A campaign is underway to get Congress to pass the SAFE Act, which has been stalled in congress since last year. Click on the link to sign the petition to stop horses being exported abroad for slaughter:

The US has banned the slaughter of horses at home. However, this ban means nothing while it’s still legal to transport horses thousands of miles to be slaughtered in the horsemeat trade, their last moments spent in the “kill box,” frightened and panicked before being chopped to bits. Wild horse slaughter in the U.S. was shut down in 2007 but the export industry still sends 20,000 horses every year to their deaths in Canada and Mexico. Not only this but the horses first endure long, gruelling journeys in cramped and cruel conditions before they are killed. According to a 2023 report from the American Journal of Veterinary Research, the horse export industry thrives and generates around $500 million a year,

With all the panic surrounding unverified claims that cats and dogs are being eaten in the United States, it’s a good time to draw attention to the plight of horses. The SAFE Act, or Save America’s Forgotten Equines Act (HR 3475/S 2037) is a bill that animal activists have been pushing to get passed for decades. In its current form the SAFE Act amends the 2018 Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act to add equines to the list of animals prohibited to be exported slaughter.

Polls show that 83% of Americans oppose horse slaughter. Yet thousands of horses each year face a horrible ending to their lives. The meat industry lobbies to protect the export of horse slaughter by claiming that if horses are not slaughtered, there will be more neglect and nowhere to rehome horses. Contrary to these claims, the export of horses has actually decreased over the years and shelters are ready to rehome horses, the majority of whom can live out happy and productive lives.

Horses are incredibly sensitive animals who need freedom of movement and family bonds with their fellow horses. Capturing them and transporting them for 24 hours to be killed is not only murder, it is prolonged torture.

As well as a petition there is also a website that makes it easy for you to write to your member of congress to pressure them to sponsor and pass the SAFE Act.

At Freedom 4 Animals, we have done extensive work to preserve the right of free-roaming horses to remain with their families and negotiate and advocate to protect horses from mistreatment, neglect and cruelty, as well as education and working with policy-makers and NGOs on legislation and initiatives to support and protect the freedom of horses.

Please read more about the work we do on behalf of horses and other animals.

After Kristy Noem boasted about shooting her puppy in cold blood, now there are reports that right
wing figurehead Kevin Roberts told several people that he killed a neighbor’s dog with a shovel to
stop her from making noise.

The dog, Loca, disappeared in 2004, the year Roberts was alleged to have boasted about killing her.
It’s impossible to verify whether the story is true or not but there is evidence that casts suspicion on
Roberts.

The chair of the history department at New Mexico State University where Roberts worked recalled hearing the story, as did two other people, a professor andher spouse and three others who said they heard the account at the time from others. Roberts hadn’t said the dog was a danger, according to these reports, he had just said the dog was loud, and he appeared proud of what he had done.

Roberts named the neighbor who owned the dogs, Daniel Aran, and claimed that animal control had
come to rescue multiple dogs from the property, casting himself as a concerned neighbor, as well as
citing that Aran went to prison for cocaine distribution. Aran and his mother denied that animal
control had come to rescue any dogs. They both said they had a dog go missing around 2004, the
year when Roberts boasted about killing a dog. They spoke with affection about their dog, “my little
Loca.” Aran said Loca had been his favorite dog. “She was a little, little thing like this,” Aran said.
“She was a tiny, cute little thing.”

Aran said he and his mother went searching for the dog but could never find her, and dog catchers
weren’t able to find her either.

We will never know what happened to little Loca, or what she had to endure in her final moments.
Despite concerning evidence, this cold case will never go investigated and little Loca’s mystery will
not be solved. Any justice that may be due to her will not be served.

Although we have no way of knowing whether these allegations are true, it’s a chilling story that
should serve as a reminder that animals do not receive the same treatment in the criminal justice
system that humans do. Loca deserved better than this.

At Freedom 4 Animals we work with lawmakers, nonprofits, animal rights groups, and individuals to
seek justice for animals and their human custodians who have been harmed, and to advocate for
animal rights within the criminal justice system and beyond. We work to educate the public and
anyone who is interesting in learning about animal rights about the role of animals in society and
how we can re-address those roles to achieve freedom and equality for animals.

To learn more about how animals are treated differently in the criminal justice system and how
violence to animals predicts other forms of violence, please visit the resources on our website.

It’s not just humans who use medicines or are drawn to wild plants to cure ailments. Animals are
known to self-medicate when they are ill, wounded or for stress and sadness. This
phenomenon, known as Zoopharmacognosy, has been observed in many species of animals. It
reveals how animals interact with their environment in a way people have written off as
exclusive to human science and medicine.

One common example is when dogs and cats eat grass to induce vomiting. There are many
other examples of animals using medicine in sophisticated ways. For example, apes have been
observed isolating the medicinal parts of plants by tearing off leaves and stems and taking them
internally or applying the pant to their wounds. Research in lambs has shown that animals can
learn to use medicine by observing the effects of certain plant foods. Animals eat plants to expel
parasites, get nutrients missing from their diets, and induce labor, among other things.

An Indonesian male orangutan named Rakus was observed applying plant sap and crushed
leaves to a wound on the “flange” surrounding his face, as a poultice. The plant, known locally
as akar kuning (Fibraurea tinctoria), is an Asian plant known for its antibacterial, antifungal, anti-
inflammatory and pain relief properties. Rakus was applying plant medication externally for
healing in the same manner that humans used this traditional medicine.

Andrea DiGiorgio, a biological anthropologist at Princeton University, noted that animals don’t
need to understand everything about the medicinal properties of a plant to be able to utilize the
resources in their environment in an intelligent way. DiGiorgio said: “I think this really speaks to
the intelligence that all animals have to utilize what works for them.”

Humans assume that the taxonomy of human knowledge accumulated through language and
writing gives us superior intelligence and understanding of our environment, but this speaks to
the advantages of human technological development rather than intelligence itself. This is
called Speciesism; and carries with the idea that humans are at the top of the hierarchy and
have the greater moral value.

Animal intelligence is rich and in tune with its environment. Often humans are looking in the
wrong places when they search for animal intelligence and knowledge, basing it on concepts of
intelligence that have been imposed by human and Western perspectives. If we observe
animals in their environment, we can see what we have missed. Animals often lead humans to
medicinal plants, water and shelter. Their remarkable senses and intelligence are not
meaningless tools that assist human technology, they should be respected in their own right.

South Dakota governor Kristi Noem has made headlines for boasting that she shot and killed her dog
in cold blood. Noem’s story was intended to paint her as a “no-nonsense” person who had no
problem doing what was necessary. In the same chapter, Noem also wrote about how she shot her
goat in cold blood. Public opinion shows that this has not worked out in her favor. The cold-blooded
killing of a companion animal who relied upon and trusted a human, apparently doesn’t look that
good to the public.

Dogs are human beings’ closest companions and our history has been symbiotic with them for
Millennia. Yet dogs are often the first victims of humans’ failure to take responsibility for this
relationship, as when dogs are euthanized if they attack another animal or a human, or appear to
pose a threat to property and safety. Poor training by human owners and misunderstanding of their dog companions instill trauma and aggressive behavior resulting in the dog’s misbehavior or failure to live up to human expectations.

In her autobiography, Kristi Noem shared how she shot a 14 month old wirehaired pointer named
Cricket who had come to her family with behavioral problems. Noem went as far as to say that she
“hated” the dog. She made no attempt to deal with her own feelings. Instead, her dog Cricket,
immediately became responsible for how she felt, justifying Noem’s execution of the dog. The story
was intended to convey that Noem was a tough person who understood life in rural America. Her
lack of remorse for the killing simply revealed that Noem didn’t care about the dog’s life.

Noem shot her dog Cricket after Cricket prematurely chased birds on a pheasant hunt, then jumped
out of Noem’s truck and mauled chickens on a neighbor’s property. Cricket was free to attack the
chickens, because Noem had failed to secure Cricket in the truck. Successful dog trainers and experts
agree that a dog’s behavior and conduct is the responsibility of the owner, and dogs who misbehave
can behave better with different interventions and understanding.

People who have dogs and other animals as companions have a responsibility to
their pets to act with empathy and patience. Neglect and cruelty affect a dog’s behavior as much as
they do humans. At 14 months old, Cricket was a young dog, a puppy, who deserved care and
guidance. Instead, her life was cut short by her care takers disregard for her life.

The backlash against Noem’s story shows that people will no longer accept a narrative that
blames animals for human issues. We must make a choice to extend our compassion to
other animals, beyond companion animals like cats and dogs. Cricket made headlines, but Noem also
shot her goat. No animal should have to take responsibility for an abusive human’s behavior by
paying the ultimate price.

The Miami-Dade commission has served eviction papers to the Dolphin Company, the owners of the Miami Seaquarium, after the company presided over severe neglect and poor conditions for animals in their care for many years. The Miami-Dade commission has ordered the Dolphin Company to vacate the premises by the 21^st of April 2024. The commission’s letter cited violations of the lease agreement which included “not just a default, but a complete disregard for the safety of the animals housed on the premises.”

The history of the park is one of sadness, neglect, cruelty and enslavement for animals. The park’s history as an amenity for humans on the other hand, is one in which it enriched a private company and in the park’s earlier years was the third largest contributor to Miami-Dade County’s revenue through lease and tax payments.

The park is behind at least $180,000 in rent, which is one reason for the Miami-Dade commission’s decision. The decision was also motivated by the park’s numerous USDA violations and the loss of its Humane Society of America certification. Animal rights organizations have spoken out against the facility for years, in some cases managing to rescue animals, such as a pair of manatees, Romeo and Juliet. At least 120 dolphins and whales have died in captivity at the park. A dolphin named Sundance recently died shortly after a USDA inspection, where it was noted that the dolphin had “signs of gastric distress.” Federal inspections showed that the park’s infrastructure was deteriorating. A dolphin was found with a two-inch nail in its throat. Another dolphin was found with a broken metal bolt in its mouth.

One of the park’s major problems was that it couldn’t keep staff. Multiple staff resigned at the conditions of the park, and some alleged retaliation when they tried to speak up against the conditions. Due to money problems and difficulty retaining staff, the park didn’t have enough veterinarians to attend to the animals. The veterinary lab lacked basic tools and the animals were denied surgery, including a sea lion with eye pain, who stopped eating. One of the park’s animals, an Orca named Tokitae, gained recognition for all the wrong reasons, because the tank she was forced to live in was the nation’s smallest tank. Since coming to the world’s attention, Toki, also known as Lolita, has died.

Why did it take so long for the neglect to be put to an end? There is a bureaucratic process that has to happen to hold such facilities accountable. The park was known to be an unhealthy and cruel place for animals to live for decades. Attention wasn’t focused on the park soon enough because parks like these were for many years deemed to be acceptable entertainment and education for humans. The roles of animals at these parks, who are forced to perform for humans, and who are kept in restrictive conditions and separate from family members, were not questioned. It’s now time to question the rationale for keeping animals in these facilities. There may be some conservation reasons for keeping some species of animals captive, but even then, keeping animals in captivity, where they can be exploited, should be viewed with public skepticism and treated as a last resort.

The death of New York’s beloved owl Flaco was a tragic event that drew attention to the way in which a city-dwelling bird’s life can be tragically cut short. The cause of death? It seems that Flaco died after a collision with a building. Flaco’s death was also attributed to 4 kinds of rat poison that were found in his system. Additionally, he was also found to have a severe case of “pigeon herpesvirus” from eating feral pigeons. Toxicology also showed a breakdown of the pesticide DDT, but the levels of the pesticide were not significant enough to cause his death. The rodenticide and virus were both capable of causing severe illness, according to Dr. Paul Calle, chief veterinarian for the Wildlife Conservation society, though it’s unclear which one was responsible for the bird’s death. Flaco’s ultimate cause of death, a collision with a building, would likely have been caused by the bird flying disoriented while he was suffering from illness and poisoning.

Bird collisions are an incredibly common cause of death for birds. They are the second most common cause of death after domestic cats. Collisions with building glass kill between 90,000 and 230,000 migrating birds in New York City each year, according to Audubon NYC’s research. In addition, birds that dwell in big cities have much more contend with, as they have to deal with toxic pesticides commonly used by private homeowners in big cities like New York City. Wild Bird Fund director Rita McMahon said that rodenticide is to blame for 84% of the deaths of birds that they encounter, and that the poisons can stay in a bird’s system for up to 100 days.

Flaco was a Eurasian eagle-owl that escaped the Central Park Zoo after someone cut his cage’s stainless steel mesh. The Zoo attempted to recapture Flaco, but he began to improve his hunting skills and gain independence, so the Zoo were not able to entice him back with food.

Sightings of Flaco began to be common. New Yorkers celebrated the bird’s presence and his successful bid to live in the wild. The Central Park Zoo cautioned that Flaco might be endangered by eating a poisoned rodent or might prey on sensitive species. Flaco seemed to be doing well, but then in February 2024, a fallen owl was reported to the Wild Bird Fund, and the owl was confirmed to be Flaco. New Yorkers mourned his death and created a memorial to Flaco at the base of his favorite tree in Central Park.

Flaco’s death was a tragedy, but his life was an inspiration. Though he was safe at the Zoo, he followed his natural instinct for freedom and lived a life of independence before he died. His death has focused attention on the issue of bird safety in cities, and what humans can do to make cities safer for birds. New York Senators have renewed a push to pass the Dark Skies Act and renamed the Bird Friendly Buildings Act the FLACO Act. These pieces of legislation will require state owned buildings to make bird friendly provisions in their architecture and to reduce lighting at night, which has been shown to disorient night migrating birds that may fly into cities and die by collision. Birds face a host of threats in cities, including bird collisions, habitat loss, and poisoning by pesticide or rodenticide.

Flaco the owl was an animal who stood out and reminded city dwellers that animal lives have meaning. With the publicity around his death, now is a good time to push local legislators to take steps to introduce legislation to make cities more bird friendly. You can also reach out to your local bird conservation societies to see how you can join the effort to protect birds in cities.

In an exciting breakthrough for research in animal communication, the SETI institute managed to
have the first ever conversation with a humpbacked whale. The SETI institute began as a NASA
research program to understand and search for life beyond earth. The Whale-SETI team is using the
mathematics of information theory to understand terrestrial, non-human communication as a way
to develop filters to apply to any communication with extraterrestrial life.

Humpback whales are social and intelligent creatures who make tools and communicate with songs
and social calls. The Whale-SETI team has been studying humpback whale communication, which
include “contact calls” that whales use to communicate their presence to other whales. The team of
scientists from the SETI Institute, UC Davis and the Alaska Whale Foundation played the contact calls
into the sea via an underwater speaker, and a humpback whale named Twain approached and
circled the team’s boat while responding in a style that matched the original contact signal. The
researchers managed to have a 20 minute conversation with Twain. It is the first known
“conversation” between humans and humpback whales. Humpback whales also display non-audio
communicative behavior when they blow bubble rings in the presence of humans.

Whale SETI may be viewed as a springboard for communicating with extraterrestrial life. However
communication with animals could have more immediate benefits for animals in our world, right
now. Whales are one of the marine creatures who are profoundly affected by human activity. Whale song is disrupted by the noise of ships. If we can communicate with non-human animals our decision making should consider them as equal participants.

Humans have erroneously viewed human communication as synonymous with superior intelligence.
Without the ability to communicate with other animals and with a so-called superior intelligence
human activity has rampaged throughout animal habitats without the consent of animals. Every step
towards understanding animal intelligence and communication provides further evidence that these
assumptions are wrong. Scientific knowledge should not dictate our respect for non-human animals,
however scientific discovery can provide a basis for progressive animal rights policy and zero
tolerance for cruelty towards non-human lives.

South Korea’s dogmeat trade has long been a national source of shame, especially to younger
people, who have developed more progressive views about animals. Pets such as domestic dogs and
cats have become more popular, changing people’s views of dogs as disposable animals that can
be farmed for meat. The dogmeat trade has been dying out on its own, but it has lingered on. The
dog meat trade is incredibly cruel and dogs are often killed in extremely painful ways. Dogs are kept
caged and suffer cruel conditions where they see other dogs killed. As social animals, this must be
unbearable to them.

Last year, South Korea’s parliament voted near unanimously to ban the dog meat industry. The law
takes effect in 2027 and will ban any future slaughter breeding and sale of dogs for dog meat.
The consumption of dog meat is based on historical traditions and unscientific beliefs about the
health benefits of dog meat. One of the most horrifying things about these traditions is that dogs are
deliberately tortured before death because of the belief that the adrenaline levels in the animal will
contribute to health benefits. Although dog meat was traditionally eaten in South Korea in the past,
there is evidence that this was not widespread and it became more popular due to false beliefs
about its effects on virility in older men. Animals have long been tortured because of human crazes
and the dog meat industry is a particularly cruel example. Not only are animals farmed for dog meat
but also abandoned pets are collected from the streets and slaughtered for the dog meat trade.

Activists inside and outside of the countries where dog meat is eaten have protested the practice.
On the other hand, condemning the practice has been associated with anti-Asian racism in incidents
in the US where restaurants have been falsely accused of selling dog meat. Consuming dog meat is
not “barbaric” because of a country’s culture, it is barbaric because humans are capable of extreme
cruelty towards animals when it is in their own interests.

Although it’s positive that dogs will be protected from this horrific cruelty in the future, the dog
meat ban should not draw attention away from the suffering of all animals such as cows, which in
Western culture are slaughtered for meat while in Korean culture traditionally were not killed and
kept as work animals. Animal rights activists and philosophers have argued against “speciesism,” in
which some animals are considered more deserving of safety than others. Banning dog meat is a
reflection of the public’s increasing intolerance of cruelty toward animals that are kept as pets.
Ultimately we must fight for animal rights to be extended beyond pets and towards all animals.

Animal welfare services are investigating the Ontario marine park where 14 whales and 1 dolphin have died in the space of a few years. The park is a big employer in the area and it has denied any wrongdoing, including any water quality issues that could have led to deaths at the park.  

The park has a vested interest in keeping animals in roles where they are visible to the public, and formerly held shows in which its animals performed tricks and members of the public could feed its animals. 

During a 2 year period, 12 beluga whales died. At the same time, provincial authorities had raised concerns about the park’s water quality and had recognized that all of the marine mammals were in distress. There have been protests and demonstrations for many years against the treatment of animals in the park. Citations against the park have resulted in 5 counts of animal cruelty by the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 2016 and 6 counts of cruelty by the OSPCA in 2017. 

The animals that died include a beluga whale named Ikora, who died on October 24th 2019 and 10 others including a beluga named Bull, who died on November 23, 2021. 3 more deaths were confirmed in 2023, including Kisko, who was called “the world’s loneliest whale.” She was the last killer whale in captivity in Canada, and was originally captured along with Keiko, the star of Free Willy. She endured loneliness throughout her life in captivity, as she was confined to a small tank without companions. She died at the age of 47. The other animals who died in 2023 were a dolphin and a whale.

At one time Marineland had the most captive belugas in the world. Since Canada passed a law phasing out marine captivity, the park was forced to adjust. It is now shifting towards educational efforts. The animals are no longer available to the public and forced to perform tricks.

The lack of information surrounding the deaths of these animals obscures the conditions they may have been living in before they died. Captivity not only exposes animals to psychological risks of loneliness and confinement and the psychological pressure of being on display, animals could also suffer from neglect, poor environmental conditions and chronic health issues. Marine animal captivity should not be the norm unless it is explicitly for conservation purposes. The profit bottom line too often exposes animals to the risk of cruelty and neglect. 

It’s no secret that the meat industry is trying hard to improve its image. As research continues to demonstrate the impact of meat and milk on greenhouse gas emissions, lobbyists for the livestock industry have been working to develop a counter-offensive. 

The Protein Pact was launched in July 2021 and consists of mostly U.S. based livestock industry firms. The National Pork Producers Council is one of these groups, which challenged California’s Prop 12 before the Supreme Court and lost. The council’s president made headlines recently when he said he wouldn’t comply with even the modest animal welfare requirements of California law.

Chances are, you might have noticed a significant backlash against plant-based proteins and “fake meat” in the last year. There are strong indications that the meat industry has positioned influencers, dietitians and other messengers to influence public opinion on the benefits of meat. The Protein Pact organization works with Red Flag Consulting which is known for its efforts to interfere with climate policy action in the EU. 

The group has also funded academic research to promote their claims. U.C. Davis’s CLEAR center, is funded in part by pact partner IFeeder and has been the subject of multiple investigative news stories, including one published in the New York Times, about its misleading communication efforts. Other controversial figures like Richard Berman are named in articles about the backlash against vegan meat. The Berman PR company has been involved in defending industries such as big tobacco. 

“Big meat” has an image problem that can’t be whitewashed. It revolves around the cruel treatment of animals in industrial farms, as well as the harm the industry causes the planet. The industrial production of meat and exploitation of animals makes up 15% of global emissions and 60% of food production emissions. It’s no surprise that moves away from big meat and towards plant protein would be met with attempts to stifle these efforts.

It’s important to remember that influencers make their money from paid sponsorships and so-called candid advice may be funded by less than above-board sources. Articles with knee-jerk titles that claim to debunk veganism and vegan protein could well be part of a backlash that is more about business interests than science. Vegans can help to combat this disinformation by carefully fact-checking and tracing the sources of articles sent my family and friends.