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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 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.)
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| 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.
#
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.