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Full Title: Angry protester hit a police horse with a flagpole that had a nail sticking out, police say A Pennsylvania woman is facing multiple criminal charges for resisting arrest and assaulting a police horse after a protest and counter-protest at the state capitol in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, became heated. {snip} According to police reports, a state police corporal mounted on a police horse, Sampson, was trying to move the crowd from the protest onto the sidewalk when Simon hit Sampson with a flagpole that had a half-inch silver nail sticking out of the top, per the Philly Voice.

Authorities in San Diego have rescued nine hedgehogs that were thrown into an Ocean Beach trash can and left to die. County animal control officials say 15 palm-sized animals were discovered Thursday but five were dead and a sixth was suffering and was euthanized. The survivors are in good condition. Animal Services Director Dan DeSousa says hedgehogs are shy, timid creatures

A 26-year-old West Ashley woman was ticketed Friday after Charleston police said she caused an accident by scaring two carriage horses with a Tyrannosaurus rex costume. Nicole Wells of Ashley River Road was cited on a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct and wearing a mask or disguise on a public street, a city code violation, police said. Wells was released after turning herself in Friday morning, spokesman Charles Francis said. She was not jailed. The incident was reported shortly after 5 p.m. on Thursday near Tommy Condon's restaurant on Church Street. Two Palmetto Carriage Works horses, named Yogi and Boo...

Maybe the Texas Legislature really has gone to the dogs. Or maybe state lawmakers are just looking out for their furry friends. Dozens of bills protecting animals — measures that range from getting them out of locked hot cars to preventing bestiality — are weaving through the Texas Capitol in a race to the governor’s desk before the session ends May 29.

Taiwan has outlawed the consumption of dog and cat meat, as the island’s legislature on Tuesday passed a landmark amendment to its animal protection laws. The island’s official Central News Agency (CNA) said the revision showed the transition “from a society in which dog meat was regularly consumed” to where “many people treat pet cats and dogs as valued members of their families.” Previously, the Animal Protection Act only covered the slaughter and sale of dog and cat meat. Individuals who eat or trade dog or cat meat can now be fined between $1,640 to $8,200. The amendment also bans...

After More Than a Decade of Providing the Public With Access to Animal Welfare Records, the USDA Suddenly Pressed ‘Delete’ On Its Online Database, Which Includes Info on Whether Animals Are Being Treated Humanely At Facilities Across the Country Following USDA’s Decision, Schumer Says USDA Must Re-establish Transparency & Help Deter Future Animal Welfare Violations Schumer: Animal Advocates Should Not Have To Play Tug Of War On Transparency With New Administration’s USDA U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reverse its decision to remove inspection reports on animal facilities and related animal cruelty information from...

Malcolm X’s daughter and granddaughter were busted this week on animal cruelty charges, when injured pooches subjected to “inhumane conditions” were found inside a stolen U-Haul truck they were driving. Malikah Shabazz and her daughter Bettih Shabazz, 19, were arrested Wednesday night in a parking lot of a La Plata, Maryland, Wal-Mart, cops said. Seven injured pit bulls were found inside stacked crates in the back of the rental truck, cops said. The truck was reported stolen earlier in the day to Vermont state police. The women were charged with seven counts of animal cruelty and vehicle theft and released...

“A Dog’s Purpose” -- the upcoming major motion picture based on the best-selling novel by W. Bruce Cameron -- is set to open later this month, but new footage obtained by TMZ may give animal lovers pause about going to see it. The exclusive video shows an animal trainer forcing a terrified German shepherd dog into a pool of raging water, while the animal tries desperately to escape. It’s a chilling behind-the-scenes look at the filmmakers’ attempt to recreate a scene from the book, in which a police K-9 named Ellie rescues someone from a rushing river.

A Texas woman described as a Black Lives Matter supporter stands accused of punching a Houston police horse during an anti-Trump protest last week. Shere Dore, 40, has been charged with interference with a police service animal, according to information obtained by Breitbart Texas from court records held by the Harris County District Clerk. The offense is a State Jail Felony punishable by incarceration of up to two years and not less than 180 days behind bars. If convicted, Dore could also be fined up to $10,000. A complaint filed by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office obtained by Breitbart...

OAK BLUFFS (CBS) – A man is accused of going on a very strange crime spree on Martha’s Vineyard over the weekend. Oak Bluffs police say Felix Reagan committed a series of crimes that left a dog painted purple on Saturday afternoon. It all started when officers responded to Firehouse Lane for a report of a stolen motor vehicle that crashed, with the suspect fleeing on foot. About 5 to 10 minutes later, police were called to a Pinewood Lane house that had been broken into. A resident there said they arrived home to find a ground level window forced...

A LEOPARD has been scared to death after a mob of villagers hunted the wild animal down and beat it with sticks. The leopard mauled ten people when a mob of villagers cornered the animal and beat it with sticks. The wild animal fought back against the locals and soon chased after dozens of other villagers. The ensuing chaos saw the leopard attack a young child while hundreds of others fled in fear. Onlookers filmed the dramatic footage as the animal attacked locals at Khajuri Pandya village in India.

An Austin man who is accused of beating a turtle to death with a hammer told authorities he was acting in self-defense, his arrest-warrant affidavit says. Terry Washington, 55, told police that the turtle lunged at him and repeatedly tried to bite him after it had been hooked on a fishing line on the edge of Lady Bird Lake, KVUE-TV reports. According to the affidavit, he said he killed the turtle in self-defense and in order to get the fishing hook back, then dragged it under a bridge to get it out of the view of passers-by. The June 21...

...A jogger named Geoffrey Frank saw the blood and the action that drew it. In a graphic video he posted to Facebook, it is possible to hear the meaty crack of the hammer against the turtle shell over Frank’s horrified murmurs of protest. Frank turned a corner on the trail that runs near Lady Bird Lake to see, as he told Austin’s KXAN-TV, Washington swing the tool down upon the turtle’s shell. On his second loop, the turtle was dead. It was “sick,” Frank said to KXAN. He watched as the man “smashed it to death with a hammer.” The...

FONTANA >> Jack Sparrow is recovering from methamphetamine overdose, but he’s not the fictional pirate of the Caribbean. He’s a small Chihuahua from Fontana. On July 5, Jack’s owner brought him to the Inland Valley Veterinary Specialists and Emergency Center in Upland, police said in a news release Monday. Jack’s owner, identified by police as 21-year-old Isaiah Nathaniel Sais, from Fontana, allegedly told doctors he believed Jack may have ingested methamphetamine. And according to test results, he was right. Jack tested positive for the street drug known as “Crank”, according to the news release. But Sais left the vet’s office...

Over Memorial Day weekend, the internet has been exploding with comments, articles, and rants related to the death of Harambe, the 17-year-old silverback gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo. While the entire situation was harrowing, terrifying, and tragic, what many of these vocalized opinions reveal about our culture is infinitely troubling. There’s not a legitimate debate over whether the little boy who crawled and fell into Harambe’s habitat would have died if the gorilla hadn’t been shot. CNN reported: Officials made the decision to shoot Harambe because the boy was in “imminent danger.” They feared a tranquilizer would take too long...

Monday, Houston veterinarian Kristen Lindsey appeared in court to address the complaint against her, according to Lorris Jones with the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners. Lindsey is accused of killing a cat in 2015 and then bragging about it on Facebook. The social media post shows Lindsey holding up the cat by the arrow she shot it with. Along with the image of the dead cat, Lindsey posted “My first bow kill, LOL.” The State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners was in attendance at the court. Critics want the board to pull her veterinary license.

Why are Turkey’s dogs committing suicide? Turkey’s problem of dog abandonment first emerged in coastal summer home communities, with people casting off dogs before heading back to cities at the end of the season. The phenomenon has now spilled over to urban areas as a result mostly of impulse purchases from pet shops — often to reward children for good grades or as presents for Valentine’s Day and wedding anniversaries — with little thought about the animals’ long-term care. The dogs — most of them purebred and trained — are either left in animal shelters or simply thrown out in...

A 20-year-old horse is recovering after being shot more than 100 times with paintballs. Lily is recovering at the New Bolton Center in Chester County, Pennsylvania. "In 15 years, I've never seen another paintball case," New Bolton Center veterinarian Dr. Rose Nolen-Walston said. "You can tell she's a sweetie and you can tell she's happy to be getting some food and some care." Omega Horse Rescue's Kelly Smith found Lily at the New Holland Horse Sale Stables in Lancaster County on Monday after the horse auctions. They found no sign of an owner and believed her to be abandoned at...

Famed “dog whisperer” Cesar Millan is defending himself amid an investigation by Los Angeles County animal control officials involving a pot-bellied pig that was attacked by a French bulldog mix during a TV episode. Then they will decide whether the canine-on-swine-related violence rises to the level of a crime, officials said Friday. Millan, however, said no crime occurred and that the entire episode is much ado about nothing. In a statement, National Geographic Wild does not dispute that the French bulldog mix, named Simon, attacked the pig during training. The dog reportedly bit the pig in the ear, drawing blood....

An opossum was found in California on Friday after being shot in the head and torso with what appeared to be crossbow arrows. Riverside County Department of Animal Services were amazed by the opossum's survival after it was found trying to remove the arrows near an intersection in the city's La Sierra neighborhood. [snip] The opossum survived the surgery and is now recovering at the animal hospital. [snip] The city's department of animal services has began an animal cruelty investigation into the incident.