Mouse glue traps for sale at a hardware store in Ann Arbor on Oct. 3, 2026. They would be banned under a new law pending final approval from City Council. (Ryan Stanton | MLive.com)Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News
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City Council voted 9-0 Monday night, Oct. 19, to give final approval to a new ordinance prohibiting the traps because of the slow and painful deaths and prolonged suffering they cause.
“Glue traps are inhumane and they are a cruel practice that has no place in our society,” Mayor Christopher Taylor said, calling a full ban on them the right thing to do.
Mayor Christopher Taylor and other city officials at the Ann Arbor City Council meeting Oct. 19, 2026. (Ryan Stanton | MLive.com)Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News
Council Member Ayesha Ghazi Edwin, lead sponsor, thanked Ward 3 resident Jeff Zick and others from PETA for their leadership on the issue, saying they’ve led with empathy.
“Animals are not trash and humans are not gods, but too often we behave as though those things are true,” Zick told council members, thanking them for setting a national example that all creatures deserve consideration.
“We are all animals,” he said. “We are all part of the same interconnected natural world.”
The ordinance takes effect 60 days after publication. A violation will be a civil infraction punishable by a fine up to $250 for a first offense and between $250 and $500 for each additional offense.
The ban does not apply to glue traps for insects or spiders, and people still can use other types of traps, including lethal snap traps or no-kill traps.
Hunters in southern Michigan will get the chance to harvest a bird with deep connections to the state’s sporting history this fall and winter, Michigan Department of Natural Resources officials have announced.
Starting Oct. 20, DNR is releasing thousands of pheasants at 13 state game areas ranging from the southwest corner of the state all the way east through Metro Detroit and into the Thumb.
This is the seventh year for the program, which “gives (hunters) a chance to relive the good old days of pheasant hunting, which at one point was more popular than deer hunting,” Adam Bump, DNR’s upland birds specialist, said in a press release.
The program is drawing criticism from an animal rights organization, which is calling it an inhumane act that terrorizes the distinctive birds.
“Wildlife authorities should be in the business of protecting animals, not purposefully breeding birds to be blasted out of the sky and blown apart for hunters’ cheap thrills,” said PETA spokesperson Catie Cryar in a statement. “PETA is calling on the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to put its resources toward restoring animals’ habitats instead of condemning thousands of pheasants to terrifying deaths.”
The program is funded by the $25 fee Michigan hunters pay to obtain a pheasant hunting license.
DNR partners with the Michigan Association of Gamebird Breeders and Hunting Preserves on the program, with the association supplying the birds.
This year, they’re planning to release around 7,300 pheasants in two rounds, between Oct. 20 and Nov. 14, then between Dec. 1 and New Year’s Day. These dates coincide with pheasant hunting season dates in the southern Lower Peninsula, officials said.
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For information, including parking details, hunters can visit the DNR website.
Ring-necked pheasants are ground-dwelling game birds that can grow more than 3 feet long, including their long tails. Males have iridescent copper-and-gold plumage, green heads, red facial patches and characteristic white neck rings while females are mottled tan and brown. The birds produce a distinctive fluttering rush of wings when startled into flight.
According to the state, pheasant hunting was popular in Michigan into the mid-1900s. However, the state’s wild pheasant population has steeply dropped since then as the birds have increasingly lost their grassland habitat to farmland and suburban development.
Arthur Allen Neff, 64, of Strange Creek, was arrested on a new charge of involuntary manslaughter following a hunting accident in which he accidentally shot Bobby Allen Stillwell, 42, of Strange Creek.
According to the West Virginia State Police (WVSP), Stillwell died on Monday due to injuries sustained in the shooting. EMS took him for treatment after the shooting, and he was later flown to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown.Braxton County man arrested for allegedly shooting victim while hunting
Neff was originally charged with being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, wanton endangerment and negligent shooting while hunting. He is being held in the Central Regional Jail.
This investigation remains ongoing, the WVSP said.
Kristi Noem sparked backlash after sharing a photo with her new hunting dog, Foster.MEGA
Kristi Noem is being roasted online after sharing a photo with her new hunting dog, with critics bringing up her controversial admission that she shot and killed her previous pet, Cricket, RadarOnline. com can reveal.
The former Homeland Security secretary’s post quickly turned into a flood of comments from users questioning whether her latest four-legged companion was safe.
Kristi Noem’s Hunting Photo Sparks Backlash
Kristi Noem’s latest hunting photo prompted critics to revisit her admission about killing her dog, Cricket.MEGA
Noem took to X on October 17 to share a picture with her dog, Foster, as she marked the beginning of pheasant hunting season.
“Pheasant hunting is part of who we are, and it’s a tradition worth passing on to our kids and grandkids,” she wrote.
However, the post attracted attention for reasons beyond her enthusiasm for the sport.
Users recalled the backlash that followed her account of killing Cricket in her 2024 memoir, No Going Back.
Critics urged Kristi Noem to spare her new dog.MEGA
Tommy Vietor, a former Obama National Security Council staffer, weighed in on the photo, writing, “This poor dog is staring at the camera like he’s on death row.”
Other commenters quickly joined in, saying, “SOMEONE SAVE THAT DOG,” and “Please don’t kill him.”
“The worst possible thing you could post would be a dog and a gun, lady. Come on,” another user wrote.
Kristi Noem defended her decision to kill Cricket after revealing the incident in her 2024 memoir, ‘No Going Back.’MEGA
Noem defended her decision at the time, arguing that difficult choices sometimes had to be made on a farm and that she wanted to be honest about her experiences rather than present a polished political image.
“I can understand why some people are upset about a 20-year-old story of Cricket,” she wrote on X in April 2024.
Noem later added, “The fact is, South Dakota law states that dogs who attack and kill livestock can be put down. Given that Cricket had shown aggressive behavior toward people by biting them, I decided what I did.”
Noem, 54, shared a screenshot of Talarico’s post on X and said that she preferred “Choosin’ Texas” country singer Ella Langley to Musgraves, as well as Talarico’s opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, to him.
However, Noem’s snarky message backfired when Musgraves, who has a noted record of calling out Donald Trump and members of his administration, responded with a dig at her puppy-killing past. “I don’t think you have a dog in this fight but if you did you would have shot it,” the 38-year-old singer wrote.
The one-time South Dakota governor became famous after she confessed in an anecdote in her 2024 memoir that she shot her 14-month-old dog, Cricket, to death after deeming the puppy “untrainable.”
“I hated that dog,” she wrote in No Going Back, adding that the animal was “worthless as a hunting dog” and “dangerous to anyone she came in contact with.”
She bragged at the time that it was a story that showed her as a “responsible parent, dog owner, and neighbor.” However, it led to her being widely mocked on the political spectrum.
Democratic candidate for US Senate James Talarico attended a Kacey Musgraves concert in Dallas recently (AFP/Getty)
Noem did not respond after Musgraves’s post, although fans took to the comments to cheer on the “Space Cowboy” singer. The Independent has contacted Noem for comment.
After the exchange, Talarico posted another picture of himself with Musgraves and captioned it, “Don’t mess with Texas.”
Langley, for her part, did not appear to appreciate Noem’s remarks either, as the singer untagged herself from the original post.
Kacey Musgraves Fires Back at Kristi Noem With Brutal Dog-Shooting Reference After Country Music Diss
Marija Mrakovic
Tue, October 13, 2026 at 10:15 AM PDT
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Image Credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.
Kacey Musgraves answered Kristi Noem’s country-music criticism with a reference to the politician’s own account of killing her dog. Their exchange unfolded on X on … Read More
Kacey Musgraves answered Kristi Noem’s country-music criticism with a reference to the politician’s own account of killing her dog. Their exchange unfolded on X on Oct. 12.
“I don’t think you have a dog in this fight but if you did you would have shot it,” Musgraves wrote, quoting Noem’s post, according to Us Weekly.
Noem had shared a screenshot of a post from James Talarico featuring the Texas Senate candidate with Musgraves. The two had met during the singer’s concert weekend in Dallas.
Musgraves was on the Texas stretch of her Middle of Nowhere tour, named after the album she released in May. The home-state run included performances in Houston, Austin and Dallas.
Noem Paired Her Ella Langley Preference With an Endorsement of Ken Paxton
“I’ll take @ellalangleymsic over Kacey Musgraves any day,” Noem wrote. “And if I’m choosin’ Texas, I’ll take Ken Paxton over James Talarico.”
Her wording borrowed from the title of Langley’s hit “Choosin’ Texas.” Paxton is Talarico’s Republican opponent in the U.S. Senate race; Talarico is the Democratic nominee.
Rolling Stone reported that Langley appeared to have untagged herself from Noem’s post. The publication did not report a statement from Langley explaining the change or expressing a preference between the candidates.
In No Going Back, Noem wrote about shooting Cricket, a 14-month-old wirehaired pointer she had been training as a hunting dog. The account became public when excerpts appeared before the book’s release.
Noem said Cricket disrupted a hunt and later attacked another family’s chickens. She described the dog as dangerous and defended her decision after the disclosure drew criticism, Reuters reported in April 2024.
“We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm,” Noem wrote at the time. PETA criticized her for killing Cricket rather than pursuing training or finding another home for the dog.
Talarico Attended the First of Musgraves’ Two Dallas Shows
Talarico was at the American Airlines Center on Oct. 10, the first night of Musgraves’ weekend engagement there. He posted photographs afterward, including one showing the singer taking a selfie with him.
“Thank you for having me last night, Kacey Musgraves!” he wrote. The appearance came as he resumed public campaigning after an absence his campaign attributed to the flu, according to D Magazine.
The following night, Musgraves welcomed the Mariachi Brothers for a set that included “Tú solo tú,” “Lo Hice a mi Manera” and her own “Uncertain, TX.” The McAllen siblings had previously opened her three New Braunfels shows after their family’s release from immigration detention, the magazine reported.
Days earlier, at her Oct. 8 Austin concert, Musgraves acknowledged that audience members might disagree with some of her views. She said the causes she supported and the positions she took reflected convictions she held personally, Chron reported.
“At the end of the day, I just want to bring people together,” she told the audience.
Kacey Musgraves Claps Back at Kristi Noem’s Shade With Dog-Shooting Reference
Tufayel Ahmed
Tue, October 13, 2026 at 12:54 AM PDT
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Ethan Miller; Mandel Ngan/AFP; Getty Images
Kacey Musgraves just hit back at Kristi Noem’s shady X post with one of her own. The country singer, 38, reacted to Noem saying she preferred “Choosin’ Texas” singer Ella Langley to Musgraves after Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico shared pictures of him attending Musgraves’ concert. “I’ll take @ellalangleymsic over Kacey Musgraves any day,”
The country singer, 38, reacted to Noem saying she preferred “Choosin’ Texas” singer Ella Langley to Musgraves after Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico shared pictures of him attending Musgraves’ concert.
“I’ll take @ellalangleymsic over Kacey Musgraves any day,” Noem, 54, wrote via X on Monday, October 12.
“And if I’m choosin’ Texas, I’ll take Ken Paxton over James Talarico,” she added, referring to Talarico’s opponent in the Texas Senate race, Republican state attorney general Ken Paxton.
Musgraves later reposted Noem’s post and clapped back, “I don’t think you have a dog in this fight but if you did you would have shot it.”
Musgraves was referencing Noem’s admission in 2024 that she once shot and killed her 14-month-old wirehaired pointer dog, Cricket, because the animal was a “less than worthless” and “untrainable” hunting dog.
“It was not a pleasant job, but it had to be done. And after it was over, I realized another unpleasant job needed to be done,” Noem wrote in her memoir, No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong With Politics and How We Move America Forward, admitting she also killed a goat on her farm in the same manner.
Noem defended her decision in an April 2024 X post, writing, “We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm. Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years.”
“She better be careful because if a cat gets a hold of her, cats don’t play that,” Goldberg told said. “Cats are like, ‘I’m sorry, are you pointing something at me? Girl, I’ll rearrange everything on your body. You better get away from me.’ Cats don’t play!”
“This is a puppy,” added Alyssa Farah Griffin. “If your dog is acting wrongly, it is because you are incompetent at training that dog. When I grew up, we had big dogs and we had chickens. A dog did once get a chicken. Whose fault was it? Mine, for not having the dog somewhere where he couldn’t get the chickens.”
“If you have a really challenging dog, there are countless organizations to re-home them to somebody who loves the dog enough,” she continued. “I want justice for Cricket. This is terrible.”
Sunny Hostin simply said, “The sign of a sociopath is someone that kills animals.”
Max Reinhart
