Talking Animals

Could the woolly mammoth make a comeback? Plus - Manuel Bojorquez reports on the latest efforts to save Florida's coral reef. Sam Litzinger features his piece and more on this week's Talking Animals.

Is it possible to bring back animals that went extinct? Plus -- what will happen to some animal populations if President Donald Trump does build his infamous wall? CBS News Correspondent Sam Litzinger finds out on this week's Talking Animals.

Fern Levitt—the director of “Sled Dogs,” a documentary that provides a behind-the-scenes examination of both the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and commercial operations in Canada and the U.S. that provide opportunities for recreational dog sledding—recalls how one of those recreational outings she took with her husband, including seeing that the dogs are kept outside and chained nearly 24/7, planted the seeds of the film. An experienced filmmaker, Levitt recalls embarking on a careful journey of research into the dog sled world, an undertaking that dovetailed with the grim news breaking about a sledding operation in Whistler that decided the solution to being severely financially strapped at the end of the season was to kill 100 dogs. Levitt explains that she settled on four interweaving story lines—a puppy being trained as a sled dog in Ontario, a novice musher preparing for Iditarod, the aftermath of that Whistler, and a dog sledding enterprise in Snowmass, Colorado—to drive the narrative of “Sled Dogs.” Across those four storylines, Levitt notes, a key theme emerges: the horrors accompanying laws that dictate that animals can be considered “property” and, therefore, can be treated any way their owners and handlers see fit. “Sled Dogs” has generated some controversy and criticism (including from the novice musher), partly related to the way Levitt has framed her storytelling—she observes that her mission was to present an eye-opening glimpse into the dark world of sled dog operations and the Iditarod, seeking to free the dogs from their chains and get them into homes. She balks at my suggestion that the way she executed this mission constitutes advocacy filmmaking, maintaining that she simply made a documentary. Whatever way “Sled Dogs” can be categorized, it’s already achieved significant results with the spotlight it shone on the dark corners of the Iditarod: Both Wells Fargo and State Farm announced they were pulling their sponsorship of the famous race. (http://sleddogsfilm.com, www.facebook.com/SledDogsFilm)

ALSO: I spoke briefly with Don Goldstein—the “Talking Animals” official greyhound correspondent–about a surprising decision made last week by Florida gambling regulators that allows a Miami dog track to halt greyhound racing while continuing to operate their lucrative card rooms and slot machines. Unfortunately, as Goldstein explains, this decision results from a singular confluences of laws and geography, and does not carry broader implications for ending dog racing in Florida.

COMEDY CORNER: Jim Gaffigan’s “Animal Lover” (www.jimgaffigan.com)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: We didn’t play Name That Animal Tune today.

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/TAJuly26-.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Officials at Yellowstone National Park have recruited grizzly bears to test the strength of garbage cans and coolers - which have been destroyed by bears looking for food. Carter Evans reports. Plus - a rare butterfly species is making a comeback in the Bay Area. John Blackstone has the story. Sam Litzinger features these pieces and more on this week's Talking Animals.

Traveling can be stressful -- especially for animals. New York's JFK Airport is now accommodating its four-legged travelers. Sam Litzinger has the story. Plus - a dog's nose is not just for smelling. Martha Teichner learns more.

Ronnie Lee—the veteran British animal rights activist, who in 1976, founded the Animal Liberation Front (ALF)—muses about how to reconcile a lad whose childhood, in its basic contours, resembled many people’s childhood, yet he went on to become a firebrand activist. The subject of a new book, “The Animals’ Freedom Fighter: A Biography of Ronnie Lee, Founder of the Animal Liberation Front,” Lee addresses the way intense anger—fundamentally, over the injustice at how animals are treated– fueled much of his work as a young zealot. And how he strove to direct that rage in the most focused, effective manner to achieve the goals of ALF and other organizations he was affiliated with at the time of that direct action or other deed. Observing that ALF is minimally active currently, at least in the U.K., and that he no longer maintains much of a relationship with the organization he founded, he does point proudly to what he views as two of ALF’s most significant accomplishments: Drastically reducing the fur trade in the U.K., and dramatically reducing experimentation on animals. (Asked about the portrayal of an ALF crew in the acclaimed new Netflix film, “Okja,” answers that he hasn’t seen the film, adding that he tends not to watch films or television.) Lee also described how, in widening out his activism in the post-ALF era, and after he and his wife adopted two former racing greyhounds, he devoted considerable time and energy to greyhound education and advocacy, while emphasizing that his fundamental remains (www.facebook.com/generalronnielee,  www.animalliberationfront.com)

ALSO: I spoke briefly with Alexandra Crockett, the photographer who, three years ago, assembled “Metal Cats,” a book featuring a wide array of images of metal musicians with their cats. She’s just released a variation of that book, converting it into an coloring book, entitled, fittingly enough, “Metal Cats Coloring Book”–which connects smoothly to the adult coloring trend, which shows no sign of diminishing.

 

COMEDY CORNER: Nick DiPaolo’s “Animal Activists” (www.nickdip.com/)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: The Beatles’ “Dig A Pony”

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/TAJuly19-.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

There's a program in San Antonio, Texas that is helping pit bulls shed their bad dog image. Sam Litzinger features Omar Villafranca's piece on this week's Talking Animals.

Researchers are studying the link between baboon sounds and the development of human language. Sam Litzinger learns more. Plus -- a dog helping children in their time of need. CBS's Barry Peterson has this touching story on this week's Talking Animals.

Denice Heatherly—co-founder of Music City Animal Advocates, a non-profit organization whose stated goal is “to create an animal-saving culture in greater Nashville and surrounding counties” —describes her formative years, when her grandmother was a serious animal lover, and always had a dog, whereas Heatherly’s mother didn’t want animals in their house. She recalls moving to Nashville in 1980, and participating in a campaign to persuade the city to allow dog parks (at this point, there were none), which she marked as the beginning of her activism. Providing an instructive case study for how activists can work to reform a municipal animal shelter that’s dogged (sorry) by old-school policies, ineffective leadership, too low of an adoption rate/too high of a kill rate, and other problems, Heatherly details how she and her partner, Leslie Rouffe, and other individuals and organizations mounted a well-researched, well-organized effort to implement reforms at Nashville’s Metro Animal Care & Control—ultimately centered around a petition that generated tremendous response, buttressed by social media support from such artists as Kelly Clarkson and Miranda Lambert, and ultimately garnered more signatures than required. This led, she recalls, to sweeping reforms, including ending some of the shelters antiquated policies, the director retiring and being replaced by a fantastic, widely applauded new one—and a kill rate that dropped from 78% to about 11% today (www.musiccityanimaladvocates.org, www.facebook.com/StandbyyourMACC)

ALSO: I spoke briefly with Erica Sirotich, a St. Petersburg author-illustrator whose first book wearing both those hats, “Found Dogs,” presents a positive look at adoption and shelters in a picture book intended for young readers, age 2-6. “Found Dogs” will be unveiled in an event on July 22 at Inkwood Books, in Tampa, where The Humane Society of Tampa Bay will provide adoptable dogs. (www.ericasirotich.com, www.facebook.com/ericasirotich)

COMEDY CORNER: Greg Fitzsimmons’ “Adopting A Dog” (www.gregfitzsimmons.com)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Elton John’s “Grey Seal”

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/TAJuly12-.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

The feral hog population is becoming a hog-sized problem in Texas. Don Champion has the story. Plus - Sam Litzinger learns more about Happy Tails -- a program that provides the elderly with a four legged companion - for a couple of hours.