-free campaign poster in the Annual Design Against Fur student competition!

Decapitated, headless carcasses are washing ashore.

District attorney did not file animal cruelty charges against Sara Haddock because she did not treat them cruelly.

Dozens of sick dogs are in shelters around the area this morning after they were removed from a Washington County home; KDKA’s Alison Morris reports.

Women's clothing retailer bebe stores inc. said Thursday it will discontinue buying products with animal fur starting in January. Chief Executive Gregory Scott: "we  now look forward to completely eliminating animal fur from our orders beginning in January 2008."

Bebe currently operates 285 stores in the United States, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Canada.