Missouri governor signs compromise on voter-approved Prop. B, 'Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act'

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri officials pushed through new regulations for the state's dog breeders in a flurry of legislative activity Wednesday that started with Gov. Jay Nixon signing one bill repealing sections of a voter-approved dog-breeding law and ended with the governor signing another measure that implemented a deal between dog breeders and welfare groups.

The maneuvering was needed to pass a compromise on new rules for Missouri dog breeders that was brokered by Nixon's administration and supported by several state-based agriculture and animal-welfare groups. Nixon called the new legislation "a dramatic, important, significant step" that would improve the care of dogs while ensuring breeders can continue to operate. The industry has an estimated $1-billion impact in Missouri.

In the end, Nixon and lawmakers eliminated parts of the "Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act" passed last November by voters, including a limit of 50 breeding dogs per business. Other portions were changed. The new law seeks potential middle ground on the specifics of the living-space requirements, and it gives breeders more time to comply with the new rules.

Greyhound racing in steep decline in the U.S.

For years, fans of greyhound races have faced off against animal welfare activists who say the dogs are kept muzzled in small cages, fed inferior food, injected with steroids and frequently injured at the track. Dog breeders, owners and racing lobbyists counter that the dogs are well-tended and love to run.

Despite their disagreement on conditions for the dogs, there is no disputing this: Greyhound racing is in a steep decline. Racing fans blame the economy and competition from instant gambling like slot machines. Activists say it's time to end the races altogether.

Ten years ago, there were 50 greyhound tracks in 15 states. Today there are just 25 tracks in seven states, with 13 of them in Florida, once considered the hub of dog racing.

Nationally, money bet on greyhound races dropped from $3.5 billion to $1.1 billion between 1991 and 2007, said Gary Thompson, director of corporate communications for Caesars Entertainment in Las Vegas. Caesars owns Bluffs Run Greyhound Park in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

OK Go's new music video for 'White Knuckles' features talented dogs (and raises money for homeless animals)

When animal trainer Roland Sonnenburg of Talented Animals met director and choreographer Trish Sie in a meeting about a TV show several years ago, he had no idea that it would lead to the production of the music video above, for OK Go's "White Knuckles."

Sie mentioned that her brother was a musician and that she was interested in making a video for his band that featured animal actors. Sonnenburg agreed to discuss the idea, "knowing that everybody in Los Angeles has a relative in a band, and the odds of anything ever coming of that conversation were slim," he wrote on Talented Animals' blog.

What Sie neglected to mention was that her brother was Damian Kulash, the frontman of OK Go, a band known for its impressive music videos. (Kulash, a dog lover in his own right, has two rescue dogs of his own named Bunny Carlos and Dora. He talked about them and the importance of rescuing homeless pets in a video for PETA's youth-oriented sibling, PETA2.)

Eventually, Sonnenburg, Sie and Kulash met in person and decided to move forward with the idea for a dog-centric video. But Sonnenburg was dismayed to learn that Kulash's vision was to use a single take for the video, with no cuts.

"Now for those of you who have never worked an animal on film, we use cuts and optimal camera angles for everything," Sonnenburg wrote on the blog. "They are the tools that let us succeed. Without cuts, the animals would have to all work at the same time with their trainers far away, and we would need to get each dog and trainer and [band member] and [crew member] to nail every single behavior all in the same take." In other words: Hard.

One-fourth of new animal hoarding cases involve rescuers, ASPCA expert says

Linda Bruno called her Pennsylvania cat rescue the land of milk and tuna. It thrived for years as people sent pets they couldn't care for from hundreds of miles away -- unaware that it was a death camp for cats.

Investigators who raided the place two years ago found killing rooms, mass graves so thick they couldn't take a step without walking on cat bones and a stunning statistic: Bruno had taken in more than 7,000 cats in the previous 14 months, but only found homes for 23.

In doing so, she had become a statistic herself, one of an increasing number of self-proclaimed rescuers who have become animal hoarders running legal and often nonprofit charities.

Rescues and shelters now make up a quarter of the estimated 6,000 new hoarding cases reported in the U.S. each year, said Dr. Randall Lockwood, ASPCA's senior vice president of forensic sciences and anticruelty projects.

"When I first started looking into this 20 years ago, fewer than 5% would have fit that description," Lockwood said.

July in animal news: Five questions with ASPCA Chief Operating Officer Dr. Steven Hansen

We're asking experts in the animal-protection community to give us their takes on the latest news involving animals and fill us in on what their organizations are working on. Here, Dr. Steven Hansen, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' Chief Operating Officer, gives us his insights. Hansen's responses represent his own views, not necessarily ours.

Unleashed: What do you view as the most important development in animal news to happen in July?

Dr. Steven Hansen: H.R. 5566 was drafted in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in April to overturn a ban on the sale of animal 'crush videos,' which are sexual fetish videos that depict a woman's feet crushing to death small animals such as kittens and rodents. The narrowly tailored bill specifically addresses 'crush videos,' and hunting, fishing and trapping videos are exempt, along with videos depicting customary veterinary and animal husbandry practices.

While we're pleased that the House of Representatives is moving forward in order to protect animals from such egregious acts of torture and cruelty, we urge the Senate to quickly take up the bill.  This important humane legislation must be passed by both chambers of Congress for it to become a law.

For more information on H.R. 5566, please visit ASPCA.org/HR5566.

May in animal news: Five questions with ASPCA President and CEO Ed Sayres

We're pleased to introduce a new feature here at Unleashed: Five questions with prominent members of the animal-protection movement. This month, leaders of several well-known organizations agreed to answer our five questions about what they view as the most important animal news in May and what animal lovers can watch for in the coming month. First in the hot seat is Ed Sayres, president and CEO of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Unleashed: What do you view as the most important development in animal news to happen in May?

Ed Sayres: The Office of the Inspector General released a report last week detailing the United States Department of Agriculture's lax and ineffective enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act against licensed large-scale dog breeders and brokers known as "puppy mills."

The report found that despite regular inspections, breeders are allowed to operate facilities where dogs live in inhumane conditions -- kennels overflowing with pools of urine and feces, food laden with dead cockroaches, dogs infested with ticks, and unattended injuries such as a mutilated leg, among other atrocities -- without penalty.

I am not surprised by the findings. Our organization is painfully aware of the cruel conditions to which dogs are regularly subjected at the hands of puppy mill operators who put profit above providing the most fundamental standards of care.

Tougher standards coming for spot-on flea and tick treatments for dogs and cats, says EPA

Complaints of dogs and cats injured and sometimes even killed by flea treatments have increased significantly, the Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday as it outlined plans to make the products safer.

The EPA says it will develop stricter testing and evaluation requirements for flea and tick treatments that are applied to pets' skin. The agency also will begin reviewing labels to determine which ones need to say more clearly how to use the products.

The EPA's effort follows increasing complaints from pet owners that the "spot-on" products have triggered reactions in dogs and cats, including skin irritation,  neurological problems and deaths.

Steve Owens, assistant administrator of EPA's Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances, said new restrictions will be placed on flea and tick products, with additional changes for specific products as needed -- including possible changes in their formulas.

Pet owners "need to carefully read and follow all labeling before exposing your pet to a pesticide," Owens said.

WebClawer: California Chihuahuas get new homes in New York; celebrities get free pigs; parrot gets wanded by airport security officers; R.I.P. Commuter Cat

-- Fifteen homeless Chihuahuas transported from San Francisco to New York City this month seem to have great new lives in store for them in the big city.  More than 100 New Yorkers stood in line for a chance to adopt one of the little dogs from New York's ASPCA shelter last Wednesday. When all was said and done, 11 of them (Bebop, Honey, Hancock, Annie, Jeb, Colette, Tina, Orlando, Bella, Holly and Nalla, if you're keeping score) had new homes; the remaining four will be offered for adoption after receiving additional veterinary care. Chihuahuas make up an alarmingly large percentage of the animals in California animal shelters, but are rarely seen in shelters in many other parts of the country. Transporting the little dogs to other states has become an increasingly popular solution to the problem. (Agence France-Presse)

-- Old news: Swag bags for celebrity awards-show guests. New hotness: Tiny pet pigs. Fancy-gift company GBK Productions didn't just offer vacations and electronic devices to Golden Globe nominees and presenters; it also gave them a chance to take home their own bred-down potbellied pigs.  The pigs, called Royal Dandies (weighing about 29 to 39 pounds) and Royal Dandie Extremes (weighing approximately 19 to 29 pounds), typically sell for about $5,000. But in this case, they were free to stars who agreed to complete a one-hour pig-parenting course. (Hmm, think it might take longer than an hour to learn how to take care of a pig? We think so too.) Gossip queen Leslie Gornstein says she'd name her pocket pig Bacon Bits; for our part, we think we'd name ours Tofu. (Ministry of Gossip)

Animal relief effort for Haiti gets more support

As images of Haiti continue to show the massive destruction and the death toll rises to staggering levels, various animal welfare groups are working together in an effort to bring relief to the devastating earthquake's animal victims.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals just announced on its website that it has  joined the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti, a group created to address the needs of animals in the ravaged country, and has pledged an initial $25,000 to support the relief efforts.

“The ASPCA extends its full support to those organizations providing humanitarian relief in this ravaged island nation, and in the coming days, weeks and months, the animal victims of this disaster will also need aid,” wrote ASPCA President and Chief Executive Ed Sayres “The ASPCA believes that joining forces and collaborating among our organizations is the most effective way to respond to the devastation facing animals in Haiti.”

“The ASPCA will continue to make financial resources available to [Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti] as appropriate in order to provide food, water and medical care to livestock, domesticated animals and wildlife,” Sayres wrote. “Monitoring the animals’ needs has been and continues to be difficult due to dangerous conditions.”

Chihuahua fever: Local groups launch Project Flying Chihuahua to transport little dogs to adoptive homes

Chihuahuas have been flying out of California since other states learned about the glut of little dogs in the Golden State.

A group of 25 dogs has already arrived at the Humane Society for Greater Nashua in New Hampshire, thanks to "Grey's Anatomy" actress Katherine Heigl, Kinder4Rescue in Studio City and American Airlines.

A group of 43 will leave for New Hampshire today or Tuesday, said Kathy Davis, interim general manager of Los Angeles Animal Services, who took part in a news conference Friday to announce Project Flying Chihuahua. They were supposed to leave Saturday morning, but bad weather on the East Coast caused a delay, she said.

The Nashua shelter found homes for the first 25 dogs and had a waiting list of 100 people, Davis said.

Heigl's foundation has paid the discounted airfare for all 68 dogs so far, she added, and new donors for more flights were being sought.