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San Francisco police today began their review of the cell phones and car belonging to the survivors of a Christmas Day tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo, officials said. < snip > A San Francisco Superior Court judge granted a search warrant allowing police to examine the cell phones and car on Tuesday. For police and city officials to get the warrant, they needed to show probable cause of felony wrongdoing, a city official said.

Today: September 09, 2007 at 5:5:7 PDT Calif. Gray Whale Shot With Machine Gun NEAH BAY, Wash. (AP) - An injured California gray whale was swimming out to sea Saturday after being shot with a machine gun off the western tip of Washington state, officials said. Coast Guard Petty Officer Kelly Parker said five people believed to be members of the Makah Tribe shot and harpooned the whale Saturday morning. The extent of the whale's injuries were not immediately known. Tribe members were being held by the Coast Guard but had not been charged, said Mark Oswell, a spokesman for...

Stephon Marbury, NBA star, "...You know, from what I hear, dogfighting is a sport. It's just behind closed doors."

ALPINE, Ore. -- Corvallis Police have arrested a man who is accused of running a cockfighting operation. Officers searched the Van Beek Dairy near Alpine and found more than 35 birds, according to officers. Police said they seized two roosters as evidence and that the roosters show signs of having been used for the illegal fights. The rest of the birds were left at the dairy. Martin Ramos-Reyes, 39, is in custody at the Benton County Jail in connection with the investigation. Ramos-Reyes, who worked and lived at the farm and also owned the roosters, used them as fighting birds,...

It was time for the annual Valentine's Day sex tour at the San Francisco Zoo, but none of the permanent residents got the memo. As human voyeurs learned about the torrid world of amorous beasts, most of the animals barely glanced at each other. "The wind seems to unnerve them," said Jane Tollini, inventor of the tour that has been copied by zoos throughout North America. "And they had a busy weekend." They did indeed. Tollini, former penguin keeper at the zoo, led excursions Saturday and Sunday and will do the same this weekend. She came up with the idea...

Several speakers at the only public hearing on a plan to remove grizzly bears from federal endangered species protection called for more hearings on the proposal. About 235 people gathered at Tuesday's hearing in Cody. The hearing was preceded by an informal open house. Similar open houses were planned this week in Jackson, Bozeman, Mont., and Idaho Falls, Idaho. But no more public hearings were planned. "I am somewhat disappointed that after 30 years of working on the bear issue, and all the millions of man hours, we only have this one public hearing," said wildlife photographer Dewey Vanderhoff of...

A South African mugger fleeing the scene of his crime hides in a tiger enclosure. On the country's coast, a woman attempts to be a good Samaritan by pushing a young seal into the sea, believing the poor thing is stranded. Both people paid heavily for their stupidity, underscoring one of nature's truisms: humans do dumb things around wild animals. "I blame it on Walt Disney, where animals are given human qualities. People don't understand that a wild animal is not something that is nice to pat. It can seriously harm you," said James Cameron, a South African professional hunter....

PETA believes it may have a powerful new ally: the pope. The star-studded animal rights group — whose high-profile spokespeople include Paul McCartney and Pamela Anderson — is saying that Pope Benedict XVI is an animal-rights supporter and they’re hoping he will join their cause. PETA wasted no time in firing off a letter to the pope yesterday, congratulating him and asking, “Would you please encourage people to consider the suffering of animals by lending a supportive word to our efforts?” The letter cited comments made by the pope three years ago when he was Cardinal Ratzinger: “Certainly, a sort...

Looking for a unique way to support the fight against animal abuse? The British founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the world's biggest animal rights group, is auctioning off a lizard tattoo on her right arm -- with proceeds going to the charity. Billed as "waterproof and weathered" and "suitable for making into a wallet or watch strap," the tattoo is being offered on Web site eBay to draw attention to the plight suffered by skinned animals. "It's the only skin you can wear and use with the express permission of the original owner," said Ingrid...

Birds may not be renowned for their intelligence but New Caledonian crows have an instinctive ability to make and use tools, researchers said on Wednesday. They bred four crows in captivity and found all the birds were able to make tools from twigs without being taught. "We show that hand-raised juvenile New Caledonian crows spontaneously manufacture and use tools, without any contact with adults of their species or any prior demonstration by humans," said Alex Kacelnick, of Oxford University in England. The crows -- three males and one female -- were raised in artificial nests and then transferred to aviaries...

Members of PETA said there's something fishy going on in Albany. A group from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals were protesting outside Bob and Ron's Fish Fry on Central Avenue Thursday. It's all part of their Fish Empathy Project, which spreads the word about research they said shows fish are just as intelligent as cats and dogs. PETA feels places like Bob and Ron's supports what they said are horrible practices of commercial fishing and fish farms. As part of PETA's Fish Empathy Project, members rallied outside Bob and Ron's Fish Fry in Albany on Thursday. Karin Robertson...

Mary Tyler Moore has been pecking at her co-op board and neighbors for evicting the renowned hawks from her posh Fifth Avenue building — but yesterday they crowed back, accusing her of orchestrating the pro-bird campaign as a personal vendetta. "She has a big ax to grind," said a board source. "A lot of her activism is bent on vengeance after the co-op board turned down a potential buyer for her apartment." Moore was the most vociferous of the residents of 927 Fifth Ave. to oppose the board's decision to take down Pale Male and Lola's nest, even joining the...

I could not help but take these pictures of these idiots from PETA. Their message was simply that Thanksgiving results in the murder of thousands of innocent turkeys, and the way in which we kill turkeys is inhumane. I put the pictures on my website because I kept having problems pasting them on FR. http://www.conservativeperspective.com/wst_page4.html

ROANOKE -- For telephone company CEO Norm Mason, a vegan and lifelong animal lover, there was never any doubt what he'd offer at his company cafeteria. Soy steaks and soy sloppy joes, veggie burgers, nachos and other meatless, eggless, butter-free delicacies are cooked daily using heavy bags of texturized vegetable protein. If that doesn't sound so great, consider this: It's all free. Mason says he created the "Vegeteria" out of concern for the well-being of his 200 employees of Cat Communications International. So he's giving them all the fresh vegetables, meat substitutes, cakes and drinks they could ever want. "This...