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| Coughing gorillas NYTimes image |
They’re unpleasant subjects –
coronavirus, bats, wet markets – but as animal advocates, we need to know about
them, to protect ourselves, our pets and the animal world at large. With the pandemic surging again and vaccines
becoming a political/cultural issue, it’s likely we’ll have Covid-19 with us
(and in us) for the indefinite future.
So we need to be armed with
knowledge. It should include (1) the
importance of stamping out wet markets everywhere (yes, they’re here too); (2) the
frightening situation of humans infecting animals, instead of the reverse; (3)
the overarching need for us to bond with all animals and stop the trafficking
and consumption of wild animals.
“We are animals, too,” David Quammen
reminds us at the end of his latest column on infections and pandemics. Reporting on coughing gorillas in a
California zoo, he illustrates that what goes around comes around. Tests showed that “SARS-CoV-2, the
coronavirus that causes Covid-19, was among
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| Silverback gorilla |
them [the gorillas].”
The most ominous part: “It could have
come only from a person,” most likely an infected but asymptomatic
zookeeper.
Instead of animals transmitting the
virus to humans (a zoonosis), which is how the current pandemic began, those
infected coughing gorillas signaled transmission from a human to a nonhuman
animal. That this human virus can now spill
over to great apes (as well as domestic and big cats, minks and other animals)
is fearful because of the potential for its being passed back and forth among
animals including humans, and spreading widely. Read it and weep: https://tinyurl.com/nr52nh3p
Just sign here
Great news: Passed by both NJ’s assembly and senate, the
trunk-fighting bill now moves to Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk. If he signs it or doesn’t act on it within 45
days, it becomes law.
Please ask the governor to sign this
legislation into law. Phone him at 609-292-6000. And/or message Gov. Murphy through Twitter (@GovMurphy) and
Instagram (@GovMurphy).
Allocations for animals
Yes, “the American Rescue
Plan Act of 2021” is primarily designed to address continuing issues stemming
from the pandemic. But the
government’s new relief law also helps animals, reports the Humane Society of
the US.
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| Bonobo |
“Acknowledging the close link
between public health and animal welfare, Congress also allocated millions of
dollars to examine and mitigate risks posed by animals susceptible to
contracting and spreading diseases, many [animals] of which are currently
farmed and traded in local and global exploitative industries. This includes the legal wildlife trade,
wildlife trafficking and mink fur farms.”
Thanks, HSUS, for lobbying on behalf
of animals!
Moving a
giraffe
How would you move a giraffe from here
to there? Or a few giraffes?
Because poaching in Uganda has severely
reduced its giraffe population, a once-yearly “translocation” of giraffes takes
place. It’s a tricky operation to safely
move these tall, long-necked animals, as illustrated in a graphic NYTimes
story.
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| Giraffe |
Three straps (one on the neck and two
on the sides) and 11 people make it happen once a giraffe is gently
tranquilized, fitted with ear plugs and blindfolded. Led to a specially designed trailer, up to 15
giraffes are moved to a livestock enclosure and ultimately to a truck bound for
their new home site(s).
And you thought
moving that piano would be tough!
April animal events
In the last post, I promoted “Cat Camp,”
the Saturday, April 10 session all about felines from Jackson Galaxy & Co.
This time, I’m recommending the Wildlife
Conservation Network’s (virtual) Expo, on Saturday, April 24, 11 am-4:30
pm. These events highlight conservationists
in the field all over the world, emphasizing what local people are doing for
the animals who share the land with them: all quite exotic — and heartening.
To learn more about this expo and to register,
go to www.wcnexpo.org.
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| Painted dogs |
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1moreonce.blogspot.com.