Philadelphia: Activists mixed over Michael Vick Animal-rights activists were divided Tuesday night over Michael Vick's promotion to Eagles starting quarterback. Tom Hickey Sr., who was critical of the team's original decision to sign Michael Vick, expressed renewed outrage over the Eagles' decision. “This is just another disappointing move of many that the Eagles have done since they signed him,” said Hickey, a member of the Pennsylvania Dog Law Advisory board and founder of DogPAC, an animal welfare organization. Baltimore: Accused dog beater sentence angers activists Police arrested 48 year old Derrick Chambers after an anonymous 911 caller said they saw Chambers hitting the dog, stuffing him in a plastic bag, then throwing him in be bed of his truck. That's where officers found dog, near death. They took it to the city animal shelter where it had to be euthanized. A month later, on his attorney's recommendation, Chambers was sentenced to 50 hours of community service at the Maryland SPCA. “We would never recommend that a child molester do community service with the boy scouts and we should never recommend that a person charged with animal abuse do community service with animals there's just too much risk of harm and we believe with the severity of the crime this perpetrator should be punished.” Baltimore Animal Cruelty Taskforce Director Caroline Griffin says. Edmonton: Rights groups appeal Lucy verdict Animal rights groups are appealing an Alberta judge's dismissal of their legal challenge to have Lucy, the Asian elephant at the Edmonton Valley Zoo, declared an animal in distress. Clayton Ruby, the lawyer for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Zoocheck and Voice for Animals, filed a notice of appeal Thursday morning. In a written ruling on Aug. 20, Justice John Rooke, dismissed the groups' legal challenge, calling it an “abuse of process.” France: Wrestlers win live ram legal battle Traditional Breton “gouren” wrestlers celebrated Friday a victory over an attempt by Parisian animal rights activists' to ban their centuries-old custom of awarding a live ram to victors. The face-off began in February when the Stephane Lamart Association for animal rights brought a case saying the awarding of a ram — representing the victor's prowess and known as a “maout” — was illegal. That case was overturned on a technicality, but the men who fight each other wearing black trousers and a white shirt tied with a special belt feared that the rights group would renew its suit. New Mexico: Chimps future at lab prompts debate A decision to move 186 chimpanzees from a southern New Mexico facility to Texas is pitting government officials and scientists against a coalition of elected officials and animal rights advocates, including New Mexico's governor and also famed primate researcher Dr. Jane Goodall. The chimps have spent the past decade undisturbed by medical researchers. But the National Institutes of Health has decided to cut government costs by moving the animals to a San Antonio primate facility, where animal rights activists worry they'll be improperly poked, prodded and stabbed in the name of science. Taiwan: Rights group honors police For their compassionate decision to close roads obstructing land crabs from reaching the coast during their spawning season, the Kenting National Park Administration (KNPA) has nabbed People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia's Proggy Award for Living with Wildlife. The group's Proggy Awards (“Proggy” stands for “progress”) recognize animal-friendly achievements in commerce and culture. The award comes in the heels of the KNPA's recent decision to close sections of a major nearby highway, which would allow female land crabs access to their oceanic spawning grounds. The highway cuts across the crabs' habitats and the sea, posing a treacherous run for the crabs, many of whom are crushed by unwitting motorists. The KNPA has also announced a campaign to attract volunteers in helping ferry the crabs safely to the sea. BM
