News for Florida animal advocates

ARFF’s protest of the “Rodeo for Youth” in Davie (Broward County) resulted in an overall positive story by columnist Michael Mayo in Sunday’s Sun-Sentinel.
The column quoted a camp counselor who accompanied a group of children to the rodeo but shared our concerns about the brutal treatment of animals in rodeo, “You know what, I actually […]

The National Weather Service has issued heat advisory’s for most of Florida today. Temperatures are expected to approach 100 degrees this afternoon across the state, from Miami to Orlando to Pensacola, and with the high humidity it will feel even warmer. To prevent heat exhaustion, or deadly heat stroke, animals should be provided with shelter […]

Local politics is not for everyone, but if you have the courage to approach elected officials with an idea to help animals, the stubborness to follow-up on your meeting or correspondence, and the patience to sit through city or county commission meetings that can be excruciatingly long, then you can make a big difference for […]

Clapping is not a sound you would expect to hear during meetings of the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). But during yesterday’s FWC meeting in Crystal River, applause erupted after the commission voted unanimously to ban the commercial hunting of freshwater turtles in Florida. Florida now has the strongest protections for freshwater turtles […]

On Saturday night, 18-year-old Tyler Weinman was arrested as a suspect in a spree of mutilation and killings of cats that has terrified residents in the Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay communities of Miami-Dade County since early May. At least 19 dead cats have been discovered. Many of the cats were found with their bellies […]

This week there were two very different announcements concerning sharks.
First, the Destin Fishing Rodeo, a month-long fishing tournament that takes place during the month of October, announced that this year’s event will feature “Shark Saturday.” Every Saturday during the tournament participants will be encouraged to catch sharks and bring them to the docks to weigh. […]

We have received a few interesting responses to our previous post about the Miss Florida USA pageant and a pre-taping event last month that featured contestants modeling fur coats. (The Fur Information Council of America is a sponsor of the pageant and provides fur coats as “prizes” for the winners).
When we first saw photos from […]

On Wednesday it was announced that Florida’s Turnpike has signed a 30-year contract with a new company to operate the gas stations, shops and restaurants in the eight service plazas along Florida’s longest highway.
The plaza’s current not-so-friendly-for-vegans selection of restaurants- such as Popeyes and Nathan’s Famous- will be replaced with a new lineup, including Jamba Juice […]

Today is the first day of the 2009 hurricane season. Do you have a plan in place to ensure your companion animal’s safety in the event of a hurricane?
Last month, Hillsborough County announced two new pet-friendly hurricane shelters (there are now four in the county). Hillsborough County Commissioner Rose Ferlita explained the importance of shelter […]

Today the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) began accepting applications to participate in Florida’s 11-week alligator hunt, which begins August 15. 6,000 permits will be available, and each allows the hunter to kill two alligators.
Last Thurday, Fort Myers’ NBC TV Ch. 2 ran an interesting story about an annual survey conducted by the FWC […]