Protect wild animals to prevent viruses like Covid-19

“The evil that men do lives after them. . .” – Shakespeare

                                                                               WBUR pic

Here’s the theory I’ve read for how coronavirus started: somewhere in China, an infected bat bit a mammal (possibly a pangolin), which then turned up at a “wet market,” where live wild animals selected for human consumption are slaughtered and sold.  

 

(As mentioned here before, although they’re not widely known, pangolins are the most heavily trafficked mammal in the world right now.  By the tons, their scales are used in traditional Asian medicine, and their meat is regarded as a delicacy.)

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/31/science/a-struggle-to-save-the-scaly-pangolin.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article

We know the rest of the story: from an infected wild animal, a human contracted coronavirus (then unknown as such) and it spread.  And spread.  By now the numbers of infected people and fatalities around the world rise so quickly that there’s no point including this minute’s figures here.  

  

                                                                             Luc Forsyth-NYTimes pic

The pangolin (or whatever the involved wild animal was) didn’t do it!  What did do it was wildlife trade, transport and consumption by humans, sometimes in defiance of prohibitions against those activities.  So now, a cry is going up for permanent bans of these practices worldwide – something that would be wonderful for wildlife. 

In fact, global respect and protection of wild animals may be the very best thing that results from this pandemic!  Further, our protecting them may also protect us from another pandemic by reducing the risk of deadly viruses like Covid-19 (CO-ronaVI-rusD-isease-19(year it started), SARs and bird flu – that all sprang from live animal markets. 

Without widespread and meaningful prohibitions against the wildlife trade – bans that are also rigorously enforced -- billions of animals, including pangolins and myriad endangered species, will continue to be “ killed simply to be sold as food,  decoration, a piece of jewelry or a symbol of wealth, or they suffer horribly only to end up in a life of captivity,” as the Humane Society International (HIS) puts it.

   

Pangolin scales

In case you wondered, yes, in February, prompted by coronavirus, China permanently banned the trade of terrestrial wildlife for food – but not for fur, medicinal or research use.  The resulting loopholes may invite “traffickers who may exploit the nonfood exemptions to sell or trade live wildlife,” analysts from the Wildlife Conservation Society have warmed. 

And yes, China had banned wildlife markets even before coronavirus, but law enforcement was obviously weak, since Wuhan’s “wet market” is seen as the source of the outbreak.  “Human harvesting of wild animals” is seen as the “root cause” of Covid-19.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/science/coronavirus-pangolin-wildlife-ban-china.html?te=1&nl=science-times&emc=edit_sc_20200303&campaign_id=34&instance_id=16444&segment_id=21819&user_id=a360dad7b26df61ea65737080d3deedd&regi_id=2076027420200303

It can’t be more clear: People, not animals, are the culprits behind the fear, death and horror we hope to survive.   

Homing shelter animals

Needing to close recently, some pet stores and shelters first needed their animals to be homed via fostering or adopting.  Trenton Animal Shelter (TAS) residents were lucky:  animals were being fostered out by Trenton Animals Rock, a volunteer group determined to place them. 

Trenton Animal Shelter

Jose Munoz, bureau chief and shelter manager, said a week ago there were just three dogs and one cat left, and the group had foster plans for them too.  Kudos to Trenton Animals Rock for caring and working for the animals.  And to Munoz, who must be setting a tone there to encourage such volunteer action. 

As a reminder, here’s an overview of the Trenton facility -- in normal times a place that always needs and appreciates volunteers and donations.   

http://1moreonce.blogspot.com/2020/02/introducing-trenton-animal-shelter.html

Blogger’s note

Awhile back, I promoted the idea of preparing a disaster kit for pets.  I still do.  But since we’re sheltering in place from a disaster right now, skip that idea – unless you have enough free time to start pulling kit ingredients together for the next one.

Whatever you do, though, please follow the advice of a doctor quoted in the Times of Trenton: “Stay the hell away from everyone else.”

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Reaching out while staying in during coronavirus

Have you reached the point of hearing, reading and seeing enough of the coronavirus for a while?  We’re all (I hope) sheltering in place, but we don’t need to be saturated w/ virus news and numbers . .  . and numbness.  

No wonder some commentators have suggested doing frivolous things while at home – baking, playing games, binge watching junk, sleeping in and/or napping.  

I have another suggestion: think about shelter animals and animals in need.  One newspaper describes how home-bound people are reaching out to shelters to adopt or foster animals there.  (After all, the only thing worse than any animals in shelters is more-than-usual animals there.)

“Forget toilet paper, milk and hand sanitizer: There’s now a rush to stock up on real necessities, such as cats and dogs.  And rabbits and fish, and even a couple of chickens,” one story says. 

Temporarily out of work, people can cope with isolation by bringing home a cat, dog or other animal. One family bought fish for their children – both as distraction and responsibility-training.  Another bowed to their kids’ wish for a dog, visited a nearby shelter and brought home a two-years old, while a third family enjoys the eggs laid by their two new chickens.  

  

This could be an ideal time to get to know and train a new pet, besides gaining companionship and someone to talk with.

If “free” time will be limited when work resumes, fostering’s a fine alternative.  From all over the US, centers, shelters and “animal organizations” report a great response to calls for adopting and fostering.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2020/03/20/alone-no-more-people-are-turning-dogs-cats-chickens-cope-with-self-isolation/?utm_campaign=wp_animalia&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_animalia  

 

Helping hungry cats

                                                                              Caster pic

Society’s ills hit pets hard too.  When people are hungry, their pets are often hungry as well.  At a time when many are off from/out of work indefinitely, it can be hard to stock up on food for pets.  

Online Catster comes through with a series of sites and organizations that can help.  These range from the Rescue (food) Bank of GreaterGood.org, an international nonprofit (with regional affiliates) benefitting pets and people, to numerous others.

Don’t need food for yourself or your pets?  Then maybe you can contribute to food banks ready to help those who do.

https://www.catster.com/lifestyle/help-feed-cats-in-need?utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=Catster%20Ful%20List&utm_campaign=CED20200320-2   

Buster

Shelter bill status

Eager as we are to see S1834, the animal shelter bill, become law, we have to bide our time.  First, blame the coronavirus, which has caused countless people to operate from home.  Offices are closed and state budget time is approaching.

But while Senator Linda Greenstein’s bill is on hold for now, I’m hoping behind the scenes machinations will ultimately aid its forward movement.  And a few things have happened since its introduction on Feb. 24.

First, the bill was assigned to the Environment and Energy Committee, where it must be positively acted on before moving for a vote to the Assembly (where its number is A3632).

S1834 is a crucial bill for animal welfare in New Jersey.  Intimately familiar with the bill, one legislative staffer has said, “It will right every wrong people know about in animal shelters.”  

As for those (myriad!) wrongs in mis-named “shelters,” you need recall only the horrors of Helmetta or Hamilton to understand. 

Annie

To check on the shelter bill’s progress, simply go to https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bills/bills0001.asp, and click on “Bill Number” at the top left.  Above that, enter S1834 in the long white box and click “Find.”  Next, click on the red bill number for specifics on its introduction and committee.  To read the bill’s 39 pages, click on the PDF format and get started.  I think you’ll be elated by what you read!

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It's time to end horseracing & declawing cats

Right now we’re going through the motions of “regular life” while also looking over our shoulders, big time, at the coronavirus spreading around the world.  We’re washing our hands, avoiding touching our faces and practicing “social distancing.”

Mainly, while hoovering up all the print and online info about coronavirus that we can, we’re hoping it doesn’t hit us or our loved ones. 

So the first thing to do here is share this free source of info from the New York Times: nytimes.com/coronavirus.  A trusted source is a relief to have.

And then, back to “regular life.”  For this blog, that means news and views about animals.  

Horseracing: the so-called “sport of kings” has become an ever sadder subject, starting with a series of mysterious horse deaths at tracks around the country last year.  Tips, complaints and investigations followed, finally ending this month with four indictments of 27 defendants involved in a major horse doping scheme.  Justice!

The covert actions of those people – trainers, veterinarians and drug distributors -- all jeopardized the horses themselves and cheated the betting public.   

According to the US Attorney in Manhattan, “horses were injected and force-fed all manner of illegal and experimental drugs. . . that allowed [them] to run unnaturally fast and to mask pain,” which can lead to injuries and death.

Maximum Security (L); Servis (R)     Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO 

Jason Servis, the trainer of Maximum Security, briefly the winner of this year’s Kentucky Derby, oversaw the drugging of him and all horses under his control.  Servis and the others “killed and broke down” horses and made those who died “disappear.”  

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/09/sports/horse-racing-doping.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_200310&campaign_id=2&instance_id=16614&segment_id=22042&user_id=a360dad7b26df61ea65737080d3deedd&regi_id=207602740310

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/sports/horse-racing/horse  s-doping.html

A Washington Post editorial said, “No other accepted sport exploits defenseless animals as gambling chips. No other accepted sport tolerates the cruelties that routinely result in the injury and death of these magnificent animals.  The rot in horse racing goes deep. It is a sport that has outlived its time. 

“. . . Increased attention to the deaths of racehorses, on average nearly 10 horses a week, has shined a spotlight on horse racing’s dark side that is changing public attitudes.  Activities involving animals that used to be tolerated — even revered — like circus elephants or killer whale shows ended as people learned of their terrible toll.  Horse racing awaits a similar reckoning.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/horse-racing-has-outlived-its-time/2020/03/12/5dd48e46-6476-11ea-acca-80c22bbee96f_story.html

We can only hope.

Please nudge legislators!  

The Animal Protection League of NJ (aplnj.org) urges all who care about cats to urge members of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee to act on S920, the bill sponsored by Sen. Troy Singleton that would ban declawing of cats.

Phone or write to remind committee members the bill is “in their court,” tell them you support it and would like them to vote YES to support it too.  

Some talking points you might use include the following:

Declawing is a hideous process that often leaves a cat (1) unable to defend her/himself, lacking claws; (2) in lifelong pain, both physical and psychological, from the procedure, which is much more than a nail trim, as its name might (erroneously) suggest.  Declawing is amputation of part of a cat's foot. 

Declawing is far from universally approved:  it is prohibited in New York State and nine US cities, and it is illegal or considered unethical in most of the world, including the UK, Ireland, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Norway and seven Canadian provinces. 

The claim by the bill's opponents -- that banning declawing results in skyrocketing of cat surrenders -- has been debunked in the US cities with declaw bans.  There are numerous viable alternatives to declawing, which typically serves the convenience of cat owners, and never the welfare of the cats involved. 

Members of the Budget & Appropriations Committee are  

 Senator Paul Sarlo, Chair

Senator Sandra Cunningham, Vice-Chair  

Senator Dawn Marie Addiego

Senator Nilsa Cruz-Perez

Senator Patrick Diegnan

Senator Linda Greenstein

Senator Declan O'Scanlon

Senator Steven Oroho

Senator Teresa Ruiz

Senator Michael Testa

Senator Samuel Thompson

And Senator Troy Singleton, committee member and the bill’s sponsor, who deserves our thanks and that of present and future innocent cats.   

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Coronavirus: The animals’ revenge?

There’s plenty of other animal news to share here, but it will wait for later posts.  Today the world-wide news item – the one that’s frightening humans instead of animals, for a change – is the coronavirus that began in China and is spreading around the globe.   

  

For how long have people exploited and terrorized animals – hunting them, poaching them for their body parts, experimenting on them, slaughtering them en masse to eat them?   

Abetted by biblical teaching about our dominion over animals, humans have treated animals like disposable commodities who are here exclusively for our use -- and abuse.

But now, finally, people are “walking in animals’ shoes” for a change: wondering whether they’ll be caught, whether they’ll get sick, whether they’ll die . . .   Humans are no longer in control.

And now, irony of ironies: from a “wet market” in China (where animals are freshly slaughtered rather than chilled and where wild animals may have been sold illegally) comes this virus that’s spreading around the world, scaring, sickening and killing humans.  

   

Picture this: Cruise ship passengers enjoying lavish (animal-based) meals – now isolated for testing or quarantined -- and frightened.   Still other travelers, from Asia, Italy, . . .  becoming ill and testing positive. 

  

Theories abound about various wild animals behind the spread of coronavirus:  civits, bats and pangolins, the world’s most human-trafficked mammal.        

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/20/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-china-cause.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/05/opinion/coronavirus-china-pangolins.html?te=1&nl=david-leonhardt&emc=edit_ty_20200305&campaign_id=39&instance_id=16498&segment_id=21899&user_id=a360dad7b26df61ea65737080d3deedd&regi_id=207602742020030

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/coronavirus-came-from-bats-or-possibly-pangolins-amid-acceleration-of-new-zoonotic-infections/2020/02/07/11eb7f3a-4379-11ea-b503-2b077c436617_story.html

It gets even more grotesque: Because there’s some possibility that people who have the coronavirus may infect their beloved pets, they’re advised to line up safe alternative pet housing, just in case.   

https://s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?e=cG1zdW1tZXJzQG1zbi5jb20%3D&s=5e63c50ffe1ff6038cd2e3b9&linknum=4&linktot=40

https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2020/03/05/coronavirus-dogs-cats/?utm_campaign=wp_animalia&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_animalia

For millennia, we have shamefully mistreated the animals who share this world with us.  Now, as the coronavirus has spread from non-human animals to human animals, are we finally getting our just desserts?

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‘Animal shelter bill’: for uniformly humane facilities

                                                                                 HSI pic

Are you familiar with animal shelters that don’t encourage visitors hoping to adopt pets?   Have you heard of shelters that euthanize feral (a.k.a. community) cats as soon as they’re brought in?   

How about shelters where the seven-day hold period is not honored, or veterinary care is not available, or where air quality and cleanliness are questionable at best and disease runs rampant?   

New Jersey has some notable animal shelters . . . as well as some horrible places for animals, or for any sentient beings.  But a bill now in the legislature could reform the worst elements, helping so-called "shelters" truly live up to that  name.

Introduced last week by Senator Linda R. Greenstein, S1834 aims to establish statewide standards and procedures for animal shelters.  What a boon for the animals who live, involuntarily, in these facilities.  

Among the subjects taken up in Greenstein’s legislation are (1) trap-neuter-vaccinate-ear tip and release; (2) publicizing animals available for adoption; (3) training and certification of shelter directors; (4) required record keeping; (5) unannounced shelter inspections . . .  and much more that’s needed and good.

Minnie

Greenstein’s bill must, of course, earn support and move successfully through hearings and votes before becoming a reality.  It’s early in the process right now, but we can all track its progress by going to https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bills/bills0001.aspthen entering S1834, clicking “Find,”  then clicking the red number to see where the bill is – in committee, for example.

Even before that, we can easily access the bill in its present state to read and make notes.   Here’s a link to the legislature’s PDF copy: 

https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2020/Bills/S2000/1834_I1.PDF

Get to know S1834 so you’ll be ready to track its progress and act on its behalf when necessary.

Pet parental rights

“Pawternity leave” may be the coming new thing, now that “bring your dog (or cat?) to work” is fairly well known and practiced.  It’s all about our “furry family” members – those we love along with our human families. 

Because life events outside of work can be crucial to employees, some companies are giving paid time off when workers adopt an animal.  It’s still a rare practice, but so enlightened, considering the numerous questions and issues that arise during the first few weeks of having a new pet at home (housebreaking, for one!). 

Preserving the work-life happiness of employees is important to those companies, knowing that their pet-friendliness fosters employee engagement with work.  “FURturnity” is another trend, allowing   

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people to work from home while adjusting to their new pet(s).

Frankie’s freedom flight

A beautiful orange parrot named Frankie escaped from her carrier and flew away . . . in the heart of Manhattan.  What are the odds of her being rounded up by her loving parents? 

If you said “no chance,” you were wrong, likely because you underestimated the pluck and luck of her owner, Emily Flitter.  First, she guessed where Frankie might fly, despite all the distractions outside her home, such as moving air (in itself a novelty to an indoor bird), city lights and noises – not to mention barbed wire fences and possible predators.

Then, with binoculars and good ears (the better to hear her bird's screech), she found Frankie – not once, but twice.  The first find came to naught because Frankie couldn’t be rescued from her 30 foot high perch in a tree.  The second, successful try took Flitter racing up six flights of stairs to retrieve her from the roof, from which she had been visible – and audible.

Then came home sweet home with her parents and fellow rescued bird, Friday, a cockatiel who had also been found outdoors and remained unclaimed.  Here’s the full story of Frankie and Flitter.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/19/nyregion/lost-parrot-nyc.html

                                Flitter and Frankie                         NYTimes pic       

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