Action alert to oppose Sunday killings in Pennsylvania

FRIENDS OF ANIMALS, PHILADELPHIA ADVOCATES FOR THE DEER OPPOSE EFFORTS TO THROW PARKS OPEN TO SUNDAY HUNTING
For Immediate Release: 9 June 2011

PRESS RELEASE AND PENNSYLVANIA MEMBER ALERT:
FRIENDS OF ANIMALS, PHILADELPHIA ADVOCATES FOR THE DEER OPPOSE EFFORTS TO THROW PARKS OPEN TO SUNDAY HUNTING
Press contacts:Lee Hall, Vice President - Legal Affairs, Friends of Animals (local office: Chester County, Pennsylvania): leehall@friendsofanimals.org

Mary Ann Baron, Co-Founder,
Philadelphia Advocates for the Deer: maryannbaron3@gmail.com

PHILADELPHIA AND CHESTER COUNTY – Today, Thursday 9 June, at an out-of-the-way resort hotel in Seven Springs, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives’ Game and Fisheries Committee will hold a hearing to discuss ending the prohibition on Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania. The hearing will begin at 6.30 pm at Seven Springs Mountain Resort (777 Waterwheel Drive, Seven Springs, PA 15622).

The outcome of this pro-hunting initiative will depend on how strongly the Republicans feel about expanding hunting to Sundays, as they control the House.

Said Lee Hall of Friends of Animals (FoA), “Importantly, Republicans are divided on this issue. Many want to keep Sunday free from gun activities.”

Friends of Animals and Philadelphia Advocates for the Deer oppose hunting and advocate for the peaceful, respectful enjoyment of state parks and the animals inhabiting in them.

Lee Hall, a regular hiker, expressed “thorough disgust at the thought that the quiet of the woods on Sunday as well as Saturday could be assaulted with gunfire,” and observed: “Wearing an orange handkerchief doesn’t feel protective when one’s hiking in a state park. A bullet can travel miles.”

“Moreover,” Hall added, “The experience of being part of nature in the brush, ridges and trails of Pennsylvania is embittered by sights or sounds of people carrying rifles and deer and other animals running for their lives.”

Mary Ann Baron, co-founder of Philadelphia Advocates for the Deer (PAD), stated: “We fail to convince visitors that we exemplify liberty and enlightenment when we treat animals as things to shoot and hang up on walls. At least on Sunday we can feel safe in the parks; we insist that our state respect this.”

Sunday hunting is disallowed in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

Lobbying for expanded hunting, and touting its economic benefits, is a group known as the Sunday Hunting Coalition, whose members include (among others) the National Rifle Association, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Cabela’s outdoor gear store, Delta Waterfowl, Mule Deer Foundation, Pheasants Forever, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and Safari Club International.
Friends of Animals and Philadelphia Advocates for the Deer have asked members and supporters to take prompt action as follows:
Please involve yourself. Animals’ lives are at stake. Set aside some time today to contact your representatives. Encourage them to boost the state’s economy through the promotion of tourism featuring Pennsylvania’s rich history – not by attempting to revive a hunting industry in decline.

A Philadelphia-based member of the House Game and Fisheries Committee, Hon. Angel Cruz, can be called at 215.291.5643. The groups ask that members and supporters ask to speak with the office manager, and register their opposition to the proposal.

To phone Governor Tom Corbett in Harrisburg, dial 717.787.2500
Website: www.governor.state.pa.us

To phone Sen. Bob Casey, dial 717.231.7540
Website: www.casey.senate.gov

To phone the Allentown office of Sen. Patrick Toomey (R-PA), dial 610.434.1444
Website: www.toomey.senate.gov

If time permits you to take further action on this important issue, enter your postal code here (see the space in the right-hand margin) to communicate with your local officials about your views on the prospect of Sunday hunting: http://bit.ly/FindOfficials

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Friends of Animals, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation founded in 1957, with offices in the U.S. and Canada, advocates for the interests of animals to live in habitat on their own terms. More:www.friendsofanimals.org

Philadelphia Advocates for the Deer (PAD), founded in Spring 2010, is a coalition of local people committed to the long-term ecological health of Philadelphia public parks and respect for indigenous animals. More: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=102629599796845

A Tethering Story

From S. Platt, Veterinary Student at University of Pennsylvania:

I opened my door to my neighbor, who had knocked brusquely and looked a little strained. “We found a dog, around 51st St. I couldn’t catch her. Can you help us?”

There was something imperative to his request. I asked him to wait and gathered the necessary tools – dog treats, a leash (easily arranged in a noose), and my jacket and ID. In the car sat his 7 year-old daughter and 20 month-old twins. I was greeted with, “You have to save the momma dog!”

Okie dokie. Driving up Baltimore Avenue they saw a brown dog with pendulous teats, wandering haphazardly along Baltimore Avenue. My neighbor had tried to entice the dog to him to no success - hence reinforcements.

We found the dog on the east side of Baltimore Avenue. The pit mix had a loping walk, indicating that walking was causing her some pain. She was emaciated. I could see the processess of her vertebrae poking under her skin, it appeared that her skeleton was covered in a fine, brown moss. Her nose was cut and skin was cut from her back, a large tag of fur pointing at an absurd angle from her back. And her teats hung down drom her abdomen, missing the ground by inches. She was searching for food. Her posture indicated that she didn’t trust the people whose refuse kept her alive. Something was tied around her neck.

I jumped out of the car about half a block ahead of the dog. I approached to about 20 feet and crouched down onto my haunches. The dog stopped, looking at me with a palpable fear. Throwing a large dog treat, I said nothing. She sniffed the treat that landed a few inches from her. Then she turned and took her sloping walk in the opposite direction. I tried to make her pause, throwing another treat just ahead of her. She didn’t even stop to sniff it. I began to repeat in a low voice, “good pup, come by me pup.”

My fear for her grew, as I got closer and saw her condition up close. She moved out of fear, veering into traffic to get away from me. I followed, closing slowly on her. I never ran.

Finally, the dog veered back across traffic, with me following. My neighbor and I managed to get the dog onto a porch. Realizing, she was surrounded, she curled up in a ball, looking up fearfully. I slipped the leash around her neck and tried to cajole her to stand up. After a few minutes with no progress, my neighbor leaned over and picked up the dog in his arms. She was carried to the car and placed on my lap. The dog smelled like a rancid dumpster. I whispered to her, “what a good pup” as she shuddered.

Tied her neck was an electrical cord, her skin lapping around it. The cord was tight. Dog teeth marked the cord. The cord was gnawed at and finally bitten through about 8 inches from her neck. The electrical cord tied the dog, wherever she was bound. Apparently, she facilitated her own release. Wherever she was, it had been a long time since she had basic care.

At the hospital, I carried her into the Emergency Services. We took her back and laid her on the table. She just sat, shuddering as the doctors and nurses gathered around and spoke to her warmly. They placed an IV catheter and started fluids. The dog was massively dehydrated. She was placed in crate with some blankets, her fluids, and a bowl of food. She looked forlorned in her crate, and for the first time looked to me for reassurance. Confused by the availability of food in a bowl, but obviously hungry, she didn’t touch it. I sat by her crate, reached in, and moved the food in her bowl. She looked at me solemnly and ate.

After I left her, I spoke with her doctor. We aged her at approximately 14 months. She had a litter of puppies recently, but we couldn’t estimate how recently. Her teats were granular and dry. Her paws were bruised, cut, and raw. Her teeth were good, but she was emaciated. She exhausted, overwhelmingly fatigued and overwhelmed. When I went out to my neighbors I told them that the dog would be staying in the hospital at least all day to be rehydrated and have some basic bloodwork. I also wanted to her to be observed. The seven-year old asked about the puppies, but I told her they were long gone to “new homes.” Before we left, the pit mix needed one last thing – a name. Her 7 year-old benefactor named her Daisy.

Visiting her later in the day, these pictures were taken of Daisy. When I approached her crate, the dog appeared watchful, but comfortable – and very sleepy. Her tail thumped on the aluminum floor of the crate when she saw me. The sound was like music.

She sat up to greet me and I slipped the leash around her neck. She looked confused. I tried to lure her from her crate with gentle words. She was resolute, she had found someplace safe and would not abandon it. I wanted to get her comfortable walking on a leash, so I eventually carried her into the hallway, with a nice treat waiting for her. Whenever she was on a leash – outside, inside, familiar or unfamiliar surroundings, she would collapse instead of walking. She rolled on her back and looked pleadingly at the person at the other end of the leash. She had to be carried throughout that first week.

The pup needed a lot of work. She needed a bath (to which she strenuously objected). She needed a foster home where she would be nurtured and learn to be secure with people. She needed to learn to walk on a leash. She needed to learn not to urinate and defacate inside. She needed to learn that going outside was not dangerous for her. She needed to learn to wear a collar. She also needed a forever home.

The day after she started getting food regularly – which she wolfed down in two bites – she went into heat. This is typical of animals who have been starved. As soon as Daisy got enough food, her body restarted the biological functions which had been put on hold.

Due to the soft hearts of our surgeons, Daisy got spayed that week.

After a few weeks of living in a home, getting lots of good food, and walking on a leash Daisy showed some changes. She wasn’t smelly, she learned to love her leash, and showed a remarkable affection for children. She would gently lift a Cheerio from their soft hands, never using her teeth or biting down. Daisy Belle also knew her friends – recognizing me with a full-body wiggle.

Eight months later, she still greets me with a full-body wiggle – even from half a block away. She’s acquired tens and tens of friends at the veterinary hospital, where she frequently spend the day. Tons of children recognize her and love her.

(Note: First published in 2008, but a timeless story!)

A Plan a Sane Society Should Reject

Guest blogger Betty Madden writes:

Despite a pending court challenge, the National Park Service announced its intention October 4 to proceed with installing snipers in Valley Forge National Historical Park starting in November. By doing so Park Managers ignore their mandate under NPS’ Organic Act to preserve wildlife within it.

According to the law human intervention in wildlife management is limited to those rare circumstances when wild species interfere with human use of a park. Only in those cases when wildlife attacks visitors like the bears in Yellowstone can the Secretary of the Interior destroy wildlife. There is no evidence the deer at Valley Forge are impacting public use of the park. In fact, according to VFNHP’s own survey, the deer are an attraction to many visitors.

An analysis of the document the Park prepared to justify running the risk of deer vehicle collisions reveals other factors which don’t add up. Park Managers claim the deer are eating too much but according to the Final Deer Management Plan/EIS the Park supports over 1300 species of plants and animals. How can the Park keep this many species if deer are gobbling up everything? Furthermore, according to an inventory the Park conducted in 2007 of meadows, 337 plant species dominated by native grasses (which deer prefer) were identified. The large proportion of these grasses calls into question whether the Park deer are adversely impacting such habitat as the Park claims.

If deer browsing on young trees is a problem there are safe ways to protect saplings with plantra tubes, used all over Chester County. These tubes cost a million times less than the two-three million dollars the Park’s budgeted to implement this Plan. Wasting tax payer money is unconscionable when these funds are needed for job creation programs and saving homes from foreclosure, or staving off hunger in U.S. Congressional District 1 which consists of parts of North, West, South Philadelphia and Chester. According to “A Portrait of Hunger” featured in the Inquirer on October 10, 2010, it is the second poorest district in the U.S.A.; the Bronx is first. Forty percent of the children in the District go to bed and to school hungry. They grow up intellectually challenged due to lack of nutrition. The millions budgeted to restore native vegetation at Valley Forge should be reappropriated to save these children from failure.

Worst of all Park Managers themselves admit this Plan could be a waste of millions. They are not sure if this dangerous plan which also involves the wholesale slaughter of tame deer will even regenerate the forest. Other factors could be the cause of the problem such as by trees growing too close together which reduces sunlight from reaching the forest floor. Inadequate rainfall could also be among other factors affecting the absence of seedlings. NPS claims it might modify its plan as new information is collected. The only problem is they only plan to reevaluate after 10 years when 80% of the deer have been killed and millions of dollars spent.
Meanwhile bullets from high powered rifles as close as 300 feet from roads will continue to fly from November through March every year, perhaps for as many as 15 years, the life of the Plan. Ask anyone who has been struck by a bullet fired from miles away if this is safe. Look up Erie Insurance Company and Penndot for information about deer vehicle collision and you will find the worst time to drive is when hunters are shooting at deer. Click on the American Lyme Disease Foundation link on our website and see that field mice and birds, not deer, are the real culprits in spreading Lyme Disease. In fact, by planting more bushes the Park acknowledges they are creating a habitat for field mice and consequently more Lyme Disease! I doubt the neighbors of the Park know that Michele Batcheller, the Park’s wildlife biologist, warned at the Public Hearing in January 2009 that when the sharpshooting begins deer will run out of the Park and take up residence in their backyards.

None of these consequences are what anyone has bargained for. Before it’s too late contact your congressman and insist this dangerous and expensive experiment which risks human life and injury be stopped. Mention the 260,000 children in Philadelphia who don’t have enough to eat, and ask them if they’ll help reprioritize federal dollars by putting people first. Perhaps sanity will prevail and this Plan will be buried before it’s too late.
Betty Madden

www.keepvalleyforgesafe.org

First Annual LOHV Affair!

Where: Black Olive Restaurant
24 East Mt. Airy Avenue

When: Saturday, October 23, 2010
6:30 to 9:00 pm

Please join the League of Humane Voters of Greater Philadelphia for updates on animal advocacy and legislation regarding chained dogs, pigeon shoots, and horse-drawn carriages, and learn about our endorsements for the fall elections.

Special guest speakers include Stu Bykofsky, renowned columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News, Pulitzer Prize nominee for his coverage of "Duke the Dalmation" animal abuse case, and long-time sup...porter of animal causes, Dara Lovitz, author, law professor, director of media and public relations for Peace Advocacy Network and a board member of Four Feet Forward, Elissa Katz, board member of Humane USA PA PAC and Development Director of the Humane League of Pennsylvania, and Tamira Thayne, director of Dogs Deserve Better, a humane non-profit organization dedicated to helping chained dogs.

In addition to hearing from wonderful speakers, you will be able to bid on special items through a silent auction and enjoy a delicious vegan menu of:
(1) Appetizers: Akara Patties OR Salad: Black Olive House Salad (gluten-free); (2) Entree: Grilled Seitan Steak, Yukon Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Julienne Carrots OR Spinach Lasagna with Roasted Zucchini (gluten-free); and (3) Dessert: Mixed Berry Cheesecake OR Raspberry Sorbet (gluten-free). The salad and entrees are made from all-organic ingredients.

The cost is $25.00 in advance or $30.00 at the door (tax and tip included). Space is limited and expected to sell out quickly, so please reserve your spot today!

To pay online, click here, or you can send a check to P.O. Box 8712, Philadelphia PA, 19101 made out to "League of Humane Voters."
For more than one ticket, please use this link:

$25.00 - One Ticket to LOHV Affair $50.00 - Two Tickets to LOHV Affair $75.00 - Three Tickets to LOHV Affair $100.00 - Four Tickets to LOHV Affair

The Mission of the League of Humane Voters® (LOHV) is to create, unite, and strengthen local political action committees, which work to enact animal-friendly legislation and elect candidates for public office who will use their votes and influence for animal protection. For more information, please visit www.LOHVPhilly.org .

Pigeon Shoot Action Alert

SNOWFLAKE - please read and then take the action below to help end this cruelty.

Please meet Snowflake, above. Snowflake
was wounded during a pigeon shoot last month, and survived overnight in the ice and snow and freezing temperatures. The next day, SHARK volunteers found her and attempted a rescue - To read more of Snowflake's story, please click here.

Below is an action alert from the Humane Society of the United States regarding legislation to ban pigeon shoots in Pennsylvania. The League of Humane Voters supports this legislation and asks that you consider taking the action described in the alert. Thank you for helping animals.

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Help Protect Birds in Pennsylvania!

Dear Friend,

In Pennsylvania, barbaric caged animal shoots, where live birds are launched from spring-loaded boxes for shooters to shoot in a contest for prizes are still practiced openly and regularly. There's even a live pigeon shoot this weekend.

Fortunately, legislation has been introduced to ban this cruel activity in the Pennsylvania State Legislature. House Bill 1411/Senate Bill 843 will end the abusive practice of mechanically launching or tethering live animals for target practice, finally banning live pigeon shoots in Pennsylvania.

Both of these bills are awaiting a vote in the House and Senate Judiciary Committees - and your state senator and representative are critical votes on this important legislation!
TAKE ACTIONPlease call your state representative to urge support of H.B.1411 and then call your state senator and urge support of S.B. 843-. Click here to look up your state representatives and their phone numbers. Contacting your senator and representative is easy. You will speak to a staff member who can pass your message along to your representatives. You can say:
"Hello, my name is [your name] and I am calling from [your town] . Now that the legislature has passed a budget, I would like to urge [your state senator/representative] to support H.B. 1411/S.B. 843, to ban the shooting of trap-released or tethered animals as live targets. If the senator/representative is already a supporter, I am sincerely grateful and would like to encourage he/she to ask leadership for a vote on this issue. After years of hearing from state residents t's time that the legislature vote to end live pigeon shoots in the last state to openly host them. Thank you."

After making your call, send a follow-up email to reiterate your support for this humane measure.

Thank you for your help at this critical time, and for all you do for animals!
Sincerely, Mike Markarian
Executive Vice President
The Humane Society of the United States

Valley Forge Deer: Update from Pity, Not Cruelty (PNC) Inc.

1)As far as I know, everyone who has worked to try to get Valley Forge National Historical Park (VFNHP) to accept PNC, Inc's offer of fencing or contraception (or both) hopes the FOA's lawsuit is successful.

2) If animals have rights, then contracepting deer is a violation of their rights in an ideal world or if such rights are absolute, but even human rights are not absolute (there are limitations on what we can say and who we can marry, etc.) and hardly anyone would try to argue that we live in an ideal world.

3) The offer to fund fencing of wooded areas ( (4 ten acre "forest" plots) and contraception (1,000 deer) was made to show that the park's plan to cull deer to "protect, preserve and restore native vegetation" is not necessary and is, in fact, a waste of tax dollars. The offer was made in response to what the park saw as a problem. At no time and in no way was the offer intended to show that the park's perceived problem reflected the true state of affairs in the park. We reject the idea that promoting birth control "actually concedes the point that the deer are overpopulated." It only acknowledges that the park claims the deer are overpopulated and that at least some people believe that. It is an attempt to offer an alternative to save deer lives, nothing more, nothing less. We could also claim that FOA's insistence on doing nothing is almost a guarantee that a slaughter will take place. We fervently hope we are mistaken, and that this adherence to a noble principle is not at the expense of deer lives.

4) It is true that Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has not been detected in Pa and is not proven to be transmissible to humans (the jury is out on this question), but it certainly is transmissible to deer. Killing 80 or 90 % of the VFNHP deer herd will create a vacuum, inviting deer from outside the park to move in. CWD experts assert that the most dangerous thing to do is to move deer if one is concerned about the transmission of CWD. The fact that the park is willing to spend almost $1,000,000 to guard against or detect CWD reveals some degree of concern, but a reckless way of responding..

5) PNC, Inc. did not offer to fund any or all kinds of contraceptives. The offer specifically involved vaccinating the deer under the direction of Jay Kirkpatrick, Ph.D. using PZP made by the Science and Conservation Center in Montana.

6) PZP does NOT alter the social structure of the deer herd. Peer reviewed articles in scholarly journals attest to this fact.

7) PZP does NOT produce dangerous abscesses or inflammation. Peer reviewed articles in scholarly journals attest to this fact.

8) For the vast majority, grazing deer that are darted with PZP continue to graze after they have been darted, so while deer obviously feel the dart, they do not react as if it were any more painful than an injection.

9) PZP does NOT reduce fat content in bone marrow (a sign of poor nutrition). Deer that are darted with PZP are heavier (a sign of good health) than deer that have given birth and nursed a fawn. Weights are equal by the following autumn. Peer reviewed articles in scholarly journals attest to this fact.

10) Male deer are NOT darted with PZP, thus there is no abnormal antler development. PZP blocks the entry points on a female's egg (ovum) so that the male sperm cannot penetrate and fertilize the egg. It would have no effect on a male deer.

11) It is misleading, to say the least, to oppose the offer of PZP immunocontraception to VFNHP by listing results that pertain to other contraceptives, but NOT PZP. For instance, GonaCon apparently affects antler development. PNC, Inc's offer did not include GonaCon.

Priscilla Cohn, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus

Help Valley Forge Deer - Let them be - From Friends of Animals, Pennsylvania

Valley Forge National Park officials are developing a deer management strategy that they claim supports long-term protection, preservation, and restoration of native vegetation and other natural and cultural resources. The plan cites unacceptable damage to the understory of the woods, the threat of Chronic Wasting Disease, damage to ornamental plants on local human residents' property, and other perceived problems. The Park initially set out four alternatives: (A) no action against the deer, the status quo; (B) fencing and reproductive control; (C) sharpshooting plus capture and euthanasia and (D) killing 80% of the deer with sharpshooters and imposing birth control on the remaining 20%. Park officials favor “Alternative D,” a massacre.

In February, Friends of Animals, CARE, and certain individual citizens joined together to submit extensive comments favoring “Alternative A.” These comments are publicly available in their entirety at: http://www.friendsofanimals.org/programs/free-living/Deer_Management.htm. Among others, the following facts indicate that Park officials' claims are disingenuous:
– The deer population has decreased and stabilized since 2005.
– Accidents are better prevented by enforcing speed limits and putting up fences and reflective lights, rather than shooting or trapping (for birth control) deer (which will cause deer to run into traffic).
– Chronic Wasting Disease has not been detected in PA and is not proven to be transmissible.
– Coyotes are present in the area, and could keep the deer numbers in check if permitted to thrive.
Why not promote birth control? Imposing birth control on free-living animals is a violation of their rights. Controlling deer fertility is not only a physical violation, but also alters the social structure of a group. Contraceptives have been tested on deer, with disturbing reactions in the deer test subjects: abscesses, inflammation, pain, reduced fat content in bone marrow, and abnormal antler development in male deer. Porcine Zona Pellucida, a birth control made from pig eggs, is clearly not vegan. Though we understand that activists proposing use of contraceptives view this as a compromise to prevent killing, promoting the imposition of birth control actually concedes the point that the deer are overpopulated when, in fact, they are not. In that respect, the Park officials can assert that there is general agreement that the deer are overpopulated.

Friends of Animals and CARE are suing the Park to protect the deer with the assistance of the Denver University Environmental Law Clinic.
What can you do to help?
1 - Write to your Senator and Representative to tell them that you object to the Park spending a budgeted $3,000,000 of taxpayer money on this massacre. Ask your family and friends to do the same.
2 - If you live in the area, e-mail philly@friendsofanimals.org to be added to the mailing list for alerts about protests and other actions demanding that the Park “LET THE DEER BE.”