Army to shoot pigs for medical drill

No, it never occurred to us that shooting live pigs was a part of the war on terror ... but what do we know. The Associated Press reports:

HONOLULU--The Army says it's critical to saving the lives of wounded soldiers. Animal-rights activists call the training cruel and outdated.

Despite opposition by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the Army proceeded to shoot live pigs and treat their gunshot wounds in a medical trauma exercise Friday at Schofield Barracks for soldiers headed to Iraq.

Maj. Derrick Cheng, spokesman for the 25th Infantry Division, said the training was conducted as scheduled under a U.S. Department of Agriculture license and the careful supervision of veterinarians and a military Animal Care and Use Committee. "It's to teach Army personnel how to manage critically injured patients within the first few hours of their injury," Cheng said.

The soldiers are learning emergency lifesaving skills needed on the battlefield when there are no medics, doctors or facility nearby, he said.

PETA, however, said there are more advanced and humane options available, including high-tech human simulators. In a letter, PETA urged the Army to end all use of animals, "as the overwhelming majority of North American medical schools have already done."

Endangered species get new aid

California's Supreme Court gave new protection to the state's endangered species Thursday, ruling unanimously that developers, loggers and other commercial interests may be required to compensate for unforeseen wildlife losses. Times staff writer Maura Dolan reports:

The ruling, which affects both public works and private development, threw out a long-term logging plan approved by the state for 200,000 acres in Humboldt County, a plan that lower courts put on hold several years ago.

The state high court said the Department of Forestry had approved an "unidentifiable" plan that was still a work in progress and then delegated its completion to the logging company. Justice Carlos R. Moreno, writing for the court, called the Forestry Department's action illegal and an abrogation of its duties. The California Department of Forestry "failed to proceed according to law," Moreno wrote.

The decision grew out of lawsuits that followed the historic Headwaters Agreement, a 1996 pact between Pacific Lumber Co. and the state and federal governments. It was designed to resolve litigation and disputes over the logging of old-growth forests.

A rodeo opens in controversy

As previously noted on L.A. Unleashed, the world's largest outdoor rodeo remains mired in controvery. The Associated Press reports:

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Western heritage runs deep in this high plains city, and nothing typifies the local cowboy and ranching culture more than the 10-day Cheyenne Frontier Days celebration (the photo at left is from last year's event), which boasts the world's largest outdoor rodeo.

Yet, as this year's "Daddy of 'Em All" rodeo gets under way this weekend, the event is fighting off allegations of animal cruelty, which prompted the rock band Matchbox Twenty to cancel a scheduled performance. Animal-rights activists want certain rodeo events banned. Organizers and competitors are calling it an attack on Western tradition.

"I feel like it's like gun control. If you let him take one event, they're going to try to get another. And then, I think, it's just going to snowball from there," said Brian McNamee, a past rodeo competitor from Wyoming.

The culture clash comes amid a national debate on the treatment of sporting animals following the death of a racehorse in the Kentucky Derby. Animal-rights groups have long fought to eliminate cockfighting, dogfighting and game-farm hunts, and have advocated for better treatment of zoo and circus animals. But rodeos are starting to gain more of their attention, and in some cases protests.

Photo: Michael Smith / The Wyoming Tribune Eagle

Bo Derek to join horse racing board

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed actress Bo Derek to the California Horse Racing Board on Tuesday.

Derek, 51, best known for a cornrow hairstyle and beach run in the 1979 movie "10," is a Republican, an animal rights activist and author of "Riding Lessons: Everything That Matters in Life I Learned From Horses." Here, she is pictured in 2000 riding a horse as she plays a role in the TV series "Reina de Espadas" (Queen of Swords) in Spain. 

She has also served as spokeswoman for the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act and owns a pet care products company called Bless the Beasts, according to Schwarzenegger's announcement.

The seven gubernatorial appointees to the board license nearly 14,000 trainers, jockeys, owners and others involved in a multi-billion-dollar industry.

--Nancy Vogel

Photo: J.M.Vidal/AFP

The Obamas get some (unsolicited) advice on their dog search

Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, have promised their young daughters -- Malia, 9, and Sasha, 7 -- that they can have a dog when this hectic campaign is over. Now, two big animal groups want to lend a hand in the search.

First up was the venerable American Kennel Club, keeper of canine pedigrees, which has posted on its website a list of five "hypoallergenic" breeds -- allergies are an issue for the Obama household -- and asked folks to weigh in with their choices: "In the true spirit of doggy democracy, the AKC is asking Americans to vote on the breed they think the Obama family should select." 

Among  the five choices: the Chinese Crested (pictured right.) Calling the Chinese-African pedigree "exotic," the AKC added that "with its unique appearance, it's certain to turn heads."

The other four choices are the poodle, the miniature Schnauzer, the soft-coated Wheaton Terrier, and the Bichon Frise. The AKC considers Bichons sociable and "likely to get along with just about everyone (including members of Congress, regardless of party affiliation.)"

The AKC suggests voters take into account which dogs would be most child-friendly and suitable for rides on Air Force One. (The last we checked the voting, the poodle was slightly ahead of the Wheaton Terrier.)

But whatever the Obamas choose, the national animal welfare group Best Friends Animal Society wants them to adopt that dog from an animal shelter -- not buy the pooch at a pet store. (The Obamas could also try finding one at various pet adoption events -- like the one, sponsored by Best Friends, pictured at the top of this item.)

"There are thousands of affectionate loyal dogs of all sizes, shapes and colors trapped in the animal control system who need a way out," said Julie Castle of Best Friends. "There are also plenty of purebred dogs that can be adopted from breed rescue organizations, without purchasing one from a pet store." 

Best Friends launched a website, obamafamilydog.com, with an online petition to convince the Obamas of the joys of mutts, as well as the importance of eschewing pet stores: "In a country where millions of dogs are killed each year in shelters, purchasing from a breeder or pet store is not an ethical choice."

However, Malia Obama, according to her father, has already done some research and settled on a goldendoodle, the hypoallergenic cross between a poodle and Golden Retriever.

We have our own suggestion for the Obamas: what about ...

Two-legged dog is a symbol for problems with traps

Andre the two-legged dog was rescued last winter when a woman noticed the animal trailing blood across a country road. The mutt lost most of the lower half of his left legs after getting caught in an animal trap or snare. Now Andre has become a symbol in Alaska for what pet owners and animal lovers say is a gruesome and growing problem: pets accidentally caught in traps and snares meant for wild animals. Mary Pemberton of the Associated Press reports:

The problem, animal owners and advocates say, is increasing as more people move into and use areas of Alaska that were once wild. But the problem is not new. Tension between dog owners and trappers has been percolating in Alaska for decades, said Cliff Judkins, chairman of the Alaska Board of Game.

“I don’t know what the long-term answer is to it really. The Board of Game is caught in the middle between two groups,” he said. “This thing has been going on for a long, long time.”

Karen McNaught of Palmer, Alaska, nursed Andre back to health, although she initially didn’t think he would make it. “No one had seen a dog with two legs cut off like that,” she said. “The bone was sticking out on both of them. It was horrible.”

Now, Andre bounces around her back yard like a Pogo-Stick. When tired, he leans against the house or the fence. The plan is to fit him with artificial legs.

A cats vs. coyotes dispute at Cal State Long Beach

At least two coyotes have been preying on feral cats that live on the Cal State Long Beach campus. But the real clash is between animal activists and university officials, who are at odds over which species should have to go, the Times' Ann Simmons reports:

University officials say the cats are attracting the coyotes, and it is the cats that need to be removed. That has outraged many cat lovers who fear the felines will be killed. They say the coyotes present the danger, so they should be evicted.

On Sunday, a small group of cat lovers lined a curb outside the university, waving handwritten signs with slogans such as "Save The Cats" and chanting their message as motorists hooted and whizzed by.

Cal State Long Beach spokesman Rick Gloady said he hoped that the cats could be "trapped and removed from campus," and that homes could be found for them in shelters.

University officials said in a written statement that the cats had been fed and well cared for. But the felines tend to cluster around the multiple campus feeding stations -- which coyotes had discovered and started visiting, leaving behind several dead cats.

The activists who care for the cats, which have lived on the campus for decades, argue that trapping the coyotes would be easier than rounding up the cats and taking them to shelters where they might be euthanized.

-- Tony Barboza

Spanish animal protesters target bull run in Pamplona

The annual running of the bulls began in Pamplona this weekend, but The UK'S Guardian reports that anti-bullfighting groups are planning various protests to capitalize on a 2006 Gallup survey that found 72% of Spaniards claim to have no interest in the sport:

In the past, the festival of San Fermin has attracted nude protests from activists. On Saturday animal rights activists. above, wearing banderillas, barbed darts which are stabbed into the bull's neck during bullfights, stage a provocative protest before the start the nine-day San Fermin Festival on Sunday in Pamplona.

But within Spain a radical wing of the anti-bullfighting movement has begun to stage more confrontational demonstrations in the hope of gaining a higher profile.

Two groups, Equanimal and Igualidad Animal, have invaded Spanish bullrings for the first time, in a new tactic that they intend to repeat throughout the bull-fighting season. Previous protests have been limited to placard-waving outside the bullrings.

Demonstrators invaded the ring at Madrid's prestigious Las Ventas during the Festival of San Isidro, the biggest date on the bullfighting calendar. At the El Monumental ring in Barcelona last month four protesters [one of whom is pictured at right] carrying signs saying "Abolition" jumped over the perimeter wall to get into the ring after the bull was killed. Igualidad Animal supporters claimed they were attacked by workers at the ring before police and security could intervene.

The festival of San Fermin in Pamplona, which runs until [Monday], attracts hundreds of willing "runners" from around the world, many inspired by [Ernest] Hemingway's book The Sun Also Rises, which is largely responsible for event's fame. After the bulls run through the narrow streets of Pamplona, they face the matador in the ring.

Anti-bullfighting campaigners say invading bullrings will not lead to violent clashes [or] damage their cause. Jordi Casamitjana of the Anti-Bullfighting Committee said: "I don't think this is heading towards extremism. It is still nonviolent. If you said to Gandhi that he could not stage his protests, where would we be today? This helps keep people aware of this cruelty."

But Luis Corrales, director of the pro-bullfighting Platform for the Defence of the National Festival, said: "If they want to make a point to society about bullfighting, that is up to them, and we have no problem with that. But invading the bullring is pure provocation.'

Bullfighting is a centuries-old staple of Spanish culture that was exported to Latin America, but has been under fire globally in recent years by activists calling it glorified animal cruelty. However, bloodless fights, which started in the United States after activists complained about bulls being harmed during traditional fights, are considered more dangerous for bullfighters because they lack a weapon for defense. The argument continues.

--Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo of nude protest: Alvaro Barrientos/Associated Press

Photo of bullring protest: Toni Albir/EPA

Don't save the whale plate, Times board says

Remember the fracas over a Laguna Beach artist named Wyland? He was unhappy because the state commissioned his whale tail artwork for license plates but wouldn't give him a cut of the funds for his environmental foundation.

Well, today The Times' editorial board weighs in, saying that the state should hold a competition among California's art students for a new ocean plate, with a $10,000 scholarship for the winner

And this time, the editorial board opines, "make sure the kid signs a written agreement."

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Reed Saxon/Associated Press

Photos of South China tiger faked

The tale of the tiger started last October when local forestry officials in China's Shaanxi province held a news conference and released what they said was a photo of a rare South China tiger in the wild, a sight not seen since the 1960s.

But The Times' Mark Magnier reports that the story and its photos always seemed too good to be true:

This weekend, local authorities revealed after months of delay that the pictures had been staged using a poster cutout. Police also produced a paw made of wood they said had been used to make prints in the snow.

Zhou Zhenglong, 54, a farmer and local guide who took the photographs, was arrested Saturday on suspicion of fraud. And 13 officials in Shaanxi province in central China have been fired or disciplined, the government announced Sunday.

The revelations in the "paper tiger" case were driven by persistent Internet activists who demanded answers from Zhou and local officials. The case has also spurred a heated debate over cover-ups, culpability and corruption, as well as whether Zhou was forced to take the fall for powerful officials.

Zhou was paid $2,915 for the photographs by the local forestry department, which was reportedly trying to start a nature reserve, seeking over $1 million from Beijing in funding and pushing to boost tourism. Zhou, who had acted as a guide for animal protection officials, had originally been led to believe the photos might be worth as much as $140,000.

Looks like Hollywood isn't the only place guilty of doctoring what appears as reality. Local officials in the tiger case said they were "reflecting on their mistakes."

Speaking of tigers in China, a Times editorial today urges the Chinese government to close the country's tiger farms in order to save them from extinction and abuse.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

DMV still offers specialty whale tail license plates

A day after a prominent marine life artist revoked the state's right to use his whale tail art on specialty license plates, state officials assured drivers Wednesday that similar environmental-themed plates would still be available.

Muralist Wyland, who goes by one name, recently announced the state could no longer use his iconic whale tail painting on vehicle license plates after officials snubbed his request to share 20% of plate profits with his conservation foundation.

He had agreed to let the state use the painting of a whale's flukes in what state officials dubbed a "handshake deal," with part of the money generated by sales of the plate supporting the state Coastal Commission.

Although the commission is "moving forward with a new design . . . it is important for California motorists to know that the program will continue in the meantime," said commission Executive Director Peter Douglas in a statement.

Old whale tail plates will not be recalled, orders for new plates will be accepted, and part of the money will still fund environmental protection efforts, Douglas said.

-- Susannah Rosenblatt

Photo: Reed Saxon / Associated Press

Artist upset over use of whale plate funds

The Laguna Beach artist who created California's whale-tail license plate is making a splash with state coastal officials, revoking the state's right to use his art after they snubbed his request to share profits from the image with his environmental group. The Times' Susannah Rosenblatt reports:

Robert Wyland, the marine muralist whose paintings of ocean life envelop buildings around the world, let the state use his hazy blue image of a whale's flukes for environmentally themed license plates 14 years ago in what state officials describe as a "handshake deal."

The artist approached the Coastal Commission several months ago asking for 20% of the state's annual profits from the plates to fund his nonprofit ocean conservation foundation.

California earns about $3.77 million a year from the plates, but the Coastal Commission receives only a third of the funds: about $15 for each new plate sold. The rest goes to other state environmental programs.

"At the end of the day, the whale tail is my art and my idea, and I own the rights to my intellectual property," Wyland said in an interview Tuesday from his Laguna Beach studio. "I won't be stepped on: I'm sticking up for artists' rights, for the common person. I'm sticking up for the oceans and the coast big-time. We're not going away."

There are an estimated 126,000 whale-tail plates are on California roads, Rosenblatt reports that the battle may end up in court.

--Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Wyland Worldwide LLC

Justices to settle fight over sonar and whales

After years of being tied up by litigation over using sonar that can harm whales, the U.S. Navy finally got what it wanted: a chance for the U.S. Supreme Court to cut the legal legs off these federal environmental cases.

The highest court in the land agreed today to take the case that argues the Navy should step up its safeguards when using sub-hunting sonar in waters fat with whales. Arguments will come in the fall and a decision is likely to follow next year.

The case focuses on training of aircraft carrier battle groups in waters off Southern California. Federal judges in California have sided repeatedly with the Natural Resources Defense Council and other conservation groups that want the Navy to take more precautions when using sonar, which can panic whales, dolphins and other marine mammals.

Although this long-running court fight has gained considerable attention, what's less known is that this legal action only covers a fraction of the Navy's use of sonar in Southern California waters. The fight focuses on the official testing and evaluation needed to certify that an aircraft carrier and its accompanying ships are combat ready. Other warships routinely ping the waters in training missions off Southern California without fanfare.

-- Kenneth R. Weiss

Photo: Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times

Pandas, sharks and more -- an animal news roundup from today's Times

The eight young pandas evacuated during the recent earthquakes in China have become the Beijing Zoo's media darlings, Barbara Demick reports.

Visitors to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta can pay to swim with whale sharks, but some experts says the practice could be risky for the sharks, Richard Fausset reports.

Speaking of risk, some SoCal surfers are opting to take the risk of a swim in the shark-populated waters at a beach north of Ixtapa, Mexico, Pete Thomas reports.

President Bush urges offshore drilling in wildlife refuge areas, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger disagrees with tampering with California's coast.

Meanwhile, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, a nonprofit coalition of hunting, fishing and other organizations, filed  a lawsuit against the Interior Department and the Bureau of Land Management in U.S. District Court in Washington, saying the government agency "failed unequivocally" to monitor and mitigate the effects of gas and oil drilling on wildlife in Wyoming, Tami Abdollah reports.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's refusal to let firms test for mad cow disease denies consumers a safety net, a Times editorial says.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Andy Wong/Associated Press

Jessica Simpson and the "Real Girls Eat Meat" T-shirt

Jessica Simpson was photographed last week at LAX wearing a "Real Girls Eat Meat" T-shirt. Some animal lovers are less than happy, especially the folks at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The Baltimore Sun's Mutts blog shares some details:

"For a gal who's best known for her less-than-stellar brains (Chicken of the Sea, anyone?) and her ability to proportionately fill out daisy dukes, I'm gonna go on record saying that if anyone had to wear a ridiculous shirt like this, I'm glad it was Jessica — as people are more likely to follow the opposite of her lead," a PETA blogger wrote. Maybe the meat-eaters of the world will be embarrassed to be categorized in the same field as Jessica Simpson."

Simpson family insiders told OK! Magazine that the slogan is a dig at boyfriend Tony Romo’s ex-girlfriend, country superstar Carrie Underwood -- who has twice been named "World’s Sexiest Vegetarian" by PETA.

The PETA blog also lists "the top five reasons that only stupid girls brag about eating meat."

1. Meat increases the risk of breast cancer.

2. Real girls don't support animal abuse.

3. The meat industry is destroying the Earth.

4. Meat will make you fat.

5. Eating meat steals food from starving kids.

-- Alice Short

Photo: Tony Gutierrez / Associated Press

1. Meat increases the risk of breast cancer.

2. Real girls don't support animal abuse.

3. The meat industry is destroying the Earth.

4. Meat will make you fat.

5. Eating meat steals food from starving kids.

-- Alice Short

Photo: Tony Gutierrez / Associated Press

At 74, primate expert Jane Goodall still doing good works

Although she has more than a half-century under her belt, renowned primatologist Jane Goodall doesn't show any signs of slowing down anytime soon. The 74-year-old is still traveling the world doing acts of environmental good and is working on a new book.

Over the last 22 years, Goodall has traveled tirelessly, staying no more than three weeks in one place as she tries to educate Earth's top primates about environmentalism, inspire hope and get them to save their planet, The Times' Tami Abdollah writes in a Q&A in today's Calendar section:

Abdollah: Is your work still centered around or focused on chimpanzees?

Goodall: Not really. It's very, very important to me that we continue to study, that we do it in the right way, that there's enough money for it, that we try to protect those chimpanzees into the future by working with all the people living in poverty around the park and then hoping more and more of them will enable part of the land to regenerate so the chimps are no longer trapped as they are now; they're surrounded by cultivated fields. In five years, you get a 30-foot tree. So they're coming back, but you know, the villagers if they wanted could cut them down, there's nothing to stop them, except goodwill.

In the photo above, Goodall helps students plant a tree at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice at the University of San Diego.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Don Bartletti/Los Angeles Times

South Korea will not import U.S. meat from older cattle

South Korea's president vowed Sunday not to allow the import of meat from older cattle, in hopes of quelling public anger at the resumption of beef imports from the United States, the Associated Press reports:

President Lee Myung-bak's comments came as the chief U.S. and South Korean trade envoys met in Washington on the dispute. But today, the Foreign Ministry said that there was no breakthrough.

"The government stance is firm that beef from cattle older than 30 months will not be brought" into South Korea, Lee said. Meat from older cattle is thought to be at greater risk of carrying mad cow disease.

Talks will continue through diplomatic channels, the Foreign Ministry said.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

A benefit for Dogs in Danger

Several dozen reality TV personalities and their pooches put on the dog at a Beverly Hills mansion Saturday at a benefit for Dogs in Danger, a group that promotes the adoption of canines in shelters.

Kristen Renton, an actress on “Days of Our Lives,” pranced down the red carpet set up on the driveway with Roxy, one of two boxers she has rescued. Jai Rodriguez of the Animal Planet show “Groomer Has It” turned up with his 5-year-old Yorkie, Nemo. Ryan Seacrest was there too -- but with no dog or date in tow.

Maria Menounos of “Access Hollywood” (at left) came toting her handicapped poodle, Noelle, in a pet-purse. The aging dog’s back legs are crippled and the front ones are prone to sores, so she wears yellow protective pads made by Menounos’ mom. Though Noelle can’t walk, Menounos said the poodle keeps in shape with daily swims.

Also in the crowd were two local guys about to get their 15 minutes of reality-show fame on a new CBS show, “Greatest American Dog,” which is set to debut July 10. Part “Survivor,” part “American Idol,” the show pits 12 human-dog teams against each other in a competition for $250,000 and the title of America’s greatest dog. Considering that they were cooped up for about 40 days in a house in Agoura Hills with 10 other human-dog pairings during filming, they seemed surprisingly normal.

Ron Davis, 39 (at right) went on the show with his 3-year-old English bulldog, Tillman. Davis, a construction manager from Oxnard, said the gig came along for him at just the right time -- he was laid off from his job on the first day of the shoot.

He and Travis Brorsen, 29 (at left), a bartender from Hollywood who went on the show with his boxer, Presley, weren’t allowed to divulge many details about the TV show. But Davis did reveal that there was no behind-the-scenes team keeping up with the doo-doo. The rule on the show, he said, was simple: “You poop, you scoop, and you hope it’s hard.”

-- Julie Makinen

Photos: Cliff Smith

Animal activist group claims responsibility for van fire

The UCLA Daily Bruin reports that an animal activist group is claiming responsibility for setting a university van on fire:

According to the Irvine Police Department, a van owned by UCLA was on fire near an Irvine recreation center the morning of June 3, and an animal activist group claimed responsibility for the events through an anonymous e-mail.

The Los Angeles Animal Liberation Front sent an anonymous communique to Bite Back Magazine in protest of UCLA’s primate research.

The message, which was posted today on the magazine’s website, protested UCLA’s primate research and said: "It is unacceptable for us to see, hear, and know what is going on in our animal labs without taking action. For all of those affected you have the UCLA primate vivisection program to blame."

Nancy Greenstein, director of community service for University Police, said the department received notice of the message this morning, and a joint investigation with the FBI is underway. The role of the ALF in the van fire has yet to be confirmed.

Earlier this year, authorities investigated a fire caused by a device left at a house owned by a UCLA professor who conducts animal research. It was the second time the house had been targeted in less than four months.

The device was placed on the front porch of a house owned by Edythe London, FBI officials in Los Angeles said. London, a professor of psychiatry and bio-behavioral sciences and of molecular and medical pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, uses lab monkeys in her research on nicotine addiction.

Olsen twins incur the wrath of PETA

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has been busy of late, worrying about fried chicken, lobsters and the like. But this week they're worried about Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen., at right. No, it's nothing about their tiny-ness. It's about their fur-wearing ways.

Here's how Us magazine reports it:

In a new ad campaign to be unveiled at the Olsens' Walk of Fame star on Hollywood Boulevard, PETA blasts the 21-year-old star siblings — whom they dub the "Trollsen Twins" — for wearing fur and including it in their collections Elizabeth and James and The Row.

"Thin-twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are about to get some publicity that will have them running away faster than if they'd spotted a calorie," the group said in a snarky statement today. The new ad features the twins above the headline "Fur Is Worn by Beautiful Animals and Ugly People."

Meanwhile, PETA has issued a statement on the affair, which reads in part:

"As the Olsen twins prepare to celebrate their 22nd birthday this Friday, they'll be getting some unusual 'gifts' in the mail -- locks of hair from countless young people who object to cruelty to animals."

The hairy birthday greetings are being sent at the request of Peta2 -- the world's largest youth animal rights organization -- which posted a "mission" on its highly trafficked web site, Peta2.com, urging young people to send the fur-wearing twins snippets of their own hair along with a note that reads, "Please, use my hair instead of the animals'. Happy Birthday."

Some days it doesn't pay to be fur-wearing and famous.

-- Alice Short

Photo: Mark Mainz/Getty Images

Taking their beef peacefully to the streets

About 80,000 people demonstrated in Seoul against U.S. beef imports, with candlelight vigils lasting into the early hours today. President Lee Myung-bak was expected to accept Cabinet resignations over the issue.

--Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Dong-A Ilbo/Associated Press

Activists target Portland's last remaining fur salon

Things don't look good for purveyors of furs in Portland, Ore. According to a report in the Oregonian, animal-rights activists say they are working to drive downtown Portland's last remaining fur salon out of business:

Saturday protests led by a fledgling group called the Portland Animal Defense League outside Nicholas Ungar Furs have intensified in recent weeks.

Unlike the rancorous 15-month campaign against Portland's Schumacher Furs and Outerwear (now closed), which activists insisted was about education and outreach, the group says the prime objective this time is ridding downtown of "an outdated industry." ....

Unlike Greg and Linda Schumacher, who were eager to confront the protesters and talk to the media about what they saw as an unfair attack on their business on Southwest Morrison Street, Ungar Furs owner Horst Grimm declined to comment.

When the store was contacted, someone calling himself only "the manager" said, "Our general policy is not to make comments."

Sgt. Brian Schmautz, a Portland police spokesman, said he wasn't yet aware of a single disturbance complaint about the protests.

UC Berkeley researchers targeted by animal rights activists

The San Francisco Chronicle reports today that 24 UC Berkeley researchers and seven staffers have been harassed by animal rights activists in recent months.

"What they all have in common is that they all work in animal research," UC Berkeley spokesman Robert Sanders said of the targeted employees.

In several instances, the activists have shown up outside researchers' homes in the middle of the night with bullhorns and chanting, "Animal killers." Sometimes they have scrawled slogans on the sidewalk in chalk.

On more than one occasion, rocks have been thrown through the researchers' windows and their cars have been scratched up. ...

The Chronicle reports that the latest incident happened about 10 days ago in Berkeley; a group of activists showed up outside the home of a researcher who studies the effects of pesticides on mice. Sanders said a rock was thrown through the researcher's window and a window at a neighbor's home.

-- Alice Short

Deputies arrest animal rescuer

Deputies arrested a well-known animal rescuer in the Mojave area Friday, accusing her of abusing animals, the Bakersfield Californian reports:

The new Grand Jury charges against Cynthia Bemis added to the dozens of animal cruelty charges already filed against the 59-year-old woman, according to the Kern County Sheriff’s Department. Bemis is facing 15 criminal charges of failing to care for animals in San Bernardino Court and 20 animal cruelty charges in Kern County Superior Court.

Under a court order, Bemis must submit to weekly inspections by Animal Control at her property located at East Trotter Avenue southeast of Mojave, said Sgt. Richard Wood with the Sheriff’s Department. Officers impounded two cats and nine dogs in a raid on Bemis’ property in February after a report of several animals being unhealthy.

Deputies also arrested Cynthia Trapani, 47, at Bemis’ property on Friday, deputies said. Trapani, who works with Bemis, is accused of shoving an animal control officer in an inspection in February, Wood said.

Humane Society calls for ban on lead ammo after condor crisis

The Humane Society of the United States today urged a nationwide ban on lead-shot ammunition after the lead poisoning of critically endangered California condors. One of the birds has died, "evidence that this ammo keeps on killing long after it leaves the gun barrel," the society said.

"Like asbestos, lead shot is a lethal and cruel pollutant that has no place in our modern society,” Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the society, said in a statement released today.

“Discharging countless tons of lead-shot ammunition and dispersing it in open space areas throughout the nation is a prescription for slow agonizing deaths for wildlife, particularly for scavengers such as condors who feed on animals killed by lead shot and are then poisoned themselves," he said. "It's time for policymakers to stand up to the extremist voices within the hunting lobby and demand that hunters use nontoxic shot.”

The poisoned condors account for one-fifth of the entire Southern California population of the creatures.

California enacted a law forbidding the use of lead shot, and lead bullets, in condor territory beginning July 1.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Scott Frier / Associated Press

Puppy mill survivor on tour -- tonight at Borders in Pasadena

The sign on the door of the Barnes & Noble at The Grove proclaims: "NO PETS ALLOWED."  But Baby, a 14-year-old snow-white poodle, sauntered through, wrapped in Jana Kohl's arms, trailed by an entourage and greeted by an eager store official. 

That's because Baby, a puppy mill survivor, was on her way to an autograph-signing for Kohl's new book, "A Rare Breed of Love,"  which has made a cover girl out of the little canine -- who is attractively shaggy and sans that overly manicured poodle cut. 

The fact that Baby has only three legs hobbles her walk but not her presence.  Despite Kohl's fretting over how many people pet her as she takes her on tour, Baby seems relaxed and calm.

Tonight, you can see Kohl and Baby at 7 at Borders in Pasadena at 475 South Lake Ave.

PETA has a busy week

It's been a busy week (so far) for PETA.

UPI reports that KFC Canada has bowed to five years of pressure ... from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals ... on the way its chickens are slaughtered:

From its headquarters in Norfolk, Va., the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has pressured the global chain since 2003 to end the practice of slaughtering the fowl using electric shocks, the Canwest News Service reported.

After seven months of talks with the food retailer at its headquarters north of Toronto in Vaughn, KFC Canada president Steve Langford said the company had agreed to have its suppliers switch to a system in which oxygen is replaced with other gases to render the birds unconscious before slaughter, the report said.

In the meantime, those wacky folks of PETA have an idea for folks who are distressed about the concept of boiling and eating lobsters.

PETA would like to turn a century-old county jail in Maine into a “lobster empathy center.” According to MaineToday, the county jail is up for sale as the sheriff, staff and inmates prepare for a move to a new, modern facility this summer.

And finally, PETA is urging prosecutors to bring animal cruelty charges against Eight Belles' trainer, Larry Jones. In the photo at left, Eight Belles is examined after breaking both front ankles at the Kentucky Derby.

--Alice Short

Lobster photo: Karen Tapia/Los Angeles Times

Eight Belles photo: Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

French court convicts Brigitte Bardot over animal-related remarks

Brigitte Bardot was convicted Tuesday of provoking discrimination and racial hatred for writing that Muslims are destroying France, the Associated Press reports.

A Paris court also handed down a $23,325 fine against the former screen siren. The court ordered Bardot to pay $1,555 in damages to MRAP, a leading French anti-racism group that filed a lawsuit last year over a letter she sent to then-Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. The remarks were published in her foundation's quarterly journal.

In the December 2006 letter to Sarkozy, now the French president, Bardot said France is "tired of being led by the nose by this population that is destroying us, destroying our country by imposing its acts."

Bardot, 73, an animal rights activist, was referring to a Muslim feast celebrated by slaughtering sheep.

French laws prevent inciting hatred and discrimination on racial or religious grounds.

Bardot had been convicted four times for inciting hatred.

--Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Jacques Brinon/Associated Press

A conference on animals in times of disaster

The Humane Society of the United States is hosting the National Conference on Animals in Disaster in Sacramento starting Tuesday. Among the attendees are animal response specialists, emergency managers, vets and volunteers.

Highlights include a talk from FEMA deputy regional administrator Karen Armes and breakout sessions on such topics as "Animal First Aid for Disaster Responders."

The two dogs above were photographed floating on wood after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005.

-- Alice Short

Photo: Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times

Goodall's plea to end animal testing in Europe

Jane Goodall and other scientists are appealing to the European Union to end animal testing in medical and other scientific research. The Canadian Press reports:

"We need to recognize at the outset that what we do to animals from their perspective certainly, and probably from ours, is morally wrong and unacceptable," Goodall said. Goodall, the world's best-known observer of the behaviour of chimpanzees, is a longtime campaigner for animal rights.

She presented a petition bearing 150,000 names to legislators from the European Parliament. It called on both the parliament and the EU's executive office to find methods of testing that do not involve animals.

Goodall revolutionized research on primates during the 1960s when she studied them at close range in Tanzania.

Photo: Yves Logghe/Associated Press

Riley the greyhound experiences sibling rivalry

Los Angeles Times Entertainment Editor Betsy Sharkey is in the process of adopting a greyhound named Riley that used to race at the Caliente racing track in Tijuana. She will periodically post updates on his assimilation into her family here on L.A. Unleashed. Today she writes about sibling rivalry.

Score one for the greyhound. Max, my English setter puppy, who for the first five months of his life with me was an only dog, has gone from thrilled -- "It's a dog! I love dogs! Pant, pant, pant," to uncertain -- "You mean he's going to stay?" -- as we head into Week Two of life with Riley, the 4-year-old retired racing greyhound I adopted from Greyhound Pets of America.

Here's how the day unfolds. Alarm clock goes off at 6 a.m. Max, unfortunately goes off about 5:45, and that means he's walked over and occasionally on top of a snoozing Riley and bounced onto the bed, all smiles, kisses and dog breath. I'm desperately fending off the attention. Meanwhile Riley, who I'm convinced studied with Gandhi, is largely unfazed.

Max bounds, bounces, boings, basically spending as much time as he can airborne. Riley unfolds -- slowly and with great grace. He could be a yoga instructor, his downward-facing dog is a masterpiece in perfect lines.

To keep the peace (I'm following Riley's lead here) and order in the pack, Max gets the first round of ear scratches, fur ruffles and toy-tugging time. Riley hangs back for a few minutes before walking over to say good morning. And that's when it begins.

Activists want chimp declared a person

Somehow, as we planned for Memorial Day weekend (hot dogs or chicken? Indy or Iron Man? "Living Lohan" or "Deadliest Catch"?)  we missed some of the most important animal news ever.

Austrian animal rights activists are fighting to get a 26-year-old chimpanzee legally declared a "person," and they say they have filed an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. The International Herald Tribune reports:

The Vienna-based Assn. Against Animal Factories insists the chimp needs that legal standing so a guardian can be appointed to look out for his interests — especially if the bankrupt animal shelter caring for him shuts down....

In January, Austria's Supreme Court upheld a lower-court ruling that had rejected the activists' request to have a trustee appointed for the chimp. The high court ruled that under Austrian law, only people are entitled to have guardians.

The full name of the chimp, above, is Matthew Hiasl Pan. Last year, the shelter where he lived filed for bankruptcy protection.

(This all raises another question: Can a human be legally declared a chimp? We can offer up candidates if pressed.)

--  Alice Short

Photo: Lilli Strauss / Associated Press

Steak for dinner?

So I say to hell with tofu. Pass me the cow.

Columnist Al Martinez muses on a healthy diet, tofu salads, and the joys of a big steak and a martini in today's L.A. Times. And he confesses:

Worrying about my health, the planet, animals and the frightening possibility that PETA's efforts might end up turning the world over to humorless true believers who eat nothing but organically grown lettuce and seaweed put me in a blue funk.

We guess that's what the martini and steak are for ... to cure the blue funk.

In the meantime, PETA offers a "free vegetarian starter kit" on its website.

--Alice Short

A ban on imports from foreign puppy mills for commercial sale

The Humane Society of the United States--not surprisingly--was closely following the just-passed Farm Bill (the Senate and the House overrode a presidential veto). HSUS says the bill ushered in "key new protections for animals." According to an HSUS release:

The final bill -- which is now considered law, except for one section excluded due to a technical glitch -- bans the import of puppies from foreign puppy mills for commercial sale in the U.S. The law spares young, unweaned, and unvaccinated pups from harsh, long-distance transport -- during which they are exposed to extreme temperatures and often die in cargo holds -- and will keep foreign breeders from adding to the tragic overpopulation of pets in this country.

The Farm Bill also adds a provision to federal law to make almost any form of animal fighting a federal felony. It's also now a federal crime to knowingly possess or train animals for fighting, and the maximum prison time for a single violation of any section of the law goes from three years to five years. It is hard to overstate what a blow this is to dogfighters and cockfighters, and it brings us one step closer to eradicating these criminal industries.

The Associated Press reports that about two-thirds of the law would pay for nutrition programs such as food stamps, which would see increases of around $1 billion a year. About $40 billion is for farm subsidies and almost $30 billion would go to farmers to idle their land and for other environmental programs.

--Alice Short

Photo: Craig Mathews/Associated Press

USDA to tighten cow slaughter rules

The government plans to close a loophole in meat inspection rules that led to the record recall of 143 million pounds of ground beef this year. The Baltimore Sun's Jonathan D. Rockoff reports:

The Department of Agriculture will prohibit meat plants from slaughtering any cow that can't stand and walk on its own at any point after it arrives at a plant, Schafer said.

The rule would eliminate existing provisions that allow plants to send "downer," or sick, cows to slaughter if they fall ill after passing an initial inspection and then pass a second inspection.

"I believe it is sound policy to simplify this matter by initiating a complete ban on the slaughter of cattle that go down after an initial inspection," [Agriculture Secretary Edward T.] Schafer said in a statement. The new rule should be in effect by the end of the year.

The revision of the rules was prompted by an undercover Humane Society video showing abuse of sick cows at Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. in Chino that lead to a massive recall earlier this year.

-Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Cezaro De Luca/EPA

Conservation groups sue to broaden polar bear decision

Conservation groups that sued to list polar bears as threatened are back in court, the Associated Press reports, taking aim at what they say is the animals' top threat -- greenhouse gas emissions that have led to the rapid melting of polar bear habitat: sea ice.

The Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council announced today they have challenged administrative actions by Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to keep greenhouse gas regulation off the table for a polar bear recovery plan. ...

In response to a court-ordered deadline last week, Kempthorne announced polar bears would be listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act.

But echoing President Bush, he said he would not allow the Endangered Species Act to be "misused" to regulate global climate change.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had not made a "causal connection" between development actions and loss of a polar bear, he said last week. ...

In court filings late Friday that amend their original lawsuit, the conservation groups asked U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken of Oakland to reject Kempthorne's administrative actions and apply endangered species law to polar bears.

Photo: Daniel Maurer / Associated Press

Betsy meets Monty the greyhound -- soon to be renamed Riley

Los Angeles Times Entertainment Editor Betsy Sharkey is in the process of adopting a greyhound, Riley, at right, that used to race at the Caliente Racing Track in Tijuana. She will periodically post updates on his assimilation into her family here on L.A. Unleashed. Today she writes about meeting Riley.

"I think I've found the perfect dog for you." It was Beverly from Greyhound Pets of America calling about another greyhound for me to consider adopting.

It had been about a week since the wrenching meeting with Bobby, the wily white and red greyhound that I had walked away from. Just too much energy to combine with my English Setter puppy, Max. Perfect was good. But still I hesitated.

After Bobby, I'd decided to hold off any adoption until Max finished another 5 weeks of puppy obedience school. At 8, this grey, Beverly assured me, was much much calmer than Bobby. We could meet at her house then drive over to La Habra Heights, where this dog was in foster care.

And so, late on a Sunday afternoon, I started the journey to find my perfect greyhound again. I hadn't even asked the dog's name -- not a good sign.

As Max and I pulled up to the house, Beverly walked into the front yard with a handsome red and black brindle greyhound who'd just come from the track the day before. Greyhound rescue groups call it "Retirement Day," and they turn it into a celebration of dog washes and naming and placing the new greyhounds into foster homes. Beverly had taken this one.

All the GPA greyhounds who retired on April 19 from Caliente were named in some way after "The Simpsons." This beautiful boy was dubbed Monty, I'm guessing he was named after the classic "Monty Can't Buy Me Love" episode. At least that's the "Simpsons" memory it conjured up for me...

Animal sacrifice sparks criticism in Nepal

The king of Nepal drew the ire of an animal rights group this week after sacrificing five animals, including a buffalo, at a shrine outside Kathmandu.

Reuters, reporting on the sacrifice as well as the King Gyanendra's uncertain future, said the king went to the shrine Monday to offer annual prayers to Kali, the Hindu goddess of power. The king faces the abolition of the 239-year-old monarchy because Maoists emerged as the biggest party in assembly elections in April. Reuters reported the contrasting views of the animal sacrifice:

     Earlier at the shrine, the king sat crossed-legged in front of the deity and offered prayers as five animals -- a buffalo, a goat, a lamb, a duck and a rooster -- were sacrificed to goddess Kali, a common practice among Hindus, to please the deity.

     "This is a ritual for peace and prosperity for the self and the family," priest Sekhar Prasad Pandit said after performing the 45-minute ritual. "This is done in the hope to get one’s desires fulfilled."

     As the king arrived driving a black limousine, dozens of people including some royalists cheered and offered him flowers.

     Some animal rights activists were angry. "We must immediately stop sacrificing animals in temples," an animal rights group, Prannath Kalyan Samaj, said in a pamphlet distributed near the temple.

-- Steve Padilla

Europe's new wave of animal activism -- saving bulls and coddling fish

Animal activism, it seems, is catching on in Europe. A report in the Houston Chronicle explains that the animal rights movement is affecting, among other things, bullfighting.

Spain's iconic sport, bullfighting, is known for its ferocity and flair. But the centuries-old spectacle may have met its match in an equally tenacious opponent: Europe's animal rights movement.

For the first time Thursday, doping tests were introduced at Spain's most prestigious bullfighting festival after allegations that bulls are given drugs to tip the balance in favor of the matador. Under pressure and falling ratings, Spanish TV has dropped bullfighting from its schedule.

The increasingly vocal anti-bullfighting lobby says it's only a matter of time before the sport is relegated to the history books.

"People in Europe are finally beginning to accept the animal welfare message," said Kate Fowler-Reeves, head of campaigns for Animal Aid, the U.K.'s largest animal rights group.

In Switzerland, dogs are about to benefit from a little activism as well. Starting Sept. 1, a law will require dog owners to take (and pay for) a two-part training course. Among other things, dog owners will be instructed on how to properly walk a dog on the street. For more on those wacky Swiss and their new rules about "social species," check out this report from the Times of London:

From guinea pigs to budgerigars, any animal classified as a “social species” will be a victim of abuse if it does not cohabit, or at least have contact, with others of its own kind. The new regulation stipulates that aquariums for pet fish should not be transparent on all sides and that owners must make sure that the natural cycle of day and night is maintained in terms of light. Goldfish are considered social animals, or Gruppentiere in German.

-- Alice Short

Bullfighting photo: Paul White / Associated Press

Goldfish photo: Carlos Chavez / Los Angeles Times

Officer accused in Adelanto kitten drownings resigns

Adelanto’s head animal control officer has resigned as he faces charges in the drowning of nearly 50 kittens, the Associated Press reported today.

Kevin Murphy, 36, was placed on paid leave in March after prosecutors accused him of drowning the kittens over a four-month period. He faces six counts of animal cruelty.

City Manager Jim Hart on Tuesday said Murphy’s resignation was effective May 1. Murphy couldn’t be reached for comment.

Adelanto is about 70 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

--Francisco Vara-Orta

Animal rights group seeks probe of poultry firm

An animal protection organization is throwing back the curtains on the West Coast's largest distributor of eggs, releasing a hidden-camera video that shows chickens being mistreated by handlers and locked in cages so small the birds can't spread their wings, The Times' Eric Bailey reports:

The footage, shot covertly by an undercover investigator with the group Mercy for Animals, shows workers kicking and stomping on chickens and snapping the necks of sick hens. It also shows birds left with untreated wounds and crowded into cages, sometimes amid rotting corpses.

Officials with the animal protection group said the video was shot this year at Gemperle Enterprises, a Turlock farming outfit that supplies giant NuCal Foods Inc., the biggest supplier of eggs in the western United States.

The company's response?

[Steve] Gemperle said