Animals

Is fiction good for us? We spend huge chunks of our lives immersed in novels, films, TV shows, and other forms of fiction. Some see this as a positive thing, arguing that made-up stories cultivate our mental and moral development. But others have argued that fiction is mentally and ethically corrosive. It's an ancient question: Does fiction build the morality of individuals and societies, or does it break it down? This controversy has been flaring up — sometimes literally, in the form of book burnings — ever since Plato tried to ban fiction from his ideal republic.

A sheriff says his office is investigating after horses repeatedly escaped from the Ohio farm where dozens of exotic animals were released by their suicidal owner and later killed by authorities last fall. Two surviving leopards, two primates and a bear were returned to the owner's widow and the farm near Zanesville this month. That left some people concerned because nothing in Ohio law allows state officials to check on the animals' welfare. Last week, horses were reported outside the farm three days in a row. Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz (lootz)

When the orphan arrived, Daphne Sheldrick felt her heart sink: "She was the smallest elephant I had ever seen — still covered in the soft fuzz of elephant infancy, her tiny trunk tinged with pink, toenails of pale yellow — soft and brand new. " Gauging the color and softness of the baby's ears, it was clear she was under 3 weeks old. Sheldrick was experienced at saving all kinds of animal babies, elephants in particular. They came in droves from the 1970s onward, as ivory poachers shot, hacked, and maimed their way across Kenya.

When the orphan arrived, Daphne Sheldrick felt her heart sink: "She was the smallest elephant I had ever seen — still covered in the soft fuzz of elephant infancy, her tiny trunk tinged with pink, toenails of pale yellow — soft and brand new. " Gauging the color and softness of the baby's ears, it was clear she was under 3 weeks old. Sheldrick was experienced at saving all kinds of animal babies, elephants in particular. They came in droves from the 1970s onward, as ivory poachers shot, hacked, and maimed their way across Kenya.

SALEM — At 9 a.m. one day last week, a minivan with West Virginia plates pulled into the parking lot behind the Northeast Animal Shelter (NEAS) in Salem. Caged in back were 22 dogs: 7 adults and 15 puppies. All healthy, all adorable. Having survived a 15-hour car ride, they yelped with relief as shelter workers greeted them with smiles and hugs — and a few tears, too. Back home, these dogs had been deemed all-too-expendable; had they not made it to Salem, they would almost certainly have been euthanized.

Horse racing has long withstood the deaths of its skittish, injury-prone thoroughbreds. Hollywood proved it lacks the stomach for it. HBO abruptly cancelled its racetrack drama series "Luck" this past week after three horses used in the production were injured and euthanized during 10 months of filming in the last two years. The abrupt fall of "Luck," which will end its single-season run on March 25, reveals the chasm between the racing and entertainment industries. At the track, a horse puts its life on the line so gamblers can stake $2 or more to...

Police at Rhode Island's T.F. Green Airport said Tuesday that a domestic dispute was behind an incident in which gun components and ammunition were found hidden inside a child's stuffed animals, including a Mickey Mouse. Authorities later allowed the 4-year-old boy and his father to continue their travel to Detroit after concluding the man didn't pose a risk, authorities said. He told police that he didn't know the parts were inside the stuffed toys. "It appears to be the result of a domestic dispute," Rhode Island Airport Police Chief Leo Messier...

VIENNA - First there was the fuss over a bear called Bruno, killed by German sharpshooters after he wandered across the border from Italy. Now, on the Austrian side of the same Alpine range, officials are investigating the disappearance of about 20 brown bears. A joint investigation by Austrian authorities, environmentalists, and hunters was launched this past summer after the local chapter of the World Wide Fund For Nature raised the alarm about the vanishing bears. The organization, which keeps tabs on bears through genetic analyses of fur and droppings, began...

Wow, what an ignorant editorial on the cat leash proposal in Concord (" Cats: If you like it, put a bell on it ," May 3). Concern for songbirds drove Lydia Lodnysky's proposal that the town of Concord adopt rules about cat ownership. But her proposal was doomed because people's view of cats is outdated. Cats are supposedly so independent that no laws should apply to their ownership. Let them roam freely, so that they can get mangled by a car, coyote, dog, insane person — by all means, allow them to be the innately wild creatures that they are. Imagine...

The Rhode Island Senate has voted to give animals a court advocate in cases in which the welfare of an animal is involved. The Senate approved the legislation earlier this week. It now moves to the House, which is already considering its own version of the bill. State Sen. John Tassoni sponsored the proposal. It would allow a state veterinarian or a representative of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to act as a court advocate in animal abuse or neglect cases.

Wow, what an ignorant editorial on the cat leash proposal in Concord (" Cats: If you like it, put a bell on it ," May 3). Concern for songbirds drove Lydia Lodnysky's proposal that the town of Concord adopt rules about cat ownership. But her proposal was doomed because people's view of cats is outdated. Cats are supposedly so independent that no laws should apply to their ownership. Let them roam freely, so that they can get mangled by a car, coyote, dog, insane person — by all means, allow them to be the innately wild creatures that they are. Imagine if people in cities and everywhere...

An animal welfare group in Zimbabwe says poachers are now targeting rare anteaters because of a growing demand for exotic animal parts for Asian traditional medicine. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said Thursday that the outer scales of a young male pangolin, a rare type of anteater that is legally protected, were recently removed by poachers in northwestern Zimbabwe. The body of the anteater was recovered from poachers. The scales appeared to have already been sold, the group said.

A Dorchester man has been sentenced to six months in jail for neglecting his dog to the point where it had to be euthanized, prosecutors said Monday. Dana Thomson, 34, pleaded guilty in Dorchester District Court last week to two counts of cruelty to animals for failing to provide food or medical care to his dog, Braun. Judge Robert Baylor sentenced Thomson to six months in jail, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley's office said. Staff at the MSPCA-Angell animal hospital said Braun was emaciated and had more than a dozen open wounds, according to prosecutors.

The Rhode Island Senate has voted to give animals a court advocate in cases in which the welfare of an animal is involved. The Senate approved the legislation last week. It now moves to the House, which is already considering its own version of the bill. State Senator John Tassoni sponsored the proposal. It would allow a state veterinarian or a representative of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to act as a court advocate in animal abuse or neglect cases. The advocate would make recommendations to a judge in cases in which an animal may be removed from a person's custody.

In a recent issue of National Geographic, celebrity dog "whisperer" Cesar Millan disparaged the White House's treatment of its resident dogs. "When you see the president of the United States coming out of Air Force One, you always see the dog in front. When the president goes inside the White House, you see the dog going in first," he said, referencing his assertion that, in the wild, leader wolves never let subordinates go before them, and that humans must do the same in order to control domesticated canines.

WHO: Globe writer James H. Burnett III, his wife, and toddler son WHERE: Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary WHAT: Bird-watching, interacting with animals, hiking nature trails, and sampling farm work. You don't have to look far in Greater Boston to find an animal to watch or pet. Between the pound, the zoo, and your neighbors' backyards, there's plenty of four-legged fodder. But if you want an educational experience with your animal ogling, there may be no better place in New England than Drumlin Farm in Lincoln, the headquarters of the Massachusetts...

DANVERS — Jim and Lynda Juppe take their little ones to church, and the girls both wear their Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes. Pallina, 8, is decked out in her favorite dress, with a red rhinestone barrette in her hair. Her fingernails are painted pink. Mia, 9, is the tomboy in the family and sports a black faux-leather jacket and some Bruins beads. The Rev. Thea Keith-Lucas welcomes everyone to Calvary Episcopal Church. There are hymns, readings, a sermon, prayers, offering, and communion.

Even as a youngster, Rollie looked older and wiser than his years. His white mustache sprouted longer by the month, until it flamed from his cheeks like a German kaiser's. Sometimes, it all but hid his mouth. In the last few years, though, the tribulations of age - not just the appearance of it - have begun catching up with Rollie. It wasn't immediately noticeable on the outside. But his keepers are reminded each time they get a look past the emperor tamarin's flowing whiskers, and into his jaws.

The Rhode Island Senate has voted to give animals a court advocate in cases in which the welfare of an animal is involved. The Senate approved the legislation earlier this week. It now moves to the House, which is already considering its own version of the bill. State Sen. John Tassoni sponsored the proposal. It would allow a state veterinarian or a representative of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to act as a court advocate in animal abuse or neglect cases.

The New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shelter has gone green. The shelter on Portsmouth Avenue has been refitted to improve its insulation and convert from oil heat to wood-pellet boilers and solar thermal collectors. The improvements are expected to save the facility $50,000 annually. The work was funded in part by a $13,000 rebate from the utility company Unitil, and $11,000 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Tom Long