Talking Animals

Zoos have been under the spotlight recently for how they treat animals, so what's being done? CBS News Correspondent Sam Litzinger reports.

This morning, I once again set aside the usual “Talking Animals” format to present my Annual Christmas Animal Song special—that is, a show entirely devoted to Christmas-oriented animal tunes. Sure, as in the past, to pull off this conceit, I fashioned the program with a liberal sprinkling of “Rudolph” songs, from The Brian Setzer Orchestera’s peppy  offering, “Rockabilly Rudolph” to Keith Richards’ classic fiery take on “Run Rudolph Run.” I also played some far less obvious nuggets and possible future classics, including Kacey Musgraves’ new rendition of “I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas,” and delightful fresh oddity “Snails Christmas (I Want A New Shell)” by The Snails. We extended another tradition when I took a brief break from playing the yuletide animal songs to read what I refer to as the Dorothy Strauss Christmas Poem. Happy Holidays to you and yours.

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CBS News Correspondent Sam Litzinger takes us inside the Frozen Zoo. Plus -- Carter Evans visits a shelter in Santa Barbara that lets the local track team run with their dogs.

What are poultry farmers doing to give their chicken's better lives? CBS News Correspondent Sam Litzinger reports.

Tippi Hedren—the actress and longtime animal advocate, who recently published her memoir, “Tippi: A Memoir”—discusses Shambala Preserve, her sanctuary for rescued lions, tigers and other big cats that she established in 1972, and where Hedren, now 86 years old, still lives. She addresses the background and experiences animals of the who live there, and how the animal population of Shambala has evolved to where it now houses only big cats—in the past, two African elephants lived there. Curiously, despite the ongoing need for homes for tigers and other big cats that are the product of tiger cub photo/petting businesses, roadside zoos and various black market animal enterprises, Hedren notes that she is never contacted about taking in such animals at Shambala. She touches on the making of “Roar”—a cinematic undertaking that spanned more than a decade (and occupied a substantial portion of the memoir), beset with a long string of disasters, including escaped lions, numerous injuries to cast and crew, fires, floods and more; “Roar” was long ago called “the most dangerous movie ever made,” and when given the chance in this interview, Hedren chooses not to dispute that description. While the section about the misadventures of “Roar,” constitutes by far the largest section of “Tippi,” yet nearly every review and story about the book has focused part she devoted to discussing her work and relationship with Alfred Hitchcock—understandable, given Hitchcock’s stature and, especially, that she alleges that director sexually assaulted her. Yet, when I bring that up in our interview, she laughs it off, dismissing its importance each time I try to follow-up on. We talk about other topics, including legislation to protect big cats, and her thoughts on how to respond to Ringling Bros., which has suspended the use of elephants in its circus, but still presents other animals, including tigers and lions. (www.shambala.org)

ALSO: I spoke with Joe Waltman, co-founder of VetPronto, a relatively new company that offers house-call veterinary services for dogs and cats. VetPronto was launched in San Francisco, and is now expanding to seven new cities, including New York, Chicago, Washington, DC, and Tampa. (www.vetpronto.com)

COMEDY CORNER: Nate Bergatze’s “Thinking About Buying A Home Security System? Consider A Tiger” (www.natebargatze.com)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” Van Morrison’s “The Lion This Time,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: The Tokens’ “The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)”

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

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CBS News Correspondent Sam Litzinger has the story of a cellist who released an album JUST FOR CATS. That story and more on Talking Animals.

Johns Hopkins faced harsh criticism after they euthanized pigs AFTER medical students performed practice surgeries. Plus -- are you guilty of talking in baby talk to your pet? CBS News Correspondent Sam Litzinger reports.

Dr. Jennifer Conrad—the veterinarian and founder of The Paw Project, which has long educated the public about the painful and crippling effects of feline declawing, and who, as of this interview, has made more appearances on “Talking Animals” than any other guest–reviews what exactly the feline declaw procedure involves. She notes that the term is a misnomer, that it more aptly should be called “de-knuckling,” as it really is an amputation. Conrad discusses the impact on the cat, starting with the intense pain caused by the procedure—which most owners never recognize, because cats are notoriously stoic—and which also include significant problems using the litter box (their paws hurt them and can no longer dig) and, because they no longer can scratch to protect themselves, they often start biting. These two developments, Conrad points out, frequently lead to the cat being surrendered to a shelter or otherwise removed from the house. She also addresses the financial motives for veterinarians performing the declaw procedure (a $1 billion industry), since there is no legitimate medical reason, for either the cat or any humans in the household, carry out declaw. Among the resources on The Paw Project website is a list of veterinarians across the country who do not perform the declaw procedure. Conrad recounts her earliest legislative efforts to help impose declaw bans, beginning in West Hollywood, later followed by seven more California cities (including Los Angeles and San Francisco). She details the current legislative status in New York and New Jersey, which both appear to be within striking distance of imposing statewide declaw bands. (www.pawproject.org)

COMEDY CORNER: Jake Johannsen’s “Whale Watching” (www.jakethis.com)

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

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Jethro Tull’s “Mother Goose”

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

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The snow leopard population is becoming increasingly scarce. CBS News Correspondent Sam Litzinger has the story.

When it is appropriate to step in when a wild animal is in distress? CBS News Correspondent Sam Litzinger finds out.