Free Republic

If you really love your cat, don’t stroke it. Researchers say that the pets become stressed if they’re constantly petted. Animal behaviour experts discovered that cats released hormones linked to anxiety when they were handled by humans. In fact, the tests appeared to show that no cats enjoyed being stroked. Some were prepared to tolerate it – but they were the individuals that showed the highest levels of distress. The researchers concluded that genuine cat lovers should avoid constantly petting their feline friends to spare their feelings. -snip- The research also dispelled the popular belief that cats are solitary creatures...

Without much fanfare, Dean Moyer has raised gerbils and hamsters for 12 years. He’s sold them to distributors who, in turn, have sold them to pet store owners across the country. Chances are good that the pet hamster your neighbor’s kid always carries in his hand came from Moyer’s Sand Valley Farms, Inc. But that could change soon if the folks at the USDA have their way. “Basically, the USDA just wants me to close up,” Moyer said. “They just want me to get out of the hamster business.” During the week of July 15, Moyer received a “really thick...

PETA foes salivate at cruelty trial Animal-rights group employees charged in dumping of dead dogs, cats WINTON - All around this struggling farm town, chicken houses stand in the fields as a testament to the way many here earn their living -- raising, slaughtering and processing chickens. It is an unlikely locale for an unlikely criminal case. Today, two employees of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a radical animal-rights group that opposes meat-eating, are on trial for the strangest of charges: killing animals. PETA is based in Norfolk, Va., but its work has international scope. The group, which...