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Selected Articles from our
newsletter
The C.A.S.H. Courier
ARTICLE from the Fall 2007 Issue
ACTIVISM MEANS GIVING IT YOUR BEST
Using the Media, Educating and Lobbying
We at Wildlife Watch
appreciate the dedicated efforts made by people around the country to help
wildlife. Whether citizen action takes the form of simply bringing an
injured animal to a rehabilitator or mounting a campaign against a cruel
practice involving animals, we applaud all acts of kindness and give credit
to these caring persons.
One such activist is Mary Ann Sveom, President of WAEN-
Wisconsin Animal Education Network. Mary Ann
put a great deal of effort into trying to stop a horrifying practice known
as “canned hunting” in her hometown of Beloit.
I
first became aware of the possibility of a canned hunt facility getting a
permit to operate in Beloit, Wisconsin early this year, when an article in
the local paper announced that a commercial “bird hunting preserve” was
seeking a conditional use permit from the Board of Supervisors. I sent an
alert to local humane-minded people and groups.
I next wrote to the Board of Supervisors, asking that
they not approve the permit, for this kind of business promotes cruelty –
stocking birds and other animals in a fenced-in area, to be shot at by guns
or arrows. I noted the safety hazards that such a preserve would pose to the
general public. I asked if the Board was
willing to be named in a lawsuit should an accident happen. The proposal
includes “tower hunting,” an even more cruel and unsportsmanlike way of
killing many birds at one time with rapid gunfire.
I also submitted a letter to the newspaper
against the proposed bird hunting “preserve.” In my letter I concluded,
“Will man never cease inventing new advantages over the animals he seeks to
destroy?!”
I sent a reminder e-mail with contact information to
large organizations and many individuals a week before the Board voted.
I was so hoping that many people would contact the board members.
I spoke with the Town
Clerk and was saddened to learn that only 2 e-mails for the supervisors were
received. She couldn’t say if the supervisors had read them, nor if they
would take them into consideration. I know of only one person who
contacted the board members by phone.
My
letter to the newspaper appeared on the same day the Town Board voted on the
permit. They did NOT allow public comments at the meeting.
Although one supervisor tried to limit the hunting
fields, his motion failed 2 to 3. And the final vote on the proposed permit
passed 3 to 2, sadly dooming countless birds to a ruthless fate at the hands
of totally unsporting “sportsmen.”
C.A.S.H. hopes that more
people will join Mary Ann Sveom and WAEN for the next phase of the fight. We
regret that her account was much abbreviated for space considerations. For
more information, please contact Mary Ann Sveom, President, Wisconsin
Animal Education Network:
contact@waenprotects.org
www.waenprotects.org
IT PAYS TO ADVERTISE!
ANIMAL ADVOCATES’ RADIO AD SAVES COYOTES AND OTHERS FROM TRAPS
By Valerie Will
“I didn’t know where to turn-then I heard your ad on the radio!” Thank
goodness for our wonderful ads on 930 AM and 107.7 FM! Those ads literally
helped save many animals from suffering and death. How?
A resident of Lancaster found out that traps were set for coyotes in her
neighborhood. Her neighbor had seen a coyote in the vicinity and it had
“stared” at her. To her, that meant danger. The neighbor sent out flyers
warning other neighbors that they and their pets were in danger because
coyotes were around. Unfortunately, the owner of the development company, in
a typically ignorant response to the neighbor’s complaint, hired a wildlife
trapper.
The person who called our “hotline” loved seeing wildlife in her
neighboring fields and knew that coyotes are part of a healthy ecosystem.
She couldn’t stand the idea of animals being caught in the vicious traps,
but how could she stop it? Then she heard Animal Advocates’ ad on the radio.
She called us and was referred to me, Urban Wildlife Committee Director, who
supported her desire for non-lethal solutions to wildlife problems. I
contacted Elise Able of Fox Wood Wildlife Rescue. Elise is a most respected
coyote expert all over New York State because of her vast knowledge and
experience with these wonderful animals.
Elise supplied the caller with a plan of action. The caller followed
through with Elise’s plan and within a day the trapper’s job was cancelled
and the traps were taken away! Animal Advocates, Elise and the caller are
now working on educating the residents of Lancaster about coyotes. The
caller was extremely pleased, and said, “Because I heard the ad I called
your group, and you led me to Elise! Thank goodness I heard your ad!”
This story has a happy ending not only for those coyotes but for all the
other animals, wild and domestic, that most likely would have suffered in
those traps.
WHAT CAN YOU DO? Help us educate your town, village, or city about
wildlife. When people don’t understand wildlife it causes panic and the
result most often is that the animal in question is killed. Local officials
need to be supplied with information about humane wildlife experts that they
should call when a resident believes he/she has nuisance wildlife. In the
majority of such cases, there is a peaceful solution. The caller, Urban
Wildlife Committee Director, and Elise Able worked together and saved many
animals. Volunteer to help with this effort and you, too, can help to
prevent much suffering.
You can contact: Valerie Will, Director of Urban Wildlife Committee of
Animal Advocates of Western New York.
________________________________
Reported by Virginia Fuller, former president of the
New England Wildlife Center, 9/4/07
THE MASSACHUSETTS Division of Fisheries and Wildlife recently extended
coyote hunting season by five weeks, making the season on coyotes and foxes
the longest for any game animal. The new rules also put coyotes on the list
of “nuisance” wildlife to be controlled by Problem Animal Control agents.
Marion E. Larson, a wildlife biologist for the state, said in a Springfield
newspaper that the longer season isn’t being
proposed as a population control measure, but rather a way to provide more
chances for recreational hunting. She said hunting has little effect on the
numbers of coyotes; more trapping or hunting pressure may even increase
their birthrate. MassWildlife and its board admitted that the extended
hunting season is designed solely to satisfy hunters.
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