Author Archives: Dee Perez

The City of Ashland, OR, is now considering a deer culling program. If you’ve been in or near Ashland lately, you know there are many deer in and around town, as there are throughout southern Oregon. Ashland particularly has become a Mecca for deer: there are few predators in town, there is lots of food [...]

It seems that chimps have been in the news a lot lately, and for a change, some of it is positive news. The case I mentioned to you a few weeks ago that is pending in New York is still underway. This case, being argued by the Nonhuman Rights Project and sponsored by such high [...]

I don’t know if you’ve seen the horrible stories around the internet or on social media, but right now in parts of Asia there is growing opposition to a little known (at least in the USA) industry around dog meat. Yes, many people in Asia are eating dogs, and the methods by which stray dogs [...]

A recent Gallup Poll revealed that nearly one-third of Americans believe that animals should have the same rights as people. This is tremendously good news for animals, although growing public opinion is a far cry from actually changing laws to grant rights or legal personhood to animals. But think about the implications . . . [...]

It’s the time of year when we all enjoy getting outside and enjoying the warm sun. Our dogs enjoy it, too. Many pet parents have dogs who run to door, ready to go every time their human picks up the keys or puts on the walking shoes. As fun as it is to have a [...]

Last week, the Jackson County Budget Committee voted to accept the 2015-16 budget. There are probably many reasons to be unhappy about the budget—not the least of which is the commissioners voting to give themselves big, fat pay raises. But as an animal welfare advocate and environmentalist, I’m particularly upset that despite dozens, if not [...]

Today’s blog information comes courtesy of Predator Defense. Those of us who want to protect animals in Oregon can act now to help stop these bad bills. The House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources will hold hearings on five bad wildlife bills this Thursday, April 16. We anticipate they will pass and go to [...]

I’m learning more about the activities of Wildlife Services, and if you’d like to watch a short film about the agency, click here. I contacted the Jackson County offices, via their online form, and received a very polite call back stating that my comments would be shared with the budget committee members.  Turns out that [...]

Yesterday I told you about Wildlife Services, a division of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA seems to go to pretty great lengths to make Wildlife Services sound like a benign and helpful organization designed to reduce conflicts between people and wildlife. However, as I shared yesterday, an investigative report by the Sacramento [...]

I try to stay informed about animal issues, and I have been aware that government agencies often kill wildlife on behalf of local and state governments, as well as ranchers. But I didn’t know the name of the agencies conducting the kills or the extent of their work. I was recently pointed to an investigative [...]