Animal-rights activists claim an orca is being held in an "inadequate tank" in the Miami Seaquarium. The federal complaint focuses on a whale named Lolita, who was captured more than 40 years ago, and has been held at the Miami Seaquarium. Read the rest of the article in the Courthouse News Service. They sued the National Marine Fisheries Service for excluding captive killer whales from listing under the Endangered Species Act. MORE

O’Barry has been on a dolphin-protection crusade since the day in 1970 that Kathy, one of the dolphins that played Flipper, died in a steel tank at the Miami Seaquarium while he was holding her. I just read this story today. The moment Flipper died in his arms, Richard O’Barry was transformed from a dolphin trainer into an activist determined to free captive dolphins around the world. That was 39 years ago. MORE

San Diego; Austin, Texas; Miami; and Portland, Ore. Community Dog Walks Will Be Co-Hosted by local YMCAs in Cities across the Country. Mars Petcare announced it will sponsor a series of “Woof Walk” fun runs as part of THE POWER OF PETS™ program for 2011. MORE

In addition to New York City, Purina ONE® beyOnd™ street teams took to three other cities – Denver, New Orleans and Miami – asking randomly selected people to help spread goodness by selecting a charity to receive $5,000. We got some great holiday news in our inbox this morning! MORE

Winners First Place: Tammy Apostol, an independent designer in Miami, FL, for her “Green Organic Cotton Gown,” a strapless mermaid silhouette gown with a back train. Received this press release yesterday. MORE

Here is a synopsis from a Brown University web site about his case : Matthew Block, of Worldwide Primates, Miami, FL, was sentenced to 13 months in federal prison, three years of supervised probation, and a $30,000 fine at a 2-day sentence hearing on April 16, 1993. Worldwide Primates Inc. was started by Mathew Block to import primates into the US for animal experimentation. In 1993, he went to prison for smuggling baby orangutans. MORE

Our most insidious institution -- as my talk in Miami in 10 days (August 29th) will explain! If you know anyone in Miami and vicinity who might enjoy an eye-opening evening among eye-opening evenings, let me know and I'll e-mail or mail you a flier to give them -- or will send it straight to them if you give me the information. MORE