Free Talk Live

On Sunday, the Swiss will vote in a referendum to decide whether states should appoint special attorneys to represent animals in court. In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, Zurich's animal-rights lawyer, Antoine Goetschel, speaks about the job, the vote's chances of success and why eco-friendly Switzerland needs even more animal-protection laws.

PROBABLY HOMELESS AND LOOKING FOR SHELTER. A 38-year-old man brought a prescription pill to the police station Monday and asked to be arrested for drug possession. Christopher Dennis Dollar came into the police station lobby and handed the pill to an officer, according to a news release from the DeFuniak Springs Police Department. He told the officer that he needed to be arrested for possession of Xanax without a prescription. Dollars was charged with a third-degree felony for possession of drugs without a prescription.

This is why you should only call the police if it is your absolute last resort...

Man beaten and charged with felony after calling the cops to report his son's suicide. All he did was ask a police offer not to touch him after the officer came up behind him, grabbed his arm, and told him that he had to sit down.

Animal rights group wants to change entire egg industry

MINNEAPOLIS - The animal rights group that exposed animal cruelty by employees at Litchfield-based Sparboe Farms wants retailers to adopt new rules when it comes to the type of eggs they sell.

Mercy for Animals says it's time to change the entire egg industry.

Video of maltreatment of chickens taken at Sparboe Farms by Mercy for Animals has prompted McDonald's and Target to stop buying eggs from the egg producer.

A new state law is making it a felony to assault a city sanitation worker.Sponsors of the bill say the city's garbage haulers face potential harassment for simply doing their jobs and some have been assaulted.The law provides sanitation workers with the same protection as police officers and firefighters and includes stiffer penalties for those who attack the workers.Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the bill Friday, and it will take effect 30 days from then.

Our friends at the Electronic Frontier Foundation have released a handy "Tips for Talking to the Police" cheatsheet intended to help you understand your rights, specifically in regards to searching your digital stuff.

SB 1246 by Sen. Jim Norman, R-Tampa, would make it a first-degree felony to photograph a farm without first obtaining written permission from the owner. A farm is defined as any land "cultivated for the purpose of agricultural production, the raising and breeding of domestic animals or the storage of a commodity."

As [Westword] reported earlier this month, the shooting of Chloe, the beloved dog of Gary Branson, has caused quite a stir. The incident was caught on video, and footage showing an officer firing shots at the dog five times has led to an outpouring of support on a petition page and a Justice for Chloe Facebook page. And now the Adams County District Attorney's office has announced that Robert Price, the officer, is facing a felony charge of animal cruelty.

In 2009 People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) put a few more notches on its belt—2,301, to be exact. That’s how many cats and dogs met their demise at the hands of this radical animal rights group last year, according to PETA’s own “Animal Record” filings with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.