If I were ‘Queen for a Day’ in Hamilton Township

Hoo-boy!  Every animal advocate’s dream: being in charge, even if for only a day, in Hamilton Township.  There, the animal shelter -- significantly and expensively expanded and reportedly greatly improved a couple years ago -- is now the center of a firestorm over how animals  are treated -- or should I say “mistreated”? 

Yes, “mistreated.”  And that’s putting it mildly.  (Just review the deficiencies and malpractices detailed in the state inspectors’ report.)  As queen for a (work)day, with power to say how the shelter will be run, I would convene all shelter employees and volunteers and do the following:  

     

1 -- acquaint them with the “Five Freedoms”  -- which “speak to the fundamental needs of animals that remain constant regardless of setting,” according to the Assn. of Shelter Veterinarians.  Therefore, animal shelters are one setting where the Five Freedoms should be known and observed.

2 -- acquaint them with the state health department’s annual I & D (Intake and Disposition) survey, with specifics about animals entering a shelter and what happens to each one, provided by shelter reps.

It should be noted that in the 2014 edition of this survey, HTAS reported killing a horrifying number of animals, especially cats.  (While 52 dogs (14%) were killed that year, 302, or 42% of the 716 cats admitted to the shelter were killed during the same period.)  Apparently, today's numbers have not significantly dropped.  

The I & D survey lists all responding shelters by county, so it’s painfully easy to see how Hamilton Twp. figures compared with other county shelters -- and then to wonder how those sickening high numbers were reached.

Buster      (file pic) 

Were strays killed if not claimed and/or killed before the seven-day hold period ended?  Were feral, or community, cats killed because they were feral, or community, cats?  How about animals needing medical attention; were they killed instead? 

These days, more and more animal shelters concentrate on “live releases,” instead of animals euthanized, and subscribe to a no-kill philosophy. Has Hamilton Twp. heard of either concept?  And if Y, why do they seem to have been ignored?  Who took the animal shelter in a different -- cruel and inhumane -- direction? 

3 -- moderate a presentation on Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) by the Animal Protection League of NJ (http://aplnj.org/feral-cat-advocacy/), the statewide organization that has advocated for animals for 35 years.  Its Project TNR is New Jersey’s central resource for information on community cats and Trap-Neuter-Return.

4 -- acquaint them with the detailed and definitive “Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters” produced in 2010 by the Association of Shelter Veterinarians for both shelter facilities and care of shelter animals.

5 -- plan for the immediate future: (a) assure that anyone in a supervisory position at HTAS has preparatory training for that role; (b) establish dates for training on evaluating staff and volunteer  job performance; (c) list short-  and longer-range changes to be made, with completion dates.  

                                   Catster pic

Everything outlined here so far is a new and apparently needed kind of “brainwashing” at HTAS.  What?  You say all this can’t be done in a day?   You’re right of course.  I can hope only that others, with their own strong commitment to the animals there, will pick up where I leave off after my day as Queen.  

I’ll be back after Labor Day weekend, but meanwhile, readers, please keep up with media coverage of the shelter, write letters to the editor and/or talk up the suggestions here.  Make sure the Hamilton Twp. council members who first voiced concern about the shelter know about these options and resources.

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Hide & seek governor jeopardizes our black bears

                                                                                                       APLNJ pic

One thing’s sure: Governor Phil Murphy is not out on the hustings, meeting and greeting, at least as far as some people are concerned.  Those people would be the numerous animal activists and organizations after him to keep his campaign pledge to stop New Jersey’s bear hunts.  

But Governor Murphy can’t be pinned down -- he can’t even be seen!  Now that he’s in office, he’s been simply impossible to meet with to talk bear hunts.  On that subject, one advocate said awhile ago, “The silence is deafening.” 

That’s sad.  It raises serious questions about the governor's compassion -- and his credibility.  So on Saturday, Aug. 11, advocates of ending the bear hunts took the issue to Murphy’s home turf: Middletown, NJ.  Nearly 200 people came out to remind the governor of his promise to end the hunt.  They met near a new billboard the governor should see often:  “GOVERNOR MURPHY: PLEASE KEEP YOUR PROMISE -- STOP THE BEAR HUNT.”

                            Kehoe/APLNJ pic

That was the start of a media campaign designed to remind the governor of his promise and urge him to keep it.  “Aerial billboards,” a.k.a. planes with flyers, will repeat the message for three Wednesdays over beaches from Seaside to Cape May:  “Gov. Murphy can stop the bear hunt. Call now 609-292-6000!”  (BTW, 3 different staffers in Murphy’s office have commented on the volume of calls.)

Here’s a look at TV coverage of the Middletown demonstration:

https://www.facebook.com/SaveNJBears/videos/2089352041099179/

There’s no doubt that the governor can end the bear hunt -- just as earlier governors have done. The only question is, will he.  Has he the will to buck NJ’s tiny number of bear hunters and their powerful spokespersons? 

Phone 609-292-6000 every day, to let the governor know we want him to keep his promise. 

Fanfare for the UN-common . . .

The Animal Protection League of NJ (APLNJ -- www.aplnj.org) was one of many organizations  behind the Aug. 11 demonstration.  That’s not surprising. For 35 years, this statewide organization has advocated for animals in myriad positive and successful ways. 

But in marking its 35^th anniversary this year, APLNJ has been too reserved, holding back on the fanfare it has earned.  Talk about hiding one’s light under a bushel!

So here’s a reminder that APLNJ is still at it in large and small ways, a strong and consistent voice for New Jersey’s animals, who can’t speak for themselves.  Let’s hear it for APLNJ -- in the form of donations that will help the organization keep fighting the good fight.

And now, those who donate to APLNJ can use the new mailing address and/or phone number:  
PO Box 186, Glen Gardner, NJ 08826; phone: 1-732-446-6808.

Please contribute!    

The sad story ends

Grieving for her baby who died soon after birth, the mother orca carried her for 17 days during what the media called a “grief tour” -- the longest lasting known to date.  One writer described her behavior as emblematic of what’s happening to others in the mother’s pod of about 75 orcas -- critically endangered by loss of their main food, salmon, in the Pacific Northwest.  

                                AP pic

Sympathizers watched as the mother covered an estimated 1,000 miles, balancing her baby on her head.  Then, finally, she was seen without her young one, “frolicking” with other orcas. This was regarded as a good omen because the mourning mother is still young enough to give birth again. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/04/opinion/sunday/the-orca-her-dead-calf-and-us.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fopinion&action=click&contentCollection=opinion&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=4&pgtype=sectionfront

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More on ‘local horror house’ shelter . . . & imperiled fish

                                                                      Mancuso image

Area papers recently reported on state health inspectors’ findings at the Hamilton Township animal shelter.  Shameful, cruel, horrific, inhumane -- just some of the words that begin to characterize conditions at that facility.  https://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2018/08/state_investigation_into_animal_shelter_reveals_im.html

http://www.trentonian.com/lifestyle/20180807/hamilton-township-killed-shelter-animals-too-soon-state-finds

Quoted in the stories and dismissive of the failures cited, Mayor Kelly Yaede’s reactions were once again . . . unbelievable, as well as indefensible.  You have to wonder how she treats people if the animal shelter conditions and practices don’t appall her enough to clean up what’s happening there.  If she has animals in her life, would she let them be grossly mistreated or killed, as Hamilton shelter animals have been (and probably still are)?  Does she have any clue about best practices in shelters? 

You could also wonder why the council members who first sounded the alarm are not practically rabid-with-rage now that the damning inspection results have been made public.  What are they waiting for?  Why aren’t they moving to close the place and bring in experts to make it a safe facility for innocent animals?

Can’t any of these people rise above politics to care about animal welfare? 

For a “read it and weep” look at details about this “horror house of a shelter,” whose staff and practices are inexplicably defended by the mayor and the local health officer, read the lengthy  

indictment below in the NJ Animal Observer.   Be careful: it will make your blood boil and prompt you to take serious action on behalf of any animals unlucky enough to be caught in Hamilton Township’s clutches.  

https://njanimalobserver.wordpress.com/   

                                                                              ‘Go fish’!

Now back to life in the sea -- a huge part of our world, yet one whose living creatures may be treated with even less respect than terrestrial animals.  Bolstering its “Seakittens” campaign years ago, PETA expounded on the lives of fish.  It wasn’t pretty, but it was convincing. There’s no need to reinvent the arguments so I’m borrowing directly from the PETA mats here.  

Billions of fish are killed each year so people can eat their flesh, while millions more are ripped from their homes for “fun” by anglers. Consider the following:

·         Fish have nervous systems that register and respond to pain. Scientists tell us their brains closely resemble our own and fish are just as able to feel pain as cats or dogs.

·         Fish are intelligent animals who observe, learn, use tools, and form sophisticated social structures. They also have impressive long-term memories.

·         Fish talk to each other with squeaks, squeals, and other low-frequency sounds that humans can hear only with the help of special instruments.

When yanked from the water, fish begin to suffocate.  Their gills often collapse, and their swim bladders can rupture because of the sudden change in pressure. . . . “Sport” fishers are responsible for killing almost 25 percent of overfished saltwater species. . . . Many trout streams are so intensively fished that they require that all fish caught be released.

But “catch and release” doesn’t solve the problem because fish thrown back into the water are not the same fish. They were likely hurt in any of myriad ways, and made newly vulnerable. One study indicates that 43% of released fish die within six days. 

Besides the fish themselves, other victims of fishing include myriad animals (pelicans and other birds to manatees and dolphins). A major cause: discarded  monofilament and other fishing line.

Commercial fishing is cruelty to animals on a colossal scale, killing hundreds of billions of animals worldwide every year—far more than any other industry. 

https://www.peta. org/issues/animals-used-for-food/factory-farming/fish/commercial-fishing/

Don’t ‘go fish’!

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‘Promises, promises’ -- this one needs keeping!

Yes, it’s deep summer and people are on vacation, or want to be.  Yes, it’s August, for Pete sake, and the place to be is the beach or the pool or the airport -- not waving signs or chanting about promises. So that settles that.

Or does it?  These facts may spur you to join the Summer Rally for the Bears in Middletown, NJ on Saturday, Aug 11, noon-1:30 pm.

·        Bear hunters represent less than .1 of 1 % of New Jersey’s population, or .08, to be exact.  Those who think hunters represent a huge majority of residents are simply wrong.  Fact is, wildlife watchers outnumber hunters 275:1!

·        During his election campaign, Governor Murphy pledged to end NJ’s bear hunts.  Now, he says it’s harder than he had thought to do so.

·       As one of the most powerful governors in the country, Governor Murphy could employ any of the myriad ways at his disposal to stop NJ’s bear hunt -- if he wanted to.

Now, with autumn (a.k.a. hunting season) approaching, it’s time for Gov. Murphy to deliver on the promise he made.  Come out to the governor’s home town this Saturday to help drive home the message.  

A new billboard (shown above) is slated to be in place, and from noon-1:30 pm, bear advocates will be right there to help remind the governor to keep his commitment to New Jersey’s black bears.  Exact locale: Woodland Drive & Route 35, Middletown, NJ 07748.  (BYO signs)

Besides The BEAR Group, part of the Animal Protection League of NJ (APLNJ), and the NJ Sierra Club, other organizations that share a determination to end the bear hunt will be there too, for a united front.  Guest speakers will include

*   Jeff Tittel, director, New Jersey Sierra Club

*   Dante DiPirro, former senior Deputy Attorney General 

*   Brian Hackett, state director, Humane Society of the United States

*   Melissa Jacobs, state-licensed wildlife rehabilitator.

Here we have a new governor, who promised to end the bear hunt.  He can do that, notes Angi Metler, APLNJ’s executive director, “and he should!” 

Come out to remind Governor Murphy that literally, this is a life or death issue for New Jersey’s beloved black bears.  They can’t speak for themselves and they need our help: This Saturday, August 11, Middletown, NJ, Noon-1:30 pm.  

For the bears, please be there!

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Ahoy! Ships’ cats merit a book on their life afloat

“I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by . . .” --John Masefield

                                   

“Cats at Sea” would be a shorter, but much less tantalizing book title than “Seafurrers: The Ships’ Cats Who Lapped and Mapped the World; An Incidental History,” the name of a new book I’ve just finished.  It’s fun reading, packed with photos, illustrations and shaded boxes in its 38 “incidents” or short chapters, about cats on ships, where they served as major pest-controllers (anti-rats!), pets and mascots, as well as occasional stowaways.   

Author Philippa Sandall shares the honors with able sea cat “Bart,” whose paw print authenticates the Preface he wrote and who enlisted both Sandall, to serve as the book’s scribe, and Ad Long, to handle its notable illustrations.  Bart must have motivated them well; they did a great job.

Start with the cover, featuring a grizzled seafarer -- cap atilt on his head and pipe in his mouth: a cat!  So make that a grizzled “Seafurrer,” please, while you wonder how long it took for one word to morph into the other.  That, “Whiskerpedia” and other such coined words lighten the text even more.

Stories about ships’ cats really couldn’t fill a book, but the related (well, mostly related) info -- about rats, flying fish, wreck rights, hardtack and designated divers -- rounds out the volume very nicely.  Together with nuggets of cat lore, painless chunks of maritime history are easy to assimilate.  Sandall did her homework, only occasionally including more than a reader could reasonably care to know.  (One example: specs on Churchill and Roosevelt’s 1941 Atlantic Charter)

Every incident tells about a ship’s cat, giving the vessel’s name, date of voyage and ID of any significant (human) crew members.  That’s Sandall’s part, followed each time by an “According to Bart” section, in which the cat may pooh-pooh the story, but always adds info.  Finally, there may be an “Incidentally” box, telling still more -- for instance, about the beginning of picture postcards, one of which featured “Thomas Whiskers, USN,” a hospital ship’s cat. 

  

Timing for release of “Seafurrers” suggests it’s a beach read, though ideally of course it would be a ship read.  But anywhere you decide to dive in, you’ll like it. 

   

https://theexperimentpublishing.com/catalogs/spring-2018/seafurrers/

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