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| Kehoe pic |
Bear hunts just won’t go away in NJ.
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.
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| 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.”
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| 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”)!
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| Catster pic |
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