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April 2010

The Beaver re-branded for modern readers

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A wet beaver

Long-running Canadian nature/pet magazine The Beaver this week announced its imminent re-branding as North American Pussy. The change comes after a shift towards smaller, more manageable companions.

Many Canadian girls used to keep beavers in the 70s and 80s, but with today's busy lifestyles, they are now far more likely to have a fluffy tail on their lap than a wet beaver – if there's anything there at all.

Fur Affinity helps users fav, watch, delete each other's work

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Fender

Online furry art community Fur Affinity took a step forward today, announcing a new way to fav posts, watch users and delete works.

Regular users welcomed the feature, which has been in testing for over a year:

Once, I actually had to get my friends to view my work. Now I just make a LiveJournal post, and *poof* – it's fav'd!

Those seeking friends may gain watchers in a similar way; those who feel a piece requires more work can just email its author to remove it.

Furry to Furry cuts services to stay afloat

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Long-running forum Furry to Furry is to cut several non-essential services, according to an announcement mailed to users thirty minutes ago.

New requirements imposed by forum provider Vbulletin call for positive identification of all adult members. Due to the size of F2F, all adult services are to be removed instead.

Virus infects Furres after latest update

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The Fluff Pit

Those entering Furcadia's Vinca got more than they bargained for today, swiftly falling prey to the transformational virus sweeping the dream.

Over 100 furres have been infected as of press time.

Furcadia has a history of problems after seemingly minor spring updates.

Flayrah's coverage on April 1 was . . .

Too foolish
33% (3 votes)
Not foolish enough
33% (3 votes)
Just right
33% (3 votes)
Votes: 9

2010 April Fools

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If you're curious about the accuracy of yesterday's reporting, read on . . .

Japan's radical response to abandoned dogs

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Life is tough for abandoned dogs in Tokushima Prefecture, as the BBC explains.

In Japan, only 10% of unwanted dogs find new owners. The 90% which don't face in a final trip to the crematorium in a white, gas-filled van.

Moscow newspaper interviews Russian furs

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The Moskovskij Komsomolets has a two-page article [translation, photo] about furry fandom.

The article spends a lot of time on fursuiting, but also covers the history of the fandom, its base in art and animation, and the controversy of its sexual and spiritual aspects.

So far, reader comments [translation] are mixed; some call it "one of the few articles on [Russian furry fandom] that deserve attention" and feel the story was "positive and truthful," while others see it as "reminiscent of an attempt to present a summary of War and Peace."

Montreal furs interviewed on CBC's Première Chaîne

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French-speaking Canadian furs got their turn in the limelight earlier this year with an interview (translation) of Paws, Firebreath, Big Bad Bear and Feli in the Montreal Campus newspaper, which serves the Université du Québec à Montréal.

The article led to a sixteen-minute radio interview of Beekin, Firebreath and Ailé the Dragon, broadcast on CBC's French-language radio network Première Chaîne on 16 February (scroll to "Audio-vidéo"; starts at 0:50). [dronon/furrymedia]

Update: A transcription of the radio broadcast is now available thanks to Firebreath.

Why did the rabbit cross the road?

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Apparently to hand out tickets.
Here’s a quick little story about resource mismanagement courtesy of Fox News. In sunny Glendale, California the police reportedly used a bunny costume to track down reckless drivers. They also report that a city counsel man was hopping mad.

Editor's note: A more extensive story with a photograph is at the Glendale News Press.

Vivisector claims purchase of Crush Yiff Destroy

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Vivisector, a forum and community blog dedicated to cynical criticism of furry fandom, claims to have purchased similar website Crush Yiff Destroy. While at first the site redirect appeared to be an April Fool's hoax, today's subsequent posting suggests otherwise.

CYD, founded in 2002, gained notoriety for publishing highly critical articles about furry activities and personalities. Few new articles were posted after 2006, but its forums remained moderately active. In October 2007, several regulars left to form Vivisector.

Fursuit Fracas announces 2010 nominees

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Nominees for the Fandom's Favorite Fursuit Fracas have been announced.

384 fursuits were nominated by 521 nominators. 43 more were opted-out by their owners. Self-nominations were permitted, but had to be balanced out by nominating equal numbers of suits owned by others.

As predicted, the competition now includes a double-elimination round to guarantee two face-offs for each competitor. The final 192 will proceed to single-elimination.

The field of entrants has grown 18% in 2010; prior years saw 326, 295 and 176 nominees. Ongoing results are to be recorded on WikiFur.

Read more: Competition matchups and scheduleWho built 2009's Fracas competitors?