Animals

World News

Scientists Say Cats Should Stay On Leashes Outdoors; EU Hisses, Thrashes

5:57am November 29, 2019

by Rachel Martin

An article in Oxford's Journal of Environmental Law recommends the move to limit felines' impact on biodiversity.
The European Union says it strongly defends free movement rights, including for cats.

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Russian Dairy Farm Outfits Cows With Virtual Reality Headsets

6:50am November 28, 2019

In this case, the grass really is greener on the other side. While in real life the bovines have to put up with gloomy Moscow weather, their headsets display green fields and summer sun.

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Indonesian Officials Hope Pets Will Distract Children From Phones

6:59am November 27, 2019

Officials in West Java distributed 2,000 pet chicks to elementary and middle schools. Now kids can swap Angry Birds for baby birds, Twitter for tweets!

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Two male turkeys from North Carolina named Bread and Butter hang out in their hotel room at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington, D.C., ahead of Tuesday's pardoning.

Politics & Government

President Trump Pardons Pair Of Turkeys — The Strange Truth Behind The Tradition

4:43pm November 26, 2019

by Domenico Montanaro

The practice doesn't go back as far as you might think and has been sustained by a special interest group — the turkey lobby.

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America's animals have new federal protections against abuse.

National

Trump Signs Law Making Cruelty To Animals A Federal Crime

11:08pm November 25, 2019

by Richard Gonzales

Congress, wrought by division on many fronts, united to pass a bill making animal cruelty a federal felony. President Trump signed it into law on Monday.

Florida Dog Drives In Circles For 90 Minutes

7:05am November 25, 2019

A man in Port Saint Lucie, Fla., left his dog Max alone in the car. Max kicked the car into reverse, causing it to drive backwards. The car drove in circles until it eventually hit a mailbox.

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Jake The Dog Comes To NPR, Howls Along With All Things Considered Theme

6:04pm November 22, 2019

When the All Things Considered staff saw a dog that howls only to the theme song of the show, they had to meet him. NPR's Ari Shapiro interviews Jake the dog.

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Firefighter Pinyo Pukpinyo holds a Burmese python. In 16 years of snake wrangling, he says he has been bitten more than 20 times but helping people desperate to get rid of snakes in their homes "makes me happy."

World News

When Snakes Slither Into Bangkok Homes, This Is The Wrangler Who Gets Rid Of Them

4:35pm November 20, 2019

by Michael Sullivan

When pythons, cobras and pit vipers show up, Pinyo Pukpinyo, a sergeant in Bangkok's fire department, is the expert who catches them. He's been bitten 20 times but says his work "makes me happy."

Oakland Zoo Visitors Noticed Something Wrong With Bears' Enclosure

7:13am November 20, 2019

Observers saw that the window to the bears' enclosure was covered in cracks that looked like spiderwebs. A zoo spokeswoman said a human child cracked the glass by hitting it with a rock.

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Giant Panda Bei Bei Set To Leave National Zoo For China

5:03am November 19, 2019

The Smithsonian National Zoo is bidding farewell to one of its most popular bamboo-loving residents: Bei Bei. The panda leaves Washington, D.C., on Tuesday for China.

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