Bear hunt status (not good) & wildlife expo (notable)

                                                              Kehoe pic

Bear hunts just won’t go away in NJ.  

If only Governor Murphy had done what candidate Murphy promised to do – end the bear hunts, period; if only DEP’s Division of Fish & Wildlife were not dominated by hunters; if only decision-making bodies (thinking of you, NJ Fish and Game Council) included a fair cross-section of citizens, instead of hunters and their sympathizers; if only bear-proofing recommendations were enforced . . . our black bears might enjoy the unthreatened lives year after year that they deserve.   

But no.  Despite Herculean efforts by myriad individuals and organizations to end NJ bear hunts, the first week of the scheduled hunt started today.  It is, as described in an op-ed by Senators Lesniak and Torricelli, an “unpopular, baited trophy hunt during the worldwide pandemic.”  What worse a time than now?  https://www.insidernj.com/governor-murphy-ban-2020-bear-hunt/ 

Gov. Murphy’s surprising tweet last Monday announced that the 2020 bear hunt will be the LAST.  That’s terrific, but . . . this year’s hunt (this week and another in December) is needless, risky and overall ill-advised.  Why, given all the precautions against the pandemic, should NJ permit a hunt go forward? 

Curious minds want to know: could the current bear hunt be intended to appease hunters, while the “no more hunts after that” declaration be designed to win animal advocates’ support, again, in Murphy’s re-election campaign next year?   

Anyway, the bow hunt segment of the hunt started today, so nothing has changed for 2020.  The Bear Group (a program of APLNJ) and the League of Humane Voters (LOHV) of New Jersey urge activists to keep up with developments on Facebook.  

All animals, all weekend!

It was way more than “Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!”  It was rhinos, wild cats and okapis, along with painted dogs, Andean cats and lions – and so many more.  “It” was the first day of the (virtual) Wildlife Conservation Network Expo, all day Saturday.

Okapi

Previewed in my last post, the Expo featured video stories from conservationists in the field and wildlife champions around the world.  Throughout the videos I watched, both mutual respect among the scientists and local people involved and great regard for the animals being protected were readily apparent. And of course, I saw animals in their natural habitats while learning more about all of them.

Just ask me about the painted dogs of Zimbabwe or the rhinos of South Africa and Indonesia.  I saw wild cats I didn’t know existed (nor, till recently, did many of their discoverers) and sharks, and watched an okapi simply melt into the dense foliage of his habitat.  

One speaker dwelled on involving area people where the painted dogs live and sensitizing kids to these animals: “If you don’t know something, you don’t care about it.”

Another pointed out that “Conservation is really a social science: we work with people to better their lives, and they in turn help reduce threats to animals.”

Painted Dog

I couldn’t see all the videos I wanted to (elephants!), but they’ve been saved for viewing as convenient (along with earlier years’ reports).  And the Expo continues next Saturday, beginning around 10:30 am. (You could probably still register; name your own fee.)

Cat maintenance

Last Friday I attended a virtual Princeton Adult School class on “The Cat's Meow: Home Maintenance for the Cat Owner.”  Besides seeing numerous cats bathed (something I’d dread doing), I picked up some tips on grooming, including (1) with all combs, make sure the teeth are ground down (cats have very sensitive skin); (2) de-matting rakes, mat breakers and scissors are not recommended for cat coats; (3) “Every cat should feel like a show cat” (to which I’d add: “but shouldn’t have to be a show cat”)!   

                                                                                                   Catster pic

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