Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Bear hunt travesty, elephant appreciation & ‘cat days’

                                                                                                     Kehoe pic

Gov. Phil Murphy’s banning of bear hunts on state lands only displeased hunters and animal advocates alike -- the former wanting all possible territory for trophy hunting; the latter wanting no territory used for bear hunts -- but it also seems to have brought out the worst in many people.

First, though, it’s important to realize that Murphy’s halfway action continues to jeopardize New Jersey’s black bears -- possibly even more than before, since historically most bears have been killed on private land.  And get this: some hunters are threatening to drive bears off state property onto private property for the sole purpose of killing them as soon as they get there.
   
Sweet, isn’t it? 

But it gets worse. Now we’re hearing about farmers selling plots of their (private) land for
hunters to use, and hunters offering to pay land owners who report bears on their property so they might swoop in and shoot them.  Talk about “canned hunts” and must-kill mentalities.

The latest development: three pro-hunting groups may challenge Murphy’s executive order that bars bear hunting on state lands.  One hunter-rep said, “This is both a legal and scientifically sound hunt.”  To which anyone who knows anything about the situation would say “Hogwash.”  At least.

Black bears’ bad rap is essentially undeserved, but numbers of hunters keep earning a bad rap! And that includes their enablers, the state officials who disdain non-lethal means of managing bears.
 
In fact, “Murphy’s law NJ” -- when things are done halfway, damage is maximized -- pertains here. Former President Barack Obama encouraged our “better angels,” but that concept seems  wasted on our governor: with his half-way, please-no-one ban, Murphy has unleashed the worst impulses of people after trophies and money. 

The first week of the hunt begins October 8, with a second week in December. There’s still time to phone the governor’s office every day (609-292-6000) and urge him to keep his promise to end the hunt -- on all state lands.

Appreciate, and save, elephants 

Last Saturday, September 22, was Elephant Appreciation Day -- the least we can do for these endangered iconic animals who if they’re not being slaughtered for their tusks are being captured and forced into heavy labor, performing or wasting away in zoos.

California’s Performing Animal Welfare Society, or PAWS (Pawsweb.org), houses both African and Asian elephants saved from circuses and other forms of abuse devised by humans.

A contented PAWS resident for the last 11 years, Asian elephant Gypsy was kidnapped from her wild birthplace and family, and sold into a life of circus captivity, with “near constant chaining, performing at the point of a bullhook and continuous travel” -- for 40 years.

Appreciate?  Well of course, but more important so we never have a world without them, Save the Elephants.  (savetheelephants.org)

A comforting idea

Since (sigh!) we’re barely beyond summer, including the “dog days of summer,” here’s a modest proposal to even things up a bit: the “cat days of winter.”  Why not?

Even though historically, dog days have to do with the dog star Sirius and the sun -- and a period of uncomfortable sultry weather -- there’s no rule against cat days of winter coming into being by decree.

What could be better in cold gray January and February than following the lead of comfort-loving cats?  Seek the cozy and the warm; cuddle in fluffy blankets; keep the fireplace going and glowing.  Do the equivalent of stretching out on radiators at sunny (well-insulated) windows.  

Doze. . .



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Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Rally for our bears & laud animal rescuers


             "I see almost all animals are struggling on Earth and I try to do
              something  for them as much as possible.” -- cyclist Ozgur Nevres **

“Rally,” “protest,” whatever you call it, it means a demonstration against New Jersey’s projected October and December bear hunts -- and Governor Phil Murphy’s broken promise to end these barbaric trophy-hunting charades.  

From noon-2 pm this coming Saturday, Sept. 22, is the day to tell governor Murphy that bear hunts must stop -- as candidate Murphy had promised would happen!  The summer demonstration in the governor’s home town of Middletown drew around 200 people to remind him of his promise.

But neither it nor billboards nor beach fly-overs persuaded him to honor his commitment.  So the protests continue, with this weekend’s event organized by the Animal Protection League of NJ (APLNJ.org).  

The hope is for people to come to Princeton to demonstrate at Drumthwacket, the governor’s official residence. They will rally near the mansion, on Rt. 206 (aka Stockton St.), protesting both bear hunts and Murphy’s unkept promise to end them.   

Activists’ signs and various other messages will aim to remind the governor -- as well as residents, drivers and pedestrians in the area -- of his broken promise, one he could still keep to protect our bears.

Attempting to please both activists and hunters, Governor Murphy’s banning of bear hunts only on state lands in no way suffices to save bears. They can still be baited (a horrible practice, illegal elsewhere), stalked and shot on private, county, municipal and federal land, where most bears have been killed.

And, despite what some of his people claim, the governor can stop them on all New Jersey lands -- if he chooses to.  For specifics, use this link, to APLNJ’s website.



Dogs , Cats & Hurricane Florence

Media stories have abounded about animals rescued from the ravages of Hurricane Florence. Certainly, people are much more into providing for and saving animals, including sheltering them, than was the case during Katrina. That’s good.

To make things even better, though, how about (1) hurricane warnings that automatically include reminders to prepare for animals too; evacuating with pets and assuring shelter for them; (2) moving horses and other livestock out of harm’s way when possible or at least moving them to higher ground, hopefully with shelter included?  

A wonderful photo on the front page of Monday’s Times of Trenton showed a North Carolina man being rescued from floodwaters.  Sitting on his shoulder: a dear little (all-wet) kitten, named “Survivor.”  Tear-inducing.

Guardians of Rescue (guardiansofrescue.org) posted images of their work to save animals, appealing for donations to fund continuing rescue work, and The Dodo posted a story about a truck driver who had converted a school bus into a kind of Noah’s Ark.  

                                                                                                                                                                          Tony Alsup pic
Before Hurricane Florence hit the South Carolina coast, Tony Alsup filled his bus-ark with shelter animals and drove them for care, sheltering and eventual adoption to southern Alabama. He’s been doing this since Hurricane Harvey, and plans to continue transporting animals who might otherwise be trapped.  

“I’m like, look, these are lives too. Animals -- especially shelter pets -- they always have to take the back seat of the bus. But I’ll give them their own bus.” --Tony Alsup   

Saluting these and all such heroes for animals!  

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Sunday, September 9, 2018

A leg up on a catch-up via a roundup

                                                                           APLNJ pic
“Unofficial-autumn” greetings!  (Does anyone else say “autumn” nowadays, instead of “fall”?!) And doesn’t this rainy and cool weather reinforce the “fall” feeling?

So, with the list of summer “to-do”s either satisfied or fudged; with back-to-school prep taken care of; with swimsuits (etc.!) stored away for next summer or a vacation in the sun. . . it’s time for an animal roundup.

We’ll start with New Jersey’s Governor Phil Murphy. As far as bear hunts are concerned, the man’s a “trimmer” -- an old word that came to mind and still manages to sound critical, which it is!  Pressured to honor his commitment to end bear hunts, the governor apparently tried to please both sides, with the usual result: he pleased no one.

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines “trimmer” as "One who trims between opposing parties in politics, etc. hence, one who inclines to each of two opposing sides as interest dictates.”  And Thomas Hardy used the word this way in his Wessex Tales: "One of the trimmers who went to church and chapel both."  (My thanks to a daring and resourceful reference librarian!)

So, Gov. Murphy halted bear hunting on state land only, leaving bears on private land (the greater portion) as prey for trophy hunters. They want all the land to hunt, while animal advocates want all the land off-limits to hunters.
  
Also on the gubernatorial front, Gov. Murphy is being reminded of his agreement to ban leghold traps, the hideous devices that cause untold suffering for wild animals and pets alike.  Banned in New Jersey since 1984, they were brought back into use last year through a maneuver by Gov. Christie and his hunting cronies. With the stroke of a pen, Gov. Murphy can un-do that cruel and inhumane act.  

Help the animals who could be caught in these traps by (1) phoning the governor’s office (609-292-6000), asking him to sign an executive order invalidating the Fish & Game Council’s regulation allowing their use, and (2) asking your senator and assembly members to support  S179/A3110 (Senator Gopal and Assemblyman Benson) to ban the manufacture, sale, possession or use of body-gripping animal traps.
 
Wild animals break out

Years ago, people finally realized that if girls didn’t see women as doctors, executives, astronauts or race car drivers, they could assume such positions were closed to them -- and not  aspire to those careers.  Same with wild animals: if children usually saw them behind bars, they could conclude that wild animals belong in zoos.  

So, Nabisco’s recent announcement about re-design of its famous Animal Crackers box came as a happy surprise. Thanks to PETA-led lobbying, the new box shows animals in a savanna setting -- much more appropriate and accurate. Wild animals belong in the wild!

Wild animals finally free! 


Giraffes in jeopardy

 

With all the activism on behalf of elephants and other animals, who thinks of giraffes?  Humane Society International, that’s who.  And the news is not good: “Giraffes are facing a silent extinction,” the organization says. “New reports show giraffes have suffered a massive 40 percent decline in wild populations since 1985, but still have absolutely no international protections.”

 

“If the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists them as Endangered, it would restrict trade in giraffes coming to the United States as hunting trophies and other products. It's an easy step we can take right now to help protect and restore giraffe populations.”  
Visit http://www.hsi.org/ to protect giraffes under the Endangered Species Act.



Nuff said
Humans kill approximately 100 million sharks a year, while unprovoked shark attacks killed just five people in 2017.  --from “How to Survive a Shark Attack,” in the NYTimes Magazine, 9-2-18, p. 23.




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