Animal Rights

Dallas' Animal Shelter Could See Budget Cuts, Just Like Every Other City Department

Dallas has thousands of orphaned animals stuck in the shelter system, and a big corporation promised to help save some of them. Beginning last September, a PetSmart store in north Dallas opened up its doors to the Dallas Animal Services department, housing some of its "adoptable" dogs and cats. Ever ... More >>

The “Ag-Gag” War

Behind the scenes of the death match between Big Ag and undercover animal-rights activists.

TxDOT Will Start Widening the Mixmaster Just as Soon as it Convinces the SPCA to Sell That Esurance Billboard

At the beginning of the year, the SPCA moved out of its 40-year-old digs on Riverfront Boulevard and into a shiny new facility off I-30 and Hampton Road. The move served two purposes: For one, the SPCA had outgrown the outdated Dealey Animal Care Center and needed a larger, more modern space. But a ... More >>

Animal Welfare Labeling Might Be Misleading, But That's No Reason To Abandon Them

An article in Audubon Magazine regarding truth in labeling has me a little flustered. It points out that the labels that pepper our groceries with messages of good tidings and well being are mostly bullshit. It also implies that specific terms such as cruelty free, cage free and environmentally fri ... More >>

The Texas Farm Bureau Applauds Domino's Support for Gestation Crates, Orders a Pizza

Confining sows in small gestation crates has come under great scrutiny lately. Major companies like McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's and most recently the nation's second largest grocery chain, Safeway, have announced a phase-out of pork supplied by farms that use gestation crates. However, recent ... More >>

"Urgent" Vacancies at Dallas Animal Services Still Vacant, But More Pets Are Finding Homes

Just last month, we learned that Dallas Animal Services had around 30 vacancies in shelter and field operations that urgently needed to be filled -- this, despite a RIF process in October that saw 53 people laid off and replaced with temporary workers. At Thursday afternoon's Animal Shelter Commissi ... More >>

The Thin Line Between Dog Rescuing and Dog Hoarding

With the city overrun with strays, Dallas' animal rescuers want to save dogs from cruelty and neglect. But some need to be saved from themselves.

Despite RIF Process, Dallas Animal Services Still Has 30 "Urgent" Vacancies It Needs to Fill

Jody Jones​"It's mid-January," Dallas Animal Services Commission member Bonnie Matthias said emphatically. "And we're caught with our pants down again." As usual, there's good news and there's bad news at Dallas Animal Services. This week, shelter manager Jody Jones and head of Code Complianc ... More >>

Human Face of the "No-Kill" Movement Barks at Mayor, Council Over City's New Task Force

Nathan Winograd​Woke up this morning to find the in-box filled with missives from friends and fans of a man named Nathan Winograd -- "the de-facto face of the 'No Kill' movement," as Huffington Post called him last year, referring to efforts to stop animal shelters from euthanizing strays. Winogra ... More >>

Meet the New Head of Dallas's Animal Shelter

Jody Jones with then-Virgina Governor Tim Kaine in 2008​Contained in the stack of City Hall memos distributed to media last night was one from Assistant City Manage Forest Turner to the mayor and council members. In it, Turner announced that at long last, the city has chosen the new manager for An ... More >>

Dallas PD, SPCA Notice "Disturbing Trend" in Cat Killings; Offer Reward In the Latest Case

​You may recall: Back in the summer of '09, there was a rash of cat killing across the city, with the animals often sliced in half and left in front yards. Dallas Police Department spokesman Senior Corporal Kevin Janse tells Unfair Park this morning those slayings went unsolved, which troubles the ... More >>

Kunkle Wants Dallas to Become "No-Kill City"

Mark GrahamLieutenant Scott Walton, interim division manager at Dallas Animal Services​The myriad issues with the Dallas Animal Services have been well chronicled, especially in our January cover story on the shelter, which described the conflicting mindsets there thusly: "The old dog catcher ment ... More >>

Shaggy Dogs Go Shelter Chic for Doggone Cute Web Series & Other Four-Legged News

​After last-last-last week's cover story on Dallas Animal Services, I have become the go-to person for animal welfare inquiries here at the paper. And I am happy to oblige. Especially when inquiries come with adorable videos, and this latest sure does: Shelter Chic is a Dallas-based web video seri ... More >>

City, Animal Shelter Commission Differ On "Disaster" Year at Dallas Animal Services

From our slideshow here​On Friday, Assistant City Manager Forest Turner -- to whom I spoke for last week's cover story about cruelty, cronyism and incompetence at Dallas Animal Services -- sent out a memo to city council members updating them on progress made at DAS with regard to the Humane Socie ... More >>

Dallas taxpayers have every right to be pissed about the goings on at the city's animal shelter.

PETA Gives Kiss to Spiral Diner; Does Tofu Make You Cranky?

​Spiral Diner's staffers aren't letting an award from PETA distract them from their work slinging tofu scrambles and mixing soy milkshakes. "I really don't know," a man who identified himself as manager of the Fort Worth branch said with a snarl when City of Ate called to ask how the restaura ... More >>

Nice Work If You Can Get It: Paid Leave For Being Indicted On Animal Cruelty Charges

​Both of you who followed along with yesterday's liveblog of the Animal Shelter Commission will remember that former ASC member and animal rights bigwig Jonnie England wondered during the public comment: Why is Tyrone McGill, the former Dallas Animal Services manager who has been indicted on charg ... More >>

Maybe With Their Powers Combined, Dallas Animal Services Can Be "Compassionate"

Photos by Andrea GrimesThe newly banded wrists of a few DAS employees: "Compassion" is the new name of the game.​I stopped by Dallas Animal Services over on Westmoreland Road this afternoon to check out the facilities in anticipation of the long-awaited and long-delayed Humane Society of the Unite ... More >>

PETA's Bringing the Naked Protest Back to Downtown Tomorrow at Noon

​On Monday, in the comments to Daniel's item about People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals protesting Fort Worth's libraries for hopping into tent with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, longtime Friend of Unfair Park Religion of Bacon complained that "PETA lost all credibility whe ... More >>

PETA Brings Its Fight Against "The Greatest Show On Earth" To Cowtown Library

From PETA's coloring book for kids, which it wants handed out at Fort Worth libraries​At 10:30 this morning, the Riverside Branch of the Fort Worth Library played host to Slappy and Monday -- two clowns from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus who treated some 43 kids to Reading with Ri ... More >>

The Humane Society and big agriculture slug it out over animal rights

Paradise Leashed

In Northwest Dallas, Cat Killings Have DPD, Animal Services Investigators Troubled

​The furry fellow you see at right is Bill, my across-the-street neighbor's 12-year-old cat who, sometime between Sunday night and Monday morning, was chopped in half, his front quarters deposited in another neighbor's front lawn. In a next-door neighbor's front yard was the back half of a second ... More >>

Like a Topless Version of Cats

People for the Ethical Treatment of AnimalsWe didn't get the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals press release till way late in the afternoon yesterday, but on Tuesday, PETA member Shari Pearson took off her top, whipped out the body paint and crawled into a cage in downtown Fort Worth to pr ... More >>

SPCA Brings to North Texas 150 Dogs Rescued From an Arkansas Puppy Mill

Yesterday, the SPCA of Texas began transferring to McKinney 150 dogs seized from a Paris, Arkansas, puppy mill. In all, some 400 animals -- including miniature ponies, cats, exotic birds and turtles -- were seized from the "horrific" 82-acre facility on Monday, with the Humane Society of the United ... More >>

PETA's Stopping By For a Bite at Brinker Shareholder Shindig Tomorrow

Chili's Chicken Crispers® are still delicious, unless yer a purple PETA eatah! If you happen to be taking in an early screening of High School Music 3 tomorrow at the Cinemark 17 on Webb Chapel Road, be warned: The theater's also the site of Brinker International's annual shareholders meeting, whic ... More >>

Pack a Trunk

Despite efforts by animal welfare activists, the zoo decides to ship a problem elephant out of the country

Raining Cats And Dogs

Dallas Lawyer Specializes in Animal Welfare and Rights

Plus, if you want to bequeath your savings to Sparky she'll help you set up a pet trust

Cock Blocking

PETA Bringing "Sexy Nude Activists" to Downtown Tomorrow. Awesome Much?

You and I now have lunch plans tomorrow. Let's meet at noon at Pegasus Plaza, at the corner of Akard and Main. You know you want to. C'mon -- there'll be naked women there, courtesy the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Seriously, no matter what you think of PETA, you have to love the fac ... More >>

Houses That Go Oink | The Cock Crows

PETA Tells Dallas Company to Stop Monkeying Around

PETA, Don't You Have Anything Better to Do?

PETA wants to protect these cockroaches, which are being served in the Six Flags buffet line. To PETA, an exterminator must be like Idi Amin. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals usually protests against the fur and cosmetics industries' abuse of animals. Yesterday it took up the mighty cause ... More >>

High on the Hog

In Texas, shoot as many feral pigs as you like. Just don't let your dog bite them.

Yuck This

I have no idea whether or not this happened today, and from the sound of it, I don't wanna. To wit: "Today, attendees of the 15th Annual International Pediatric Endosurgery Group (IPEG) Conference will be greeted by members of PETA holding a demonstration outside the Hilton Anatole, where IPEG wil ... More >>

Watchdog

Dallas SPCA's Dave Garcia and his investigators lead the charge against animal abuse

Osama bin Bunny

House Bill 433 tackles terrorism?

Helter Shelter

The city's animal control efforts are running wild, but that's not the critters' fault. It's a people problem. The question now is, will Dallas residents pay to fix it?

Puppy Ciao

To kill or not to kill--that's the $11 million animal shelter question

Gag Order

An anti-fur protester claims her rights are violated by a too restrictive probation

Buzz

Once was blind

Letters

High Hopes, Ugly Americans

Mean Green

What do you get when you cross the Zapatistas with Dr. Dolittle? The Animal Liberation Front

Best place to get a pet

SPCA of Texas

Buzz

Caught napping; Save that gerbil; Ill-chosen words

Caged and confused

While critics howl, the SPCA of Texas dreams of opening a rural animal utopia. Meanwhile, Dallas kills hundreds of pets every day.

Disturbing personality

An unsolved string of cat mutilations in North Dallas leaves police and residents wondering who could do such a thing

Pelted!

When an animal rights activist came up against Neiman Marcus, she had more than some dead fur to contend with

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