Ellen Taft To Push For Citywide Pit Bull Ban

Last we heard from animal rights watchdog Ellen Taft, she was trying to stop faux service animals in their tracks. But with another high-profile pit bull mauling making front-page news today, Taft is now appealing to the Seattle City Council to institute a citywide ban on fighting breeds (it's worth noting that the aforementioned attack occured in SeaTac, not Seattle). A full press release issued by Taft can be read after the jump.

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Topics: Animal Cruelty

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Chai's Miscarriage

Hansa

Zoo critics didn't just warn it could happen - it would happen they predicted, and they were right: Woodland Park Zoo's 29-year-old artifically inseminated elephant Chai has miscarried.

One of three elephants at the zoo, Chai had been inseminated in January with semen from an elephant named Sneezy at the zoo in Tulsa, the AP reports:

The group Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants said it was unethical to breed Chai because her 6-year-old daughter, Hansa, died last year of a herpes infection. The group fears a new calf would also get the virus.

In May, Alyne Fortgang of the Friends told Seattle Weekly: "Of the Asian elephants in captivity that have contracted herpes, 85 percent of them are now dead. Despite these statistics and Hansa’s gruesome death, WPZ artificially inseminated Chai...the zoo is now a herpes-stricken facility and any calf born there runs an extremely high risk of dying from herpes."

Nancy Pennington, another Friends member, said then: "We were shocked to learn that the zoo hasn’t suspended its breeding program as though nothing has happened. It hasn’t even been a year since Hansa’s death and it appears they’re treating another elephant for herpes."

The zoo told me that wasn't true - that the other elephant, Watoto, was not being treated for herpes. Nonetheless, Dr. Laura Richman, a leading expert on herpes, had warned that the virus was clearly a threat to the zoo birthing program. "Hansa had not left Woodland Park Zoo since she was born, which suggests the virus was passed from one of the zoo's other elephants, either her mother, Chai, or Watoto or Bamboo.”

At this point, the zoo says it doesn't know the cause of the miscarriage yesterday. "Per standard procedure," officials say in a press release, "zoo Animal Health staff sent fetal tissue samples to pathology laboratories for analysis. According to [General Curator Dr. Nancy] Hawkes, it may take several weeks for the zoo to receive results, which may or may not explain the miscarriage."

Said Hawkes: "We are very disappointed and saddened by this outcome. As in all mammals, miscarriages are not uncommon, especially during the first trimester. Our priority is to focus on Chai. We are providing round-the-clock care and monitoring her closely. She’s eating, socializing and behaving normally, all positive signs that Chai is doing well."

Topics: Animal Cruelty

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KOMO Dogs It

On last night's 11 p.m. telecast, SW's broadcast partner, KOMO-TV, did its own version of our story on one group's crusade to tighten the leash on service dogs. KOMO's Joel Moreno reports.

Topics: Animal Cruelty

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Murderer on the Loose in Ballard

In the wee hours of May 30, a Ballard chicken named Lucy (pictured above, in an open casket) was decapitated by an unidentified raccoon. Lucy's master, Voracious contributor/Renaissance man Brad Hole, reasoned that it was a raccoon instead of an opossum that did the killing because 'coons typically go for the head, whereas opossums attack from the rear. To protect his surviving two chickens, Marshmallow and Henrietta, from future backyard attacks, Hole has opted to purchase a set of automatic, ultra hi-tech doors from a British manufacturer for his coop, to the tune of some $300. "Those are some expensive eggs," quips the grieving master.

Seeing as investigating livestock homicide falls outside the purview of the Seattle Police Department, Hole is taking justice into his own hands, Chuck Norris style. A couple nights after Lucy's murder, he set a trap out, using watermelon, bacon, and — ironically, considering it's the name of one of the survivors — marshmallow as bait. Come Monday morning, Hole awoke to find a perpetrator encaged in the trap. Only it wasn't a 'coon; it was an opossum (pictured below), whom Hole loosed into the streets of Ballard a short time thereafter, promising not to rest until the alleged killer is behind bars.

In the meantime, Hole's heart yearns for a chicken that he acknowledges was his favorite of the trio. "Lucy was always the one with the most personality and was quick to jump up on your lap, like a cat to be petted," he says. "Lucy was my best friend. I had just taught her a trick — to jump for oatmeal. We became aquainted almost three years ago through Craigslist. She was a mere $8 but I knew she had a lot of potential. Her blue-green eggs stood out from the rest. She will be missed."

We will update you on this unsolved murder as information becomes available.

Topics: Animal Cruelty

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Is the Loch Ness Monster Dead?

And did global warming kill her? Don Ward has the scoop.

Topics: Animal Cruelty

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"Visualize Yourself as a Whole Pie"

A Thanksgiving Tip for pet owners. Courtesy of your local humane society:

When giving pets treats you must consider the relative size of their body compared to yours. If you weigh 150 pounds and your dog weighs 25 pounds, she is only 1/6 of your total weight. If you visualize yourself as a whole pie, comparatively your dog is only one slice of pie. Consequently, sharing an unfinished plate that still holds a generous serving of mashed potatoes with gravy, a side of very rich dressing, a few bites of turkey and a small slice of pumpkin pie with your best friend can make her feel miserable. Rich and fatty foods like this can even lead to serious and painful pancreatitis!

If only someone would put out the same bulletin for humans:

When having that third helping of stuffing, mashed potatoes and green bean casserole you must consider the relative size of your stomach to the two plates full of pilgrim-inspired goodness you�ve already ingested. Consequently, the gravy you�re about to dump all over it could lead to some serious bloating, or at the very least delay your consumption of pumpkin pie.

If you don�t already have a pet to overfeed and would like one, the Seattle/King County Humane Society (located in Bellevue) is open for adoption on Friday.

Topics: Animal Cruelty

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One for the Mammals

Fred Felleman

In a ruling likely to affect the Navy�s plans to expand sonar use off the Washington coast, the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today ordered the service to stop using a high-intensity sonar off Southern California until its likely harm to marine mammals can be safely resolved. The court reinstituted a preliminary injunction, effective in January, that had been stayed during a current naval exercise.

As we reported in September, the Navy has similar plans for sonar use off the coast here and perhaps within Puget Sound as part of a proposal to deploy more unmanned vehicles and expand underwater demolitions and war gaming.

�The court�s decision [today] prevents the needless infliction of harm to whales and other marine species during the Navy�s training off our coast," said Joel Reynolds, director of the Marine Mammal Protection Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council, which filed the lawsuit.

Topics: Animal Cruelty

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Yes, Our Site Looks a Bit Different

We hope you enjoy the new look of SeattleWeekly.com.

Aside from getting a face lift, there are also a few new features, like comments in articles, a look at our most popular articles, and an easier way to navigate our blogs.

We'll be rolling out more new features in the coming weeks. We'll also be tidying up. If you see something that's wrong, missing, or out of place on our new site, please, don't hesitate to drop me a line.

Enjoy!

Chris Kornelis
Web Editor
Seattle Weekly
web@seattleweekly.com

Topics: Animal Cruelty

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Cougar Hunt!

No, not the kind of Cougar hunt Huan Hsu writes about this week— an actual gun-toting hunt of these furry mountain predators. And here's the best part, you don't have to be an expert tracker. All you need is a good dog with a keen sense of smell and the ability to tree the big cat. Hunting cougars with dogs was banned by statewide initiative in 1996, but due to concerns about "public and livestock safety," the state brought the sport hunt back in 2004.

And lawmakers in Olympia voted last spring to extend the cougar hunt for the 2007-08 season. Permits will be given for five far-flung Northeastern Washington counties only. (Cap Hill kitties battling urban coyotes, you're still on your own.) Hunters must submit their applications to the state by midnight Sept. 19.

Barbaric you say? Well at least they're not letting hunters bait 'um too. In Maine, the bear hunt consists of using trash cans of food to draw the unsuspecting, hibernation-prepping animals out of the woods— a practice touchy-feely greenies have been trying to do away with for decades. Sad thing is that the bears' sweet tooth is their downfall. The most popular bait? Jelly doughnuts.

Topics: Animal Cruelty

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Dog Day Afternoon

Heard the story of the Federal Way grannie who registered her dog to vote, supposedly to prove that the King County Elections office has its head so far up its ass that it can't tell canines from humans? While supporters of I-25 probably feel like they've been handed Willie Horton on a silver platter  (more on that here), acting King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg has been none too amused by the incident, charging the FW granny, aka Jane Balogh, with a gross misdemeanor. (Actually, Satterberg may have been a tiny bit amused, as evidenced by his quip as the story broke: "They say you should let sleeping dogs lie, but you can't let voting dogs vote.")

Court proceedings for Balogh start tomorrow, but "Duncan MacDonald", her Australian shepherd terrier-mix dog, has already been stripped of his voting rights, per a release from county Elections Director Sherril Huff's office. According to this communique, instead of providing a driver's license or social security number, Balogh used a phone bill in the name of her dog in order to get him on the rolls in the first place, an alternative form of identification permitted through the Help America Vote Act and state laws.

Reached for comment while licking his balls in Balogh's backyard, MacDonald said he had intended to vote for Tom Tancredo in the upcoming Republican Presidential primary.

Topics: Animal Cruelty

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Coyotes, meet lost kitty

From 19th and Roy St. E.

Topics: Animal Cruelty

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Hangin' with Saget

On Friday, Bob Saget performed at The Moore Theatre downtown. The comedian and his opener Ryan Stout were in fine form, with both prodding the audience with sometimes mean, sometimes bizarre humor.

 The first three photos are of opener Ryan Stout. He performed for about 35 minutes before Saget took the stage.

Topics: Animal Cruelty

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Why?

Spotted this afternoon on the corner of Spring Street and First Avenue: some dude on a scooter with a Dachshund on the handle bars. Yeah. You read that right. A brown wiener dog, front paws on the bars, back paws on his lap. Pooch was dressed in a red-and-white-striped jumper, a miniature black cowboy hat and perched precariously, headed uphill.

I've ridden around on these things enough to know that it's tough to hang on even when you've got opposable thumbs. Via con Dios, Fido. Your NBA jersey-clad owner should look for less harmful ways of getting attention.

Topics: Animal Cruelty

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