Feature Archives

On September 19th, after more than two full days of deliberation, a 12-person jury informed Judge Jeffrey Miller they were hopelessly deadlocked and determined that further deliberation would not deliver unanimity. Outside the courtroom, attorneys were informed that the majority was voting for acquittal of the environmental and animal rights activist on trial for a speech he gave in San Diego in 2003.

A life-size chicken cage-- confining humans instead of birds --will be on display at Lunardi's Supermarket in Danville on Saturday, August 4th as East Bay Animal Advocates (EBAA) asks the Bay Area-based grocery chain to stop selling eggs from chickens raised in overcrowded, wire cages, which are known as battery cages.

Members of East Bay Animal Advocates staged a protest on Sunday, June 10th, in front of the Lunardi's Market in Belmont to draw attention to what they say is animal cruelty behind the production of eggs sold by Lunardi's. East Bay Animal Advocates allege that the chickens used to produce eggs sold by Lunardi's food chain are kept in small battery cages that allow the birds virtually no mobility.

George Cadman of Free Radio Santa Cruz 101.1 fm interviews Stephanie Seay of the Buffalo Field Campaign about the Montana state and the federal government practice of capturing wild buffalo on public lands and slaughtering them or transporting them hundreds of miles. In the last two weeks in Montana state and federal authorities planned to slaughter 300 wild buffalo, including calves and their mothers. In the last 7 years the government has trucked 2,000 wild buffalo to slaughter, 1,000 last year alone.

Rainbow Grocery Cooperative has been hailed by animal activists for the decision to become the first San Francisco-based retailer to announce an exclusive cage-free egg policy. The celebrated grocery store joins a growing national network of cities, educational institutions, farmers, and retailers that oppose the intensive confinement of laying hens — a common egg industry practice.

Parrots known to have lived in San Francisco since the early 1970s has survived the loss of some tree habitat, cold snaps, and various other threats over the years. A popular film and book both called "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill" brought the birds to national attention in 2004 and 2005. Legislative efforts have been made to help protect the flock, the first of which protected some of the birds' long-time tree habitat. Now, activists say the health, welfare and safety of the beloved wild parrots has been threatened by a large group of bird lovers who have taken to feeding the parrots daily, and on May 22nd and again on June 5th, the SF Board of Supervisors voted to ban human feeding of the flock.

Every year, over 800,000 pets end up in shelters in California. Taxpayers spend $250 million to house these abandoned cats and dogs and then euthanize the majority of them. Proponents of the Healthy Pets Act, a mandatory spay/neuter law, point to the wide availability of free and low-cost spay/neuter services and say it is a common sense solution to the problem of pet overpopulation. Advocates of the bill massed in Sacramento in support of the proposed law.