We advocate on all animal protection and exploitation issues, including experimentation, factory farming, rodeos, breeders and traveling animal acts.
FROM
Kiley Blackman,
Animal Defenders of Westchester
July 2017
See RisingMediaGroup.com, Friday, July 21, 2017 (PDF)
At a recent meeting of Yonkers residents, the topic was sighting of
coyotes – that’s right, “sightings,” not one single incident or disturbance
had occurred – by these animals who have been living peacefully in the area
for over 10 years.
A local official said we “don’t want customers at Empire Casino seeing the
animals.” Yes, that gambling and horseracing bastion of dignity and refi ned
living must be spared; there, confi ned animals can be whipped to run faster
– but no free animals should ever even be seen. One resident was “terrifi
ed” to merely see one looking outside his gate during his barbecue, but when
provided with correct, simple information on successful techniques to shoo
them – such as yelling or turning on the sprinklers – several residents
expressed their indignation.
“Why should we have to ‘do’ anything?” was repeatedly asked. But the fact
is, the residents already do things for their general comfort and security.
They insulate their homes, lock their doors, mulch their lawns, clean the
homes, repair the boilers, etc. It’s not so much to ask them to add “doing
something” to deter animals who have lived in this area for years and not
bothered a soul.
Every time you drive your car, there’s no guarantee of safety; local news
sources report a serious or fatal auto accident each week but we keep
driving. We adapt. Coyotes kill rats and mice, and are a natural part of a
healthy ecosystem. We are so used to, so habituated to truly serious dangers
we create ourselves and face each and every day; seeing wildlife is out of
the norm – and, sadly, we panic; feel we have the right to order their
slaughter because they can’t defend themselves.
But it ain’t Godzilla, folks, its animals who love their families just like
we do, who are more afraid of us than we are of them. You are far more
likely to be bitten by a dog, and overwhelmingly more likely to be injured
or killed in your car. There are billion s more of us than the animals; New
York City, acknowledging wildlife’s presence, has created “WildNYC,” an
education and awareness campaign to teach New Yorkers about living
compassionately among “urban fauna,” our natural neighbors.
We would be wise to adapt something similar: Westchester used to be all
forest – as the human population explodes everywhere, common decency, right
and wrong, cannot be thrown out the window just because animals can’t say
“No!”
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WESTCHESTER4GEESE is an adjunct of ANIMAL DEFENDERS OF WESTCHESTER. We advocate against all forms of animal abuse and exploitation, including hunting, experimentation, fur, circuses and rodeos - https://www.facebook.com/Westchester4Geese