St. Lucie County Mosquito Control has spread fifty "sentinel" chickens in coops across the county to help with the early detection of mosquito-born illnesses.  Once a week control officers will test the chickens' blood for illnesses like Dengue Fever, Chikungunya, and West Nile virus.  St. Lucie County is not alone; many counties across the state rely on sentinel chickens to monitor mosquito-born illnesses.  Unfortunately, the...

Earlier this month, the Senate gave final approval to H.R. 2576, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act, which would reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  And earlier this week, Obama signed the  legislation into law.  The amendment will strengthen federal oversight of commercial chemical usage and require animal testing used to evaluate chemical safety to be minimized, even replaced in some instances....

The city commissioners of Hollywood, Florida, recently banned pet stores from selling dogs and cats from "puppy mills" and "kitten factories."  Pet stores will be limited to selling dogs and cats from animal shelters and rescue groups.  Mayor Peter Bober supported the ban, explaining "One issue keeps gnawing at me . . . How do you justify the commercial sale of animals when every day animals are being euthanized because there'...

In 2014, James Reed was convicted of eleven counts of felony animal fighting and eleven counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty after police found Reed had twenty-nine pit bulls on his property.  Many of the dogs had injuries and scarring suggesting dog fighting and had "logging-type" collars attached to buried cinder blocks.  Paperwork found in the home while police executed a search warrant revealed lineages for the dogs indica...

Hillsborough County commissioners voted 6-0 to create a new registry for those convicted of misdemeanor or felony animal abuse.  Those placed on the registry would not be able to own or handle pets.  Any business or shelter that sells animals or allows adoptions must check the registry before transferring new pets to owners.  Violating the ordinance could result in fines of up to $500 and up to 60 days in jail.  The proposed o...

In 2014, Idaho lawmakers passed a statute -- known colloquially as the "ag-gag" law -- which imposed fines and jail time for activists who secretly film the operations of commercial farms.  In August 2015, U.S. District Court Chief Judge B. Lynn Winmill ruled the law unconstitutional as violating the right to free speech.

"The effect of the statute will be to suppress speech by undercover investigators and whistleblow...