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Woman receives jail sentence for feeding cats
News of an elderly Ohio woman being sentenced to jail for feeding outdoor cats has become the subject of great interest to animal lovers, the legal community and the general public. We begin today’s show asking legal expert Bob Ferber how this could happen, and if a jail sentence for this offense could in any way be appropriate. Ferber spent decades in Los Angeles courtrooms as an animal cruelty prosecutor, and shares his thoughts on what is probably happening behind the scenes.
Why is the amphibian population declining?
We continue with Matt Ellerbeck, frog advocate and conservationist at Save All Frogs. Frog populations are in decline, with over 30% of the approximately 5000 frog species considered endangered. Matt describes the causes of the shrinking populations, as well as the cruelty frogs face in live food markets, as fishing bait, and for classroom dissections. Matt loves to visit schools to teach children about treating animals with compassion and respect.
Research suggests that even though amphibians are severely declining worldwide, there is no smoking gun – and thus no simple solution – to halting or reversing these declines.
Choosing toys and treats for dogs
Next up is Dr. Douglas Kunz, Medical Director of VCA Desert Animal Hospital who provides sage advice on choosing safe toys and treats for dogs. Doug advises not to use hard chew toys, which can fracture teeth. Doug also doesn’t like pig’s ears and bully sticks because they may harbor E coli bacteria. Doug offers many other insights in this segment.
Test your shark knowledge
Then, how much do you know about sharks? Do you worry about swimming in the ocean? Take the shark quiz along with Peter and test your shark smarts. Here’s one tidbit: men account for 90% of shark attack victims.
To conclude, Lori offers sensible advice on preventing dog bites.
What’s wrong with feeding neighborhood cats? The TNR program works. Cats are spayed and neutered for free or low cost, Colony caretakers feed and put shelters out for the cats. The fixed cats don’t not reproduce and keep other cats away most of the time. This is a win-win situation. If nobody feeds the cats, is starving them the solution? That seems cruel, heartless and mean.