At the 2025 Sangamon County Fair, two capuchin monkeys were dressed in costumes and strapped to dogs racing around a small track, an act Illinois has since banned. Marc Ayers, Illinois state director for Humane World for Animals, attended the disturbing Banana Derby performance and said the monkeys repeatedly grasped at the guardrails as the dogs rounded the track. Big cats were still being used in traveling performances across Illinois. Culpepper & Merriweather Circus toured

Three mule deer were the first animals documented using a new wildlife overpass on U.S. 97 in Northern California while the project was still nearing completion, according to researchers from the UC Davis Road Ecology Center and the California Department of Transportation. A trail camera captures three mule deer crossing the new U.S. 97 wildlife overpass near Grass Lake in Siskiyou County. The project is California’s first wildlife overcrossing over a state highway. Photo cou

An investigation into wildlife tourism and food sourcing in Southeast Asia has placed renewed scrutiny on David Marriott, chairman of Marriott International and a trustee of the National Geographic Society. The investigation, released June 9, 2026, by the International Council for Animal Welfare, examines wildlife tourism attractions and food suppliers in Thailand and Bali, Indonesia. Investigators say the facilities are connected to Marriott-linked travel offerings and the c