The RSPCA is threatening legal action over a decision by the Defence Department to drastically reduce the kangaroo population at Puckapunyal military training base north of Melbourne.

The base - and the kangaroos living there - are enclosed by an electric fence. Officials have determined that the 36,000 kangaroos have an inadequate food supply and must be culled to prevent starvation. A minimum of 15,000 and as many as 30,000 'roos are to be killed by the end of August. More than 20,000 Eastern Greys were shot at the base last year.

Animal activists acknowledge the need to prevent suffering but are opposed to such massive reductions and point out that the fence is the real problem.

Did you ever wonder as a child (or as an adult, for that matter) if your pets went to heaven when they died? Or if there is a heaven for wild animals? If so, check out the article Will I See My Little Doggy in Heaven? in the July 2003 online edition of the St. Anthony Messenger.

This article is likely to be primarily of interest to Christian furs, especially Catholics. Followers of other belief systems can take it or leave it as they see fit.

A woman and her child were attacked by four escaped zoo monkeys, which then had to be shot, according to this AP article. Only the youngest monkey escaped.

Morphicon's Year Zero Picnic (held this past Saturday) was a great success, with over 30 attendees to the Columbus, OH event.

See the official Morphicon website for more information, and links to picture archives as they become available.

For those of you who may be impatient, Trickster has pictures up already at this location.

The Seattle P-I reportst that Cartoonists Northwest is sponsoring "Spawns of Insomnia" -- a challenge to create a comic book, in full view of the public, in just 24 hours. The marathon exercise, which begins this Saturday on Seattle's Capitol Hill, will be preceeded by a cartooning class.

In an effort to keep fans better informed about goings-on at Sofawolf Press, we have established a semi-annual newsletter called Kibble. Our first issue features an extensive article on writing good dialogue by Tim Susman, current and upcoming product release dates, Con appearances, and company news.

Find it at sofawolf.com.

We have also just received the first big shipment of Best in Show: Fifteen Years of Outstanding Furry Fiction, featuring twenty-six of the best stories from fanzines and the web. Weighing in at over 450 pages, and with a terrific color cover by Ursula Vernon, this book will help console those who have already finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

On sale at the Sofawolf Press website. Get it in advance of the masses at Anthrocon and Comic Con International!

NEW DELHI, India (Reuters) - A nine-year-old Indian girl has been married to a dog amid religious chants after a priest told her parents the wedding would ward off evil, a government official says.
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Tonight on Animal Planet is a show on TV's fifty greatest animal covering everything from Lassie to Tony the tiger. It's at 8:00 and 11:00 PM Eastern and Pacific, June 16. description

The Australian reports that a male Lavarack's turtle, originally thought to be extinct, was recently found in Queensland, Australia. In addition to its rarity, scientists are eager to examine the turtle for another reason: its species breathes through its cloaca--its rear orifice. "Over the next few days the 1kg turtle will be measured from top to toe and then suffer a more intrusive inspection. Scientists will stick a camera-headed fibre-optic cable into his cloaca to see how his breathing apparatus works."

BBC Online reports that a wealthy Dutch conservationist is proposing that wildlife preserves in the most economically strapped nations in Africa could be administered by a private conservancy.

BBC Online reports that the Antarctic blue whale population may be gradually increasing.

A polar bear took on a Seawolf, and called it a draw after 40 minutes. Read the story here.

Downtown Racine, WI is full of cats.
But only for the summer.
Painted ones :)

-- puma

An anonymous submitter provided a link to this article in the Riverfront Times about furries. It features Tyger Cowboy, a leader of the St. Louis area group UniFursal Zoo, and covers an outing in which he and several other furs went bowling in fursuits. Overall in my opinion, the article is a better representation of furries than some we've seen.

A rooster has been shot dead after an hour's standoff with police and bomb disposal experts in Christchurch.

Read the full article at here.