While it's true that McDonald's McRibs are made partially out of a substance used to make soles of shoes, there is still a percentage of the limited-edition sandwich that comes from a pig, and that percentage is subject to some horrific mistreatment from the humans that raise it, according to a new lawsuit. more ›

The Fall TV season has barely gotten going and already we're starting to hear about shows in development for next year. One in particular that caught our eye is a potential ABC nighttime soap called Bazirkus about life at a Ringling Bros.-like circus. And after PBS' awesome circus miniseries Circus, we're so ready for this. But is PETA? more ›

Good news for animal lovers: today, the Long Island swan that was cruelly impaled with an arrow by some sick person in July was released back into the wild, arrow-free. more ›

An Oyster Bay woman was arrested for allegedly suffocating her friend's dog by placing hair ties around its snout, a creatively sick way to torture an animal. more ›

A sad story for animal lovers and generally decent people: An East Harlem resident was jailed today in upstate New York for allegedly kicking a seagull so hard it had to be euthanized. more ›

And you thought Coffee the dog had it bad. Police yesterday arrested an East Harlem man and charged him with aggravated cruelty to animals after security footage of him throwing around and whipping his pit bull puppy in his building's elevator came to light. The puppy, which is doing fine, has been taken to an Animal Care & Control shelter in Manhattan. more ›

The Post's Andrea Peyser is now taking up the saga of slain hamster, Sweetie, who was killed during a Brooklyn family's dispute, because it's the perfect opportunity to wax about how trying to prosecute people who kill pets is a "waste of resources." Guess she hasn't read how animal and/or pet abuse can predict other abusive behavior! more ›

P.S. 16 teacher Ana Herra was arrested by ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement agents yesterday for misdemeanor animal cruelty after neglecting her dog so badly she needed to be put down. Neighbors in Corona reportedly called the ASPCA to report a matted dog, and agents found Julie, a mixed breed dog around 13-years-old, so weak and matted that she was unable to stand. more ›

Diane Indelicato, 46, of Ruff House animal shelter has been arrested for felony theft after stealing two pedigree pups and refusing to return them to their owners, instead shipping them to a foster home in New Jersey. But Indelicato, described as a "zealot," says she was just looking out for the dogs! She told Newsday (paywall) on Friday that she found the dogs were "infested with fleas" and "didn't have full mobility of moving their legs or their head because they were so severely matted. Would you give them back to somebody, you know?" more ›

On June 18th, John Lendino—a 53-year-old "deranged deaf mute"—stomped a 4-week-old pit bull puppy to death in Tompkins Square Park. He was in court yesterday wearing a Born To Be Wild t-shirt and sticking his tongue out at reporters, according to the NY Post, yet he remains free on $5,000 bail, a fact that has outraged many. Manhattan prosecutors say they're waiting for Lendino's psychiatric records before bringing him before a grand jury, however—which isn't due to happen until the end of November. more ›

A man from Uniondale, Long Island is now behind bars for felony robbery charges, but this all comes after he also violently tortured his girlfriend's 5-month-old kitten. Shomari Ferguson allegedly beat the cat when his girlfriend was at work. Apparently the girlfriend's landlord called her to say that he heard loud thuds and screeching from the kitten, so the girlfriend asked her roommate to investigate. According to the Nassau County DA's office, the roommate found "the kitten in the closet, smelling strongly of bleach, and its face covered in blood, pus, and saliva. The kitten was unable to open its eyes." more ›

The Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals has sent us these photos of the dog who was thrown to the ground in Williamsburg last week by 30-year-old Alexandra Mendez-Diaz—who prior to bodyslamming the dog on to North 7th Street declared she was "the Queen of Brooklyn." more ›

A local Brooklyn resident tells us that the NYPD immediately reached out to the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals to get the Williamsburg dog who was thrown to the ground Wednesday night the veterinary care he needed. The resident contacted them in hopes of adopting the dog, who is now going by the name Will, and was told he is currently in intensive care but stable at a veterinary hospital. more ›

Wednesday night a woman who bodyslammed her dog on to the pavement drew a crowd at North 7th Street (and Driggs) in Williamsburg. At around 9:30 p.m. she allegedly began throwing things out her window before walking her dog downstairs and throwing it to the ground. Though there's no word on whether or not the dog survived the ordeal (many witnesses said it was panting and barely alive), we've confirmed with the precinct that the woman, 30-year-old Alexandra Mendez-Diaz, has been charged with animal torture and marijuana possession. more ›

A Long Island man who is the assistant principal at a Brooklyn public school was arrested for allegedly starving, abusing and abandoning a French bulldog in a Freeport apartment. According to the Long Island Press, a neighbor contacted authorities back in 2008 after noticing an "overpowering odor" from Frank Hopson's home: "When she approached the window, she could see a small tan dog sitting in the closed-up bathroom caked with feces and urine, prosecutors said." more ›

An assistant district attorney couldn't contain his laughter in court yesterday while reading a suspect's statement about how she kicked her dog unconscious for relieving itself in a building elevator. "He was laughing and had to turn away because he couldn't control the laughter," said Legal Aid attorney, Stacy Schneider, who is defending suspected animal abuser Tiara Davis. "I didn't see any humor in the statement." more ›

The alleged serial cat killer has escaped from jail island. Sean Lynde, 37, had been charged with killing five of his girlfriend's cats between October 2008 and January 2009. He pled guilty today in a no-jail deal, where he admitted to killing one of the cats, Bonafide (who was a 2-month-old male, somehow broke two vertebrae in his neck, slipped into a coma and subsequently died), has to undergo weekly psychotherapy sessions for a year and must stay away from "his now ex-girlfriend and her surviving pet, a dog named Sasha." more ›

A Hells Kitchen man has been charged with beating his girlfriend's dog with a belt and blinding it in one eye when she was out of town for an acting gig. Joseph Graves, 30, is accused of abusing Broadway actress Ashley Yeater's four-year-old Yorkshire terrier when he was supposed to be pet-sitting the pooch on Jan. 16. more ›

Park Slope's Animal Kind Clinic insists ASPCA colleagues didn't tell the whole story—or much of the story at all—when they accused veterinarian John Morehead of kicking a dying Rotweiller named Bullet at the Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital. In an email to Gothamist, the pet hospital that now employs Dr. Morehead wrote that he is an "exemplary" and "excellent" veterinarian, adding that "allegations of his causing a dog's death which were printed in the Daily News are false.  The dog—who was aggressive toward Dr. Morehead—died of the illness he had when he arrived at the ASPCA." more ›

The Long Island mother accused of torturing and killing cats and dogs and forcing her children to take part in the abuse might plead not guilty by reason of insanity. After getting hit with additional felony charges of animal cruelty and child endangerment yesterday, the lawyer representing Selden resident Sharon McDonough said he is "considering an insanity defense" for his client, who so far has pleaded not guilty, according to 1010WINS. Investigators uncovered the remains of 42 animals in her backyard after her son alerted authorities, claiming his mother "would buy the dog, treat it like it was the greatest dog in the world for a few days, then they would sit in the cage until she decided to kill them." more ›

The Long Island woman accused of torturing at least 42 cats and dogs and burying them in her backyard has been indicted on four additional felony counts of animal cruelty — as well as dozens of counts of child endangerment for allegedly forcing her kids to take part in the abuse. Sharon McDonough, 43, is expected to be arraigned on the new charges on Thursday. She has already been indicted on felony charges of aggravated cruelty to animals, and misdemeanor charges of torturing and injuring animals and endangering the welfare of a child. Her attorney told Newsday that "she continues to stand by her not guilty plea." The Post reports that McDonough remains in jail with bail set at $100,000. McDonough's son has said she ran a "concentration camp for the animals." more ›

Just days after a man was caught on surveillance camera kicking a dog in an elevator in the General Grant Houses, police uncovered footage of another woman abusing a pooch inside the Morningside Heights housing project. Surveillance video shows 31-year-old Tiara Davis kicking her 9-pound Pomeranian, named Sparky, and yanking on its leash until it went unconscious in a building elevator, according to the Daily News. more ›

While investigating the fatal stabbing of a nine-year-old boy in a Harlem housing project, police officers uncovered video of a building resident abusing a dog, according to the Huffington Post. In their review of surveillance tapes from the elevators of the General Grant Houses, cops found footage showing 21-year-old suspect Chris Grant coaxing a 10-pound Pomeranian-Chihuahua, named Chuvi-Duvi, to climb on his leg before kicking it repeatedly. more ›

Cops caught an 18-year-old suspected of getting it on with horses at the Goshen Historic Track in Orange County. After a six-month sting, investigators used surveillance footage to nab Erick Rivera, who was hit with multiple charges for sexual misconduct with an animal and burglary at the Hudson Valley harness track. The teen allegedly left his rented room near the track and crept into the unlocked stables after midnight at least a dozen times. Officials became suspicious in July when "they found the fillies bridled and immobilized in their stalls during morning checks," according to the Daily News. Goshen Village Police Chief James Watt had this to say about the suspect, who is being held in lieu of $15,000 bail: "This guy makes Michael Vick look like a charter member of PETA."
more ›