Think positive: think about caring for animals

During this shelter-in-place period, we could easily occupy ourselves with thoughts of Covid-19 and its fallout on our health, plans, jobs and finances because as the virus spreads, so do the reasons for brooding, worry, fear, anger.

But on some level, we must think of other things; we must think positive – which will help us feel more positive, or as the poet lamented, “Life must go on; I forget just why.”

One major “just why” for thinking positively is animals -- both wildlife and pets.  They can’t assure their own welfare and must count wholly on us.

By now we refer to Asian wet markets as a source of zoonotic infectious diseases – those spreading from animals to humans – because of the unconscionable ways humans treat animals in such places: live wild animals kept in squalid conditions until selected for slaughter and human consumption.

Vervet

After they’re butchered on the spot, more live animals replace them, developing chains of infection in the process.  Deforestation and destruction of habitats, along with factory farming, are other man-made situations that invite zoonotic infectious diseases.  That’s why we can count on more plagues like Covid-19 unless we change the ways we treat wild animals.  

(I expect there will be much to come here on this topic.) 

Then there are our pets. 

At least we needn’t worry about catching zoonotic infectious diseases from them.  They’re the ones who should be worried, since it’s recently been seen that zoo tigers and pet cats can test positive for the coronavirus, which, no argument, they caught from people, most likely, “their people.”  

But don’t worry about catching Covid-19 from pets.  There’s no evidence pets can transmit it to humans.  In fact, humans are a much greater risk to humans than animals are.

The best way you can care for your pets is to keep yourself healthy and sheltered from other people and the coronavirus, so you keep your pets healthy.

Sure, walk your dog.  Just don’t let other people pet your dog and don’t pet theirs. If you’re sick, stay as far away as possible from pets.  If a surrogate caretaker isn’t possible, at least wash hands thoroughly before and after interacting with pets and wear a mask.  Avoid cuddling, kissing and sleeping with pets.  

https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2020/4/24/21231806/coronavirus-pets-covid-19-cats-dogs?wpisrc=nl_animalia

Pets during pandemic

Our cats, Harry and Billy, have taken to sleeping on our bed with us lately.  One of them is doing more whining and sticking with us, while the other seems to relish being in his blankety cat-caves more than usual.  

Apparently, such different behaviors are normal in times like these, I’ve read.  Seeing much more of their people than usual, some pets may also be losing their personal spaces and having their own routines interrupted.  They could also be “internalizing some of the anxious signals from their owners.”

Pet owners are advised to be consistent about meal and play times, and walks.  And to plan now for pets’ comfort when the lockdown ends and people aren’t at home day and night.  That transition should be gradual. 

ttps://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2020/4/24/21231806/coronavirus-pets-covid-19-cats-dogs?wpisrc=nl_animalia

a blog-post echo

This is part reinforcement of what’s already been said here and part personal pride.  I was elated to read an opinion column in the NYTimes earlier this month that made many of the same points I made here in a blog post-editorial weeks before.  In order of appearance, here’s the post:

http://1moreonce.blogspot.com/2020/03/coronavirus-animals-revenge.html   

. . . and here’s the NYT column:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/13/opinion/animal-cruelty-coronavirus.html?campaign_id=2&emc=edit_th_200414&instance_id=17594&nl=todaysheadlines&regi_id=20760274&segment_id=25071&user_id=a360dad7b26df61ea65737080d3deedd

just for fun: 

https://thedodo.createsend1.com/t/ViewEmail/d/7E4ABDC5CA68E2052540EF23F30FEDED/083127FDFB36BBC9A0F01D70678E0DEE

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Looking at life for wild animals during this pandemic

Wild Mountain Goats 

Wherever we turn, the news is about Covid-19 -- its horrors and deaths and the fearful people trying to avoid it.  The virus’s movement and effects are inescapable, as are conflicting opinions about how to treat and end it.  

We could drown in the stories of how people are (or aren’t) coping with shelter-in-place directives; how they’re getting along (or not) with those in the same place; and what they’re doing to occupy themselves.  At this point, there can’t be much news about waiting out Covid-19 at home.

Sea Turtle

So let’s change the subject to what’s been happening with animals during this period.  Since we recently talked about coronavirus and both our pets and wild animals in Asian “wet markets,” let’s look at other wild animals in the news. 

  

“Wild animals re-take their world”:  that headline got my attention!  It seems that as people retreated inside, leaving streets and towns virtually empty, animals moved in – or rather, back.  Coverage told and showed delightful tales of wild animals suddenly free to wander unmolested in areas they’d been squeezed out of.  

“For centuries, humans have pushed wildlife into smaller and smaller corners of the planet. But now, with billions in isolation and city streets emptied, nature is pushing back.” 

Water Buffalo

What a thrill to see the video of a herd of wild mountain goats running through a town in Wales, snacking from flower boxes and bushes as they traveled.  And buffalo on a highway in India.  And whales spotted back in what had been Mediterranean shipping lanes.

Wild boar showed up on streets in Barcelona, deer grazed on lawns in London and on closed Brazilian beaches, baby sea turtles hatched and made their way to the sea – not interrupted or harmed, but free.

You go, guys!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/coronavirus-wild-animals-wales-goats-barcelona-boars-brazil-turtles/2020/04/14/30057b2c-7a71-11ea-b6ff-597f170df8f8_story.html?cv-campaign=4fda08e2fbca0387b958bb44bf5cc2b6&utm_campaign=wp_to_your_health&utm_content=2020_04_15&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_tyh

Meanwhile, in zoos . . .

Egyptian Cobra

And then, alas, there are animals in zoos – involuntarily, they’re already sheltering in place.  But caring for them must continue even when the facility is closed.

Given short-staffing and limited supplies, some care has become harder to provide.  Non-emergency procedures may be on hold because social distancing can be impossible when it takes more than one person to work on an animal.

For the same reason, some animals too are on hold – think large animals like elephants, and dangerous ones, like venomous snakes.  Since they’re susceptible to human viruses, anyone even near zoo primates must wear a mask.  Same with anteaters, who are vulnerable to human influenza.  

So, different rules and challenges for different animals.

It could become tough to feed those who rely on a small variety of foods that could become scarce. Platypuses, for one, prefer “yabbies’,” or crayfish – live.  Their keepers hope to get them used to substitutes including frozen crayfish.  Koalas need eucalyptus, which could be held up by supply line interruptions.

Koala 

And if fresh sea water from the Gulf of Mexico becomes impossible to obtain for residents of one aquarium located near industrial sites, there’s “Instant Ocean,” dry sea salt and minerals in a box.

Zoos are cruel, unnatural places for wild animals -- one comment on the newspaper story read: "Nothing is learned from watching animals in captivity except that is okay to keep animals in captivity."  

But at least these captive animals are being cared for during the pandemic.     

https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2020/03/27/zoos-are-closed-due-coronavirus-animals-still-need-care/?utm_campaign=wp_animalia&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_animalia

Helping wild animals

You may want to help a wild animal in need, but how?  Turn to a wildlife rehabilitator who’s trained and qualified to care for injured or orphaned wildlife.  The Animal Protection League of NJ offers a rehabber list showing those who can help during the pandemic.  Here’s the link to refer to, or to print and post.  

https://aplnj.org/find-help/help-injured-or-orphaned-wildlife-during-pandemic/

This Wednesday, April 22, is Earth Day – its 50^th anniversary!  

(https://www.earthday.org/)

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How to avert future zoonotic pandemics & aid big cats

Civit  (Wet market)

The word of the day – or the year – is “zoonotic”: “pertaining to a zoonosis: a disease that can be transmitted from animals to people, or, more specifically, a disease that normally exists in animals but that can infect humans.  There are multitudes of zoonotic diseases,” including anthrax, plague, Lyme disease, monkey pox, rabies, trichinosis, typhus, West Nile fever . . .  according to Medicinenet.com. 

That word, zoonotic, is behind the pandemic now threatening, taking and changing lives all over the world.  Our surviving it and taking action to prevent future zoonotic pandemics will be a huge challenge, in part because it will require dramatic changes in our behaviors toward animals.

The Chinese city of Wuhan has been identified as the source of Covid-19, presumably starting with an infected bat who transmitted it to a host animal yet to be definitively ID’d but likely part of a “wet market” there.  Humans came next.  Then the world. 

Nadia (Bronx Zoo)

As the disease and related fears spread over the last few weeks, other events have grabbed our attention: Bronx Zoo tigers tested positive for the virus, as did a few domestic cats and a dog in Hong Kong.  The conclusion was that pets could test positive if exposed to the virus by their owners, but there’s no evidence that they can transmit the virus. Outbreaks around the world are driven by person-to-person transmission.

In a podcast last Thursday, Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the US (HSUS), reinforced that conclusion, alluding to her organization’s continuing efforts to shut down wet markets as getting at the root causes of this pandemic.

“We can’t look at animal and human welfare separately.  They’re inextricably linked.  When wild animals are trafficked, consumed . . . we’re abusing animals and jeopardizing our own  health.  People of the world must re-think their relationship with animals.” 

It’s imperative that China establish permanent and enforceable laws – with no exceptions for medicine or fur -- against trafficking and consuming wild animals. End wet markets.  End regarding animals (bats, for instance) and parts (pangolin scales, for instance) as delicacies or medical necessities.    

Wet market (Libreville, Gabon)

One small step: The Chinese city of Shenzhan has passed a law permanently prohibiting the consumption, breeding and sale of wildlife for human consumption, spelling out which terrestrial animals may be consumed.  It also bans the consumption and production of dog and cat meat.  All this is a great (but limited) step forward for animalkind.

https://www.hsi.org/news-media/shenzhen-chinas-first-to-ban-eating-of-dogs-cats-wildlife/

Big cat abuse

Since years ago when African elephant Maggie was rescued from solitary confinement in the Anchorage Alaska zoo and moved to the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), in California, I have followed and admired the organization.  Elephants are just one of the many rescued animals who have found sanctuary at this Sanctuary.

                                         Mungar   (PAWS)                                

Big cats are also cared for there, in settings as close to their natural habitats as possible.  Regular PAWS publications include fascinating updates on the animal residents – how they’ve adapted, who their friends are and even how they’re medically treated. 

Ed Stewart, co-founder of PAWS, recently spoke out on the Netflix docuseries “Tiger King,” currently a TV sensation.  His essay is so spectacularly hard-hitting that I include a link to it here, hoping you’ll read every word.  (It's also available on PAWS' Facebook page.) 

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/PAWS-President-Ed-Stewart-Talks-About-Netflix-Docuseries--Tiger-King--and-What-You-Really-Need-to-Know-About-Captive-Big-Cats.html?soid=1101778242429&aid=S8dXaYtVOXg

Something delightful (for a change!)

I know you’ll love this video, “The Elephants That Came to Dinner.”  It happened at a lodge in Zambia, when an elephant family – including baby Wellington -- followed its traditional route to the ripe mangoes they love. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdTII_unZSA

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Covid-19 affects domestic animals in at least 2 ways, including TNR

                                                                                    ASM pic

Discussion of Covid-19 has so far focused mainly on wild animals, and for good reason.  But if you’ve been wondering about domestic animals’ safety during this pandemic, the reports are mixed.

It now seems that animals can be infected with coronavirus, although the one known case, a dog in Hong Kong, was comparatively mild and thought to have been caused by exposure to an infected person.  (More on the Bronx Zoo tiger who tested positive next time; that story’s just breaking.)

There’s no evidence that pet dogs and cats can transmit the virus to humans, but they could test positive if exposed to it by their owners.  So: if you know or think you’re infected with coronavirus, limit contact with pets and other animals, much as you would do with other people.  

  

                                 Alley Cat Allies pic

There’s a second, bigger reason to worry about our animals.  During this shelter-in-place period, some functions usually offered by veterinarians and animal clinics will not be available.  These include spaying and neutering.  That’s right: no spays or neuters during the worst possible time: kitten season!  

TNR -- well on its way to becoming the universal method for managing community cat populations -- will be impossible for some time.  Therefore, cat numbers are likely to grow into a “feline epidemic” that will take a long time to cure, along with re-convincing the public that TNR works. 

   

If you’ve invested a lot of energy and resources into caring for community cats and getting them the vetting they need, what do you do now, during this most difficult time? 

A leading program of the Animal Protection League of NJ (APLNJ.org) is its Project TNR, whose director, Sandra Obi, has compiled a detailed “triage” guide to some of the primary concerns during pandemic shut downs.   Its contents include 

• Feeding Colonies - how things might be different during this time, things to think about
• What to do if you are sick - restricting contact with your animals
• Your TNR projects. We'll give you guidance on whether to spay or delay - what options are there for spay/neuter at this time and what you should be doing if there is no option but to delay until this is over.
• NJ Veterinary Medical Association - what veterinary services are permitted
• Options for emergency services for cats who are ill
• Looking ahead - Use this time to mount your most carefully planned TNR ever!

Here’s a link to the entire guide, which appears on APLNJ’s website: https://aplnj.org/tnr-during-pandemic/.

And that brings us to another population of domestic animals: those in shelters.  With some facilities already closed or closing because of widespread shut downs, animals need safe homes with people who adopt or foster them.  This is an ideal time for such moves, with so many of us home from work right now.

The ideal: an empty shelter 

Those who have wanted a pet might act on that wish, bring home a companion animal and have time to get acquainted with a dog, cat, bunny, “pocket pet” or you name it.  By the time life returns to normal, that pet could be a happy part of the family.  Even those who foster could become “foster failures” by keeping their new friends. 

The animal shelters in Trenton and Hamilton are among those looking for people who want to adopt or foster.  Regardless of the quarantine, Trenton will still take animals in on a case by case/emergency basis.  Manager Jose Munoz advises those interested in fostering to visit www.trentoncats.org.

As indicated by the flyer below, emergency fosters are needed in Hamilton township.  The application can be completed online.   

http://www.hamiltonnj.com/filestorage/228309/228756/Foster_Application_2020.pdf

We’re all pretty concerned about ourselves right now.  It might do us good to reach out and help a shelter animal. 

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