Guest blog by Brianne Goutal, a highly respected top international equestrian on the United States show jumping team. She represents Cloverleaf Farm, Remarkable Farm and her own stable, Brianne Goutal LLC. She is currently ranked 10th in the United States and 54thin the world and is the only rider to have won all four coveted equitation finals for junior riders, the crown being the ASPCA Maclay National Championship in 2006.
This afternoon, most members of the North Carolina State Legislature publicly reaffirmed their commitment to catering to the interests of deep-pocketed factory farmers when they raced to pass H.B. 405, the dangerous ag-gag bill, for a second time. Although they succeeded by just eight votes in the House and a slender margin of four in the Senate, there is now no stopping this overreaching, wildly unpopular bill from becoming state law.
At the ASPCA, we often encounter heartbreaking cases of abuse, cruelty and neglect. It’s one of the most difficult aspects of the work that we do. But with that heartbreak comes a silver lining: inspiration. Nearly every single day, we watch in awe as the incredible animals we serve overcome their pain and suffering and go on to become happy, loving pets. Their resilience is what keeps us going, so when we heard the story of Waffles the pit bull, we knew it was too good to keep to ourselves. Here is Waffles' Happy Tail.
Yesterday, Foster Farms—one of the country’s largest chicken producers—announced that it is aiming to remove from its chicken flocks all antibiotics that are also used in humans (barring exceptional cases). This follows similar announcements by other companies like Tyson, Perdue and McDonald’s.
In honor of National Adopt a Shelter Cat Month, the ASPCA conducted a survey to identify what makes a cat the purrfect pet. The results showed that while those with cats have overwhelmingly positive experiences with their feline friends, non-pet owners lack an understanding of the benefits of having cats as pets.
