Better Dead Than Bred, the rallying cry of rogue activists from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) erupted loudly in Vallejo, California, in 2018. Bursting into a major dog competition, these activists caused the death of many pure-bred show dogs by releasing the animals and shooing them outside onto a nearby highway. Also, in searing heat, they unplugged the electricity to their owners' motorhomes, killing the air conditioning and, consequently, killing the show dogs sheltering inside. “Better dead than bred!” they yelled. It was disgusting. It was horrible. It was riveting. The movement’s existence and raison d’être raise some massive questions, tackled here in this tale of a decent man lured into hell by an animal rights activist who believes he’s the devil and that his life’s purpose is to tempt good people into evil. Sean Bergmann is a retired engineer, happily married and living a comfortably insulated life with his two beloved shelties, Opi and Echo, whom he trains to compete in dog shows. But just as Opi enters the ring for the Best in Show contest, Sean Bergmann’s ordinary life collides with a force that is distinctly out of the ordinary. Cooper Newsome and three of his activist acolytes invade the show, open crates, and scatter the precious dogs. In the process, Opi is killed and Echo goes missing. Cooper leaves his business card, inscribed with the words “Better Dead Than Bred.” Sean vows revenge at whatever cost. This story follows both the revenge and its cost, including Sean’s involvement with Cooper's organization so he might spy on the activists until he’s learned enough to cause them meaningful damage. But he loses his identity and ethical core along the way, eventually even participating in the theft of puppies to be sold to a dog fight organizer. Sean achieves retribution at last in this battle for animal rights and his soul in the form of a furious conflagration that wipes out the bad guys . . . or does it?

Wild Life documents a nuanced understanding of the wild versus captive divide in species conservation. It also documents the emerging understanding that all forms of wild nature—both in situ (on-site) and ex situ (in captivity)—may need to be managed in perpetuity. Providing a unique window into the high-stakes world of nature conservation, Irus Braverman describes the heroic efforts by conservationists to save wild life. Yet in the shadows of such dedication and persistence in saving the life of species, Wild Life also finds sacrifice and death. Such life and death stories outline the modern struggle to define what conservation should look like at a time when the long-established definitions of nature have collapsed. Wild Life begins with the plight of a tiny endangered snail, and ends with the rehabilitation of an entire island. Interwoven between its pages are stories about golden lion tamarins in Brazil, black-footed ferrets in the American Plains, Sumatran rhinos in Indonesia, Tasmanian devils in Australia, and many more creatures both human and nonhuman. Braverman draws on interviews with more than one hundred and twenty conservation biologists, zoologists, zoo professionals, government officials, and wildlife managers to explore the various perspectives on in situ and ex situ conservation and the blurring of the lines between them.

Why Parrots? Why Aviculture? By: Tom Marshall After Tom Marshall returned from his work with the Peace Corps in the Philippines and restarted his teaching career, he has nurtured his love of parrots. His fascination began with a large green Amazon parrot that was gifted to him by another teacher with no instructions for care for this intimidating bird. He began reading all he could about parrots and finally started to hit it off with his avian friend after six months. Why Parrots? Combines personal anecdotes and experience with important information about personal responsibility for parrots as well as the importance of conservation of these fantastic creatures’ habitat so that future generations can continue to enjoy their beauty and intelligence.

Includes a statistical issue (title varies slightly) 1947-