We’ll fight the law . . . and this time it won’t win!

turkey farm (detail) 

November has been a bad month for animals.  Think, for starters, of the myriad turkeys raised and slaughtered just for Thanksgiving (such a cruel misnomer where animals are concerned).  Then there were the smaller birds drafted into duty when family holiday gatherings were downsized (for the good of people, not turkeys).   

Of course, in NJ, the rest of this month has had to do with animal advocates’ efforts to persuade Gov. Phil (”My hands are tied!”) Murphy to call off part 2 of the bear hunt that starts Monday, Dec. 7.  By now, it looks as if the week of killing will happen, replete with out-of-state hunters flocking here for trophies more easily “won” by bear-baiting – as wholly inhumane, disease-spreading and destructive as it is, still a permissible practice here. 

 

In fact, only Alaska, the land of shooting animals from planes, joins NJ in the heinous practice of bear-baiting.   https://defenders.org/sites/default/files/publications/aerial_hunting_q_and_a.pdf

 

The Animal Protection League of NJ (aplnj.org) urges animal advocates to save these dates for bear-hunt protests: Dec. 5, 7 and 12.  Follow APL on Facebook for the latest info: https://www.facebook.com/AnimalProtectionLeagueNJ.  

 

Bear cub                                                HSUS pic

Moving right along to December, a concerted fight for our wildlife is underway between the state Fish and Game Council – seeking complete control over the Game Code -- and animal activists – hoping to comment despite the FGC’s efforts to suppress public comments on that code.  To stop the FGC’s attempted power grab, APLNJ has mailed thousands of informative postcards and offers Zoom sessions tonight and Tuesday night.  During each one, activists will be coached on how to submit comments “in support of our bears and all of our wildlife.”

 

We do not want the Fish and game Council to be in charge here! 

Seabirds 

Which brings us to the latest federal government incursion into nation-wide animal welfare.  That would be the feds’ gutting of “a long-standing federal protection for the nation’s birds,” despite objections from seemingly every (expert) quarter.  The rollback could take place within 30 days, negatively affecting birds ranging “from hawks and eagles to sea birds, storks, songbirds and sparrows,” the AP reports.

Right now, industry operations kill 450 million to 1.l billion birds annually, out of around 7 billion birds in North America.  They are electrocuted on power lines, knocked from the air by wind turbines or they die in oil field waste pits filled with toxic water.

But instead of prosecution authority for the deadly threats migratory birds face from industry, the revamped act would apply only to birds killed or harmed intentionally.  (Good luck with that.)

Chipping Sparrow

I’ve read what the president-elect plans to do and un-do on his first day in office, and I hope the current administration’s four-years of assaults on animals have been carefully noted so they too can be un-done asap starting in January.

Locally, today’s Times of Trenton includes a story about New Jersey’s numerous suits against the current administration in the interests of “millions” affected by a range of issues (think: regulation rollbacks creating more air and water pollution). For instance, in the last three years, this state has filed 24 complaints against the US Environmental Protection Agency (talk, again, about cruel misnomers!), at least some of which benefit animals.

Add those complaints to others for at least 73 total suits against the federal government, some filed alone and many with other states.  (You go, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal!)

Pandemic or no, there’s lots to keep up with and lots for us to do for New Jersey animals right now.

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What are you thinking and doing on all these issues?  I’d like to know!  Please comment on this post, or any earlier one (suggestions for relieving food insecurity perhaps?). Just go to moreonce.blogspot.com.