Letters
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.

More transparency needed before DEC culls

Letter as published The Journal News
January 9, 2016

Upon learning about secret wildlife slaughters licensed by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, using our tax dollars, State Sen. George Latimer drafted a bill to provide open government and our right to know how our taxes are used. This bill, S2600/A7067, states:

  1. Prior to authorizing the removal of turkeys or geese from a locality to be determined by the locality. At least 10 days before the hearing, notice must be advertised in a newspaper published in each county affected. The notice will provide the subject of such hearing and the proposed disposition of the turkeys or geese.
  2. The department will strictly limit the number of permits issued for the removal of turkeys and geese while also providing information offering humane alternatives to the execution of said turkeys and geese.
  3. The department shall not donate turkeys or geese for human consumption.

By operation of law, the DEC's advisory board is composed of all hunters, which guarantees a biased, lethal outcome; they also profit handsomely by providing licenses for these slaughters, making it a win-win for them to continue business in secret as usual. Many communities have been horrified to discover these activities after the fact; others complained they were misled by officials' use of words like "take" or "remove"  — which actually meant killing.

We have a golden opportunity to implement open government, by making the DEC and its operative, Wildlife Services, provide transparency and accountability to the public — which is our right.

Please ask your local representatives to support bill S2600/A7067.

Kiley Blackman
Tuckahoe
The writer is founder of Animal Defenders of Westchester

See Response to this - DEC not fulfilling their intended role - January 26, 2016

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