Inside This Issue:
- NAIA Praises Farm Bill Inclusion of New Framework to Protect Animal and Public Health
- Stepping up Enforcement of Animal Welfare Laws; Huntsville Provides Residents with Pet Food, Spay & Neuter Vouchers
- A Plea: Be Nice to the Pets When You Break Up; Another Dog Steals the Show
- Bad Initiative in Oregon, Probable Hoarding Case in Michigan
NAIA Praises Farm Bill Inclusion of New Framework to Protect Animal and Public Health
Progress!
After working together for so many years to build support for the bipartisan Healthy Dog Importation Act, NAIA is happy to report that the House Farm Bill text just released includes our language and will be marked up on February 23rd. Progress! Thank you for staying the course with this important issue. Click below to read our press release.
Source: NAIA Healthy Dog Importation Act Press Release: 2/13/2026
Stepping up Enforcement of Animal Welfare Laws; Huntsville Provides Residents with Pet Food, Spay & Neuter Vouchers
Food is a good and underrated way of keeping people and their pets together.
On Wednesday, Pam Bondi ordered the Justice Department to step up enforcement of Animal Welfare laws. Now, a focus on enforcing existing laws is important; there’s not much point in having laws – or adding additional laws – without enforcement. However, the heavy focus on search and seizures as well as promising grants to animal welfare groups (read: handouts for animal rights groups) is exceedingly worrisome.
The second annual Kisses & Kibbles drive-thru event is taking place on Saturday the 21st, providing Huntsville, Alabama residents with free pet food and a voucher for free spay & neuter services. Very cool! This type of outreach from Huntsville Animal Services is a fantastic way of building community and keeping people and pets together.
Sources: Bondi orders Justice Department to prioritize animal welfare enforcement, Join Huntsville Animal Services for the 2026 Kisses & Kibbles Pet Food Drive Thru
A Plea: Be Nice to the Pets When You Break Up; Another Dog Steals the Show
Czechoslovakian Wolfdog.
We all know that breakups can be incredibly messy and painful. But for the love of all that is good and holy in this world, please don’t take your frustration out on your ex’s animals. Several weeks ago, we wrote about the UK woman who stabbed her estranged husband after he euthanized their dogs, this week, we have another act of random chaos: a woman drives her car through her ex’s garage door, proceeds to rampage through his house, and smashes an aquarium containing live geckos. Come on, now – what did those geckos do to anybody? We’ve tried to see if the animals survived, but no word as of yet. The woman has been charged with cruelty to animals (as well as several other things).
Speaking of news items that just keep repeating themselves: we’ve got another adorable sneaky dog going viral. This time at the Winter Olympics. Nazgul the wolfdog (you read that correctly) slipped away from his owner while out for a walk, hopped onto the cross-country skiing track mid-event where he followed the skiers – and he even crossed the finish line! With respect to the amazing athletes of the Winter Olympics, Nazgul’s antics stole the show. No injuries or scandals to report, he was just having fun. After being showered with attention, Nazgul was returned to his owner like nothing had happened.
Sources: Woman accused of property damage and animal cruelty after home invasion in Huntley, Loose dog makes Olympic cameo on the cross-country ski course at Winter Games
Bad Initiative in Oregon, Probable Hoarding Case in Michigan
The Oregon Ballot Initiative would make farming a crime, too.
In Oregon, an initiative that would ban everything from hunting to mousetraps to the in vitro fertilization of animals is only about 25,000 more signatures from making it on to this year’s ballot. Essentially, if this initiative passes as a ballot measure, every animal in the state would have the protections of dogs and cats, and humans would only be able to “deny them their autonomy” for certain veterinary procedures (euthanasia, spay/neuter) and self-defense (punching a mountain lion that is biting you would not be a criminal offense). While we don’t think this will pass as a ballot measure, even making it onto the ballot is pretty disappointing. It really speaks to the nasty potency of telling people they can support something “nice” and “humane” while also granting them the power to criminalize a smaller group of “inhumane” people (in this case, people like hunters, ranchers, dog breeders, researchers) whose hobbies and jobs they know little to nothing about.
A Michigan man who was keeping 91 animals on his property – 26 of them dead dogs in trash bags – said in a television interview that he loves his animals and is not an abuser. He may believe everything he said, and may have felt a deep connection or even love with the animals on his property. But you don’t have to see more than a few seconds of the police footage to realize he wasn’t able to take proper care of his animals. According to the property owner, he could have cleaned the house and yard up in two days if only he had known an inspection was coming. This claim seems like a physical impossibility and shifts some of the responsibility onto law enforcement – it shouldn’t take an impending visit from animal control to keep a facility up to code. He also said it was his dream to start an animal rescue with his wife (a common thread among animal hoarders is a belief that they are “rescuing” their animals), though sadly, the animals had to be rescued from his property. Cases like these are always difficult to process, because there are so many competing, sometimes conflicting factors involved – privacy and autonomy, animal care standards, mental illness, health and habitability, public/neighborhood nuisance problems, etc. – and all too often, nobody steps in to help until things have spiralled WAY out of control.
Sources: Radical Oregon animal rights initiative moving closer to qualifying for ballot, Owner of Flint Township home where more than 90 animals were found by police insists he's done nothing wrong
Also in the News...
★ Adoptable Animals at ACC Animal Services (Pet Adoption; Rescue & Shelter Opportunities)
★ Oh Baby! These Adorable Animals Were Born Recently at NoVA-Area Zoos (Zoo Life; Adorable Pictures)
★ Deep-sea fish reveal an alternative developmental trajectory for vertebrate vision (Developed for the Dark; Hybrid Photoreceptors)
★ Why People Pay Thousands for Paintings Made by Animals (Animals, Art, and Society)
★ 5 Wild Animal Hotspots In New York (Bearspotting Lists; Great Animal & Scenery Pictures)
★ Romeo, once the last known frog of his kind, died. But this story isn't a tragedy. (Conservation; Frog Population Findings)
★ (Video) Even Elephants Have Enemies: 8 Animals That Can Take Them Down (Huge & Hungry Lists; Lots of Beautiful Animals Here, but We're Rooting for the Elephant)
Click here to see what is happening legislatively
