Richard Conniff

Documents Allege a Federal Agent at Portland ICE Threatened to Shoot an Ambulance Driver Feds delayed medics who had come to pick up an injured protester. Then, according to confidential incident reports, the agents became aggressive.

Federal agents in Portland, OR, blocked an ambulance trying to take an injured protestor to the hospital & threatened to shoot the driver www.wweek.com/news/2025/10...

The Wildlife Pet Trade is a Global Disaster And it's going to keep wrecking the natural world--till we stop paying for it.

Stop buying wildlife pets—turtles, parrots, lizards, ferrets, even tropical fish—until the global pet industry gets serious about protecting and rebuilding species and habitats. richardconniff.substack.com/p/the-wildli...

The Wildlife Pet Trade is a Global Disaster And it's going to keep wrecking the natural world--till we stop paying for it.

Big news! @IUCN members approve Motion 108 to set guardrails on the global wildlife pet trade. open.substack.com/pub/richardc...

It's never been legal to export Galapagos iguanas from Ecuador. But pet dealers still sell them "legally" in Europe. Time to crack down on the wildlife pet trade. richardconniff.substack.com/p/the-wildli...

Tally Ho! European Robin at Two O'Clock Bats, the sonic masterminds of the skies, score an astonishing kill.

Some bats hunt and eat migrating songbirds at high altitude 🌿 richardconniff.substack.com/p/tally-ho-e...

The Wildlife Pet Trade is a Global Disaster And it's going to keep wrecking the natural world--till we stop paying for it.

IUCN will likely vote Monday to set guardrails for the wildlife pet trade. Originally just for terrestrial wildlife but now extended to ALL wildlife. open.substack.com/pub/richardc...

Tally Ho! European Robin at Two O'Clock Bats, the sonic masterminds of the skies, score an astonishing kill.

Halfway in, it dawned on me that this is a Halloween story. I’d never previously thought of the world’s top science journals scheduling articles for a publicity boost from seasonal holidays. But, hey, Science, you got me! 🌿 richardconniff.substack.com/p/tally-ho-e...

Tally Ho! European Robin at Two O'Clock Bats, the sonic masterminds of the skies, score an astonishing kill.

Some bats hunt and eat migrating songbirds at high altitude 🌿 richardconniff.substack.com/p/tally-ho-e...

Tally Ho! European Robin at Two O'Clock Bats, the sonic masterminds of the skies, score an astonishing kill.

Halfway in, it dawned on me that this is a Halloween story. I’d never previously thought of the world’s top science journals scheduling articles for a publicity boost from seasonal holidays. But, hey, Science, you got me! 🌿 richardconniff.substack.com/p/tally-ho-e...

Hey, #Connecticut residents, you can find your #vaccination record since 2020 here: ctwizpublicportal.dph.ct.gov

The shsssssssh-shsssssssh of boots walking through fallen leaves in the Connecticut woods

Cartoon by @mluckovich.bsky.social.

I haven’t noticed the decrease but yes people are afraid

It's never been legal to export Galapagos iguanas from Ecuador. But pet dealers still sell them "legally" in Europe. Time to crack down on the wildlife pet trade. richardconniff.substack.com/p/the-wildli...

The IUCN will consider the wildlife pet trade at its meeting next week in Abu Dhabi. Time to act on a wildlife pet trade that's gone off the rails. 🌿

The Wildlife Pet Trade is a Global Disaster And it's going to keep wrecking the natural world--till we stop paying for it.

Stop buying wildlife pets—turtles, parrots, lizards, ferrets, even tropical fish—until the global pet industry gets serious about protecting and rebuilding species and habitats. richardconniff.substack.com/p/the-wildli...

Suriname pledges to permanently protect 90% of its forests, far exceeding the 30x30 global goal for climate and biodiversity protection During NYC Climate Week, Suriname vowed to protect 90% of its forest cover in perpetuity, a historic pledge ahead of COP30 talks.

The S. American nation of Suriname just pledged to preserve 90% of its forests in perpetuity. Congratulations to the Suriname people, to President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, & to Russ Mittermeier of Re:Wild who has worked for years to make this happen. www.rewild.org/press/surina...

Five corporations control 90% of the US media market.

Airlines merged from 12 major carriers in 1980 to 4 today.

Four giants control 80% of meat processing.

A handful of companies control the pharmaceutical industry.

The evidence of corporate concentration is everywhere.

Republicans Move to Shut Down Dissent It's not just Trump. The entire party is now out to kill free speech.

This is from back before the Jimmy Kimmel fracas, but it's just getting worse. richardconniff.substack.com/p/republican...

Sound the Horn & Let the Hounds Hunt Foxes may be off the menu, but some hunting is still bloody good fun.

A kind word for rich folk on horseback and their packs of baying, slobbering hounds.
open.substack.com/pub/richardc...

It wasn't a secret, but Trump admits he's using the power of the presidency to fatten his own bank account.

Trump Justice Dept. Closed Investigation Into Tom Homan for Accepting Bag of Cash

Border czar Tom Homan accepts bag stuffed w $50,000 cash, promises government contracts, gets recorded by FBI. Trump #DOJ says, "yeah, no credible evidence of any criminal wrongdoing.” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/u...

When Dolphins Partner with a Fisherman On Florida's Gulf Coast, two very different mammals develop a mutual thing.

The first known U.S. dolphin-human fishing partnership has turned up in Florida. Plus: A tale of drunken monkeys. (Photo: Jefferee Woo) richardconniff.substack.com/p/when-dolph...

Oil and Gas Air Pollution is a Killer But we don't care because we think other people pay the price.

Air pollution from oil & gas kills >91,000 Americans yearly, particularly poorer communities.

@richardconniff.bsky.social’s story highlights new research by @ucl.ac.uk Geography’s Prof. Eloise Marais & @kohrathefog.bsky.social.

#AirPollution #EnvironmentalJustice #UCLGeography @uclnews.bsky.social

Also worth contemplating their handiwork, from an 1863 photo of escaped slave Peter Gordon. This photo is now deemed "corrosive ideology" by the Trump regime and banned from display in our National Parks.

Haunting image of three southern slaveholders, c. 1850. The banal face of evil. Original daguerreotype in the Metropolitan Museum, colorized and restored by Frank Hellsten

These Canada geese have an almost mathematical idea of acceptable social distance

Workers Are Getting Fired Over Posts Mocking Charlie Kirk’s Death Campaigns to alert employers to contentious posts are posing new challenges for bosses; ‘This is very different’ from past political controversies at work.

One rIght-wing activist calls c. 500 companies to blackball employees posting disapproval of Charlie Kirk. Keep it in mind next time you see someone posting sexist, racist, homophobic, or otherwise neo-Nazi beliefs. www.wsj.com/business/cha...

Authors will do almost anything to promote their books. But I'd draw the line at deliberately getting bitten by a black mamba. richardconniff.substack.com/p/how-to-get...

Authors will do almost anything to promote their books. But I'd draw the line at deliberately getting bitten by a black mamba. richardconniff.substack.com/p/how-to-get...