Press Releases
From Animal Defenders of Westchester (ADOW)

We advocate on all animal protection and exploitation issues, including experimentation, factory farming, rodeos, breeders and traveling animal acts.

TEATOWN BANS COMMENTS; ONLINE PETITION CAMPAIGN STARTED, KAPLOWITZ AND BORGIA NOTIFIED

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 25, 2014

CONTACT:
Kiley Blackman
[email protected]
www.adow.org

TEATOWN BANS COMMENTS; ONLINE PETITION CAMPAIGN STARTED, KAPLOWITZ AND BORGIA NOTIFIED
 
Westchester County, NY
January 25, 2014

In a move reminiscent of Mamaroneck's censoring of email about geese, Teatown Nature 'Preserve' has responded to complaints about its deer killing by setting its Facebook page to block comments, though traditionally it has been open to the public.  We have contacted Teatown Advisory Board Members and Westchester Legislators Mike Kaplowitz and Catherine Borgia, asking them to address this censorship forthwith and stop the 'head-in-the-sand' method of pretending they don't have a problem.  
 
We have also begun a petition against the secretive Teatown Deer slaughter, that reads in part:  
 
Teatown is a nature 'preserve;' for them to conduct a deer slaughter is completely contrary to the concept and spirt of the word 'preserve.' Teatown has several programs specifically directed at teaching children about nature - a secretive nighttime slaughter only teaches children how to be bullies and kill your way out of a problem.  Teatown has a million-dollar budget and many influential corporate sponsors, including Pepsico, Goldman Sachs and Microsoft;  they have ample funding to institute a birth control program as has been done in Hastings, NY and Fire Island - a program they are fully aware of but simply chose to ignore, making a scurrilous and arbitrary choice to kill them instead, the least ethical, least responsible choice a 'preserve' could make. Encouraged by the DEC, which will gladly kill any bird or animal if the correct amount of money is provided, this slaughter was never discussed with members and donors, many of whom have commented on their unhappiness with it:

'What an antithesis of the mission statement of a nature preserve! For years myself and so many others have supported Teatown-No more!'  
'Leave the deer alone. Spend, spend, spend. Teatown asks for donations all of the time, no more now.'

'Deer are sensitive creatures. I don't like trickery. I also feel that Teatown needs to be a place of safe haven for the natural world, not a place of killing. Please look at other more humane ways to help relocate deer or solve the issues.'

Sign online petition - Teatown Nature Preserve - Stop the Deer Slaughter
 
Teatown wants only pictures of sunsets and children playing to appear on its Facebook page; but we are requesting that they place pictures of the deer they plan to kill - both alive and dead - in prominent areas of their Facebook page and website, along with links for televised coverage of the slaughter.  Local press has given this issue extensive coverage - yet and still Teatown, its advisers and trustees are keeping mum.  There is still an active lawsuit against Teatown's DEC deer slaughter contract; reports in the media only told half the story:  Two lawsuits were filed, one for a Permanent Injunction against all future slaughters at Teatown - one a Temporary Restraining Order.  Only the TRO was dismissed; and that was because Teatown represented that no killings would take place before the end of January...which is how long the TRO would run anyway.  The request for a Permanent Injunction is still viable.
 
These wanton killings of wildlife have to stop.  Deer, geese, coyotes, wolves, foxes...all of them have a right to be here, to live in peace without government agencies fleecing the public with bad-science fear tactics like 'invasive species' 'Hybrid' and 'Non-native.'  Humans are all 'hybrids,' we're all 'invasive species' who cause massive pollution, urban sprawl and global warming...yet we scapegoat wildlife just like minorities, gays and women have been scapegoated but can't be any longer 'cause it's not 'PC.'  We take out our frustrations on the animals - 'If the wolves/deer/geese are gone everything will be okay.' In Long Island its gotten so bad that hunters are protesting along with animal advocates against DEC plans to kill over 3,000 deer.
 
Animal Defenders of Westchester (adow.org) will not stay quiet while these rogue agencies wreck havoc on birds and animals; the Inspector General has agreed to audit them...we have also met with several area legislators and will be making an announcement shortly about our mutual plans for the DEC and USDA/Wildlife Services. We speak for those who cannot speak for themselves, we are taxpayers and we will not tolerate these out-of-control agencies using our tax dollars to annihilate wildlife.

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