Articles:
DECISION 2010: Life or Death for the World’s Wildlife
From Animal Issues, Volume 40 Number 4, Winter 2009
Are we prepared to return to the killing fields of the 1970s and 1980s, when hundreds of thousands of elephant carcasses littered the African savannah, their faces literally sawn off for their bloody ivory tusks?
Wear and Care at the Primate Sanctuary
From Animal Issues, Volume 40 Number 3, Fall 2009
The past 8 to 12 months have certainly been very busy at the Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary. As I told you when I introduced myself, we recently completed a new, lush 2.5 acre enclosure for our group of baboons. Initially, I was most concerned about one of our older olive baboons, Boon, and his adjustment to the new surroundings following the 2008 death of his longtime companion, Holly. But Boon is thriving and when he’s not busy roaming the dense underbrush foraging for snacks he can be found perched stoically atop a large fallen tree — free to be a baboon.
The Evidence Against Ringling Bros. Is Irrefutable!
From Animal Issues, Volume 40 Number 2, Summer 2009
After nearly a decade of waiting, through often tortuous legal maneuvering, the elephants finally got their day in court. After years of circus industry denials about the mistreatment of animals behind the big top, the truth has finally been exposed for the world to see.
When You Least Expect It SNAP! Traps Maim and Kill like LANDMINES
From Animal Issues, Volume 40 Number 1, Spring 2009
Excruciating pain. Lost limbs. Even death. These are the results of trapping ... not only for the wild animals whose furs are stripped from their bodies, but also for family dogs and cats and even endangered species who are “incidentally” caught in the remorseless jaws of leghold traps, Conibear traps, or snares (cable nooses).
The Global Wildlife Trade: An International Disgrace
The global wildlife trade is a deadly business.
Rhinoceroses gunned down so their horns can be ground into fever-reducing pills or made into traditional dagger handles in Yemen. Mother chimpanzees slaughtered to satisfy the demand for wild animal flesh, their orphaned babies sold into the pet trade. An estimated one hundred million sharks fatally wrenched from their ocean homes each year for sport, for their teeth, or for their fins, which end up floating in a bowl of Asian soup.
The ravenous human appetite for wildlife parts and the products made from them turns gorilla hands to ashtrays, whales to canned meat, sea turtle shells to earrings, and elephant feet to umbrella stands. In the process, individual animals are mercilessly slaughtered, entire families are massacred, and increasing numbers of animal species are driven dangerously closer to extinction. This unconscionable wildlife exploitation is shameful. It is an international disgrace.
The Commercial Wildlife Trade: An American Disgrace
Captured by the thousands from exotic locations, few wild birds survive the long journey to distant pet markets. Primates, rare reptiles, and other species are traded as “pets” to people who don’t understand these animals’ specialized needs. Bears are slaughtered for their gallbladders and paws. Elephants are murdered for their ivory, and young elephants are forcibly torn from their families to be shipped to far-off zoos. Fox, ermine, mink, and other furbearers are ensnared in barbaric traps to provide fur for fashion.
Rescuing Animals, Worldwide
“Keep Wildlife in the Wild” is more than just a slogan. It’s the bedrock philosophy of Born Free USA united with Animal Protection Institute and our colleagues at the UK-based Born Free Foundation. Together, the global Born Free family works tirelessly to save animals from lives of misery in tiny cages and give them lifetime care.
Zoochotic: Is Keeping Wild Animals in Captivity Crazy?
From Animal Issues, Volume 39 Number 1, Spring 2008
On Christmas Day 2007, a 4-year-old Siberian tiger called Tatiana escaped her enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo, fatally mauling 17-year-old Carlos Sousa, Jr. and injuring two other men, brothers Paul and Kulbir Dhaliwal. The story instantly made international headlines and commentators from all backgrounds took to the airwaves to offer hypotheses of how such a dreadful tragedy could have occurred.
