On Loving Animals...

Reading through the Care2 petition site on the web, I found a most welcome bit of news concerning that most hideous of fashion trends --- fur coats. It seems that there is at least a couple of bars in New York City that will reject any one who tries to enter with a fur coat on. The bouncers at the door have been instructed to inspect patrons' clothing for fur, to determine if fake or not, and to reject those that are guilty of fur. Although the name of the owner of these establishments was not mentioned, the bars were specifically mentioned as being the Revision Lounge & Gallery and the The Back Room . Both bars are located in the lower east side of Manhattan. It was reported that the owner's motivation for the ban is to support the movement against the fur industry. It's one more nail to the coffin. This innovation, this sort of trailblazing, can catch fire and spread throughout the city. Thank you for this great example and I appreciate your chutzpah and forward thi...

It has been five days since the 2011 New Jersey black bear massacre ended, and the official count of the dead amounted to 464. A more detailed accounting will be published later in the next year by the Department of Fish & Wildlife (DFW), a report that will list the different weights, gender, area of the kill, and information like such. Just like the report for the 2010 massacre, I expect that more than half the kill will be young bears weighing less than 100 pounds. I stood across the gates of the Franklin weigh station on the first day, Dec. 5 th , and watched cub after cub trucked in to be measured and weighed and for the killers to have their proverbial trophy photo taken. Yes, the one that virtually says, " Look, I killed a bear and proud of it. " The fact that most of the kills were mere cubs didn't mean less pride. And, quite frankly, I am not sure if DFW will be honest about their figures concerning the number of cubs killed. It has been argued that DFW is not...

Well, I am thoroughly upset by this year's bear trophy hunt. It's the second year we've had this mass killing in New Jersey. Last year, the hunters killed 589 bears in five days of hunting(?). Of that total, 378 were under one year old, cubs basically, with the smallest one weighing only thirty pounds. I am sorry to say that these trophy hunts are part of a 5-year bear management program, fostered by the Department of Fish & Wildlife (DFW) and under the behest of our bully governor, Chris Christie. This only means three more years of indiscriminate killings of our black bears. The DFW argues that the hunts are only one part of the program, that public education and proper garbage disposal alternatives plus some vague reference to humane methods are also part of their plan. But Jeff Tittel, Director of the Sierra Club of New Jersey, referred to this 5-yr program as a document filled with beautiful words but lacks the funding and staffing to implement all its provisos. A...

Dear Members, Supporters and Friends, After meeting with key legislators in the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee, we effectively halted movement on S2649, a ghastly and deadly bill for deer. . . In a underhanded maneuver, Senator Bob Smith (D-17), the sponsor, moved the bill to the Assembly Agriculture Committee, where he knows there is support for his pro-hunt agenda. In behalf of the deer, who are victimized and maligned, we urge you to take action. (see TAKE 5 MINUTES AND DO THREE WONDERFUL THINGS FOR DEER! below). Please save these and other deer from becoming dead bodies in the backs of trucks, heads in buckets, and heads on the walls of hunters. TAKE 5 MINUTES AND DO THREE WONDERFUL THINGS FOR DEER! Please start calling on Monday. Talking points are available here: http://aplnj.org/Legislation.php To read a report on S2649, please go here: http://aplnj.org/assets/pdf/S2649Report.pdf 1. EVERYONE: Call the Speaker of the Assembly: Sheila Oliver: (973) 395-1166 . ...

Here we are again, at death's door, with the 2011 New Jersey Black Bear Massacre only three weeks away. The killing will begin on December 5th and will last five days. Last year's bear massacre resulted in 589 dead, most of them one-year and less in age, weighing less than 75 pounds. The smallest kill weighed only 30 pounds. Three hundred and seventy-eight (378) were just cubs. That's more than half of all the dead. These facts were gleaned from the published report of the NJ Department of Fish & Wildlife, a government body that portrays itself as some kind of overseer of the environment, the protector of animals in that environment, and the provider recreational possibilities offered by the environment. But, make no mistake. The New Jersey DFW is not the Sierra Club, and it does not have any affinity with John Muir's grand design, with his love of nature and respect for animals. In fact, the NJ DFW has stooped so low as to encourage young adults to take up hunting ...

Dear Friends of NJ Wildlife and ALL Animals, Please feel free to cross post and forward! Following up our previous email on Voting Humanely on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8th, we are providing you with the list of the BEST and WORST New Jersey Legislators on animal issues, wildlife as well as companion animal. Also included (see below is the list of NJ legislators belonging to the NJ Angling & Hunting Conservation Caucus aka Sportsmen's Caucus. Obviously, we DO NOT SUPPORT any member of the Sportsmen's Caucus. The fact is that the ONLY way we will create change in NJ Div. of Fish & Wildlife policies, as well as increasing protection of companion animals is through the VOTE. Do we vote FOR animal protection, or AGAINST it. YOU hold the power with your VOTE. The League of Humane Voters of NJ 2011 endorsement list was compiled based strictly on the following criteria: - Voting records on companion and wildlife issues - Memberships in hunti...

Dear Friends of NJ Wildlife and ALL Animals, Election Day is Tuesday, November 8th . Many registered voters only turn out for 'major' - presidential or gubernatorial elections. This Election Day is MAJOR. You will be able to vote OUT members of the NJ State Senate and Assembly who have sponsored and voted some of the most inhumane animal legislation in history. Who have compromised public safety for the sake of 'sport' by reducing the bow hunt perimeter from 450 feet to 150 from occupied buildings, as in private homes. You have the opportunity to send a clear message to our state legislators, including our governor, that we DEMAND non-lethal solutions to wildlife conflicts in New Jersey . Think of Election Day as the day of CHANGE for NJ animals. Local elections empower us. Protesting deer and bear hunts goes only so far. If we keep electing the same state legislators who are deeply imbedded in the 'Sportsmen's Caucus', we defeat ou...

Hello Fellow Animal Lovers, I met many of you during our successful fight to help save the future of Bergen County geese and/or our battle to save the deer of Garret Mountain . It is a pleasure to know you all, who take the time out of your busy lives to help animals. Now, I'd like to ask you to do something important. I know it's easy to be cynical about politics, but, in this case, you CAN make a difference! There is less than 1 1/2 weeks until election day and it could mean something BIG for our animals! Because of re-districting, the most competitive race in the state is right here! - District 38 - our LOCAL district.... District 38 includes Bergenfield , Fair Lawn , Glen Rock , Hasbrouck Heights , Hawthorne (Passaic County), Lodi , Maywood , New Milford , Oradell , Paramus , River Edge , Rochelle Park and Saddle Brook . League of Humane Voters of NJ (LOHVNJ) has endorsed State Senator Bob Gordon and Assemblywoman Connie Wagner because of their ON-RECOR...

I suspect that this photo has been circulating on the web for a while when it finally made it to my inbox. The challenge before us is to spot the cat in the photo. Yes, this is meant to develop a little frustration in you, but it isn't a fool's errand. There really is a cat in this photo. You need to find it. I recall a documentary on television on how the American army was working hard on invisibility. If the enemy can't see you, then you have a definite, if not decisive, advantage. But the American army's concept of invisibility doesn't entail an actual disappearance from the scene. Their concept involved blending into the background so well that invisibility is achieved. They do this by electronically mapping the background against which a sniper is positioned and then projecting the same patterns on the front of the sniper's gear---rendering him indistinguishable from the background. Invisibility! Good luck spotting the cat. Click on the photo to enlarge it.

I have just concluded a two-week trip to France and Germany, spending seven days outside Paris and six days in Berlin. The last time I was in Paris was 20 years ago. I went to see the same sights and I was struck at how places do not change as much as people do. Sacre Couer looked pretty much the same, but I certainly have lost a considerable amount of my energy and retentive powers since 1992. I do not know if I have another twenty years to live, quite frankly, but cities will live on. Staying outside Paris, I had the chance to hit the roads. The French drive like crazy, and motorcyclists were even crazier with the way they weaved like daredevils through traffic. Many times, they cut you off with only a foot or two between your hood and their tail lights. But, everyone seemed to anticipate the other's bad driving quite well, resulting in no accidents. One can't see this sort of driving when touring Paris, but it becomes quite obvious once you go on and beyond the Peripherique ...

The killing of a hunter by a grizzly bear in Montana has been in the news for the last two weeks. I am glad to say that readers' comments have been overwhelmingly sympathetic to the bear. People argued that anyone who ventures into wild territory is putting his life on the line. If he loses it, then it's all fair and just. I agree, but I must stress that the hunters go in with a huge, if not decisive, advantage with their high power guns, camouflaged gear, scents, and the element of surprise or ambush. The animal only has its natural instincts to rely on; it isn't even out to kill a human but to look for sustenance. Essentially, it all boils down to limped-dick, small-minded ignorami out to refill their macho dreams at the expense of an animal. Unfortunately, my schadenfreude was short-lived with today's news that the hunter, 39-yr old Steve Stevenson from Winnemucca, Nevada , was actually killed by his partner's errant shots and not by the bear. Nevertheless, it so...

How come the dogs of homeless people are so well-behaved? I saw one on 42nd street and it just sat there with the imperturbability of a statue, receptive to its owner but not to the maddening crowd that trudges endlessly by them. The stoics from ancient Greece would be proud, and the renaissance painters who include dogs in their paintings to signify loyalty to the crown would have them as the perfect models. Maybe the dogs sense their precarious lives, make no trouble, and conform with the mendicant ways of their masters.

I arrived early at the shelter this morning, and the none of the people entrusted with a key weren't there yet. So, I walked back to the parking lot to finish my coffee in the comfort of my car when I came face to face with a doe right where my car was. We spent two minutes studying each other, standing still, each very curious of the other, with approximately one hundred feet between us. I felt the urge to approach her, but I suspected she'd bolt and that would be the end of it. I, certainly, wouldn't entice her with some food. That could result in her death; she'd trust someone like me in the future, and wham! Finally, she turned and leisurely walked up the hill behind the bushes, into the woods. I followed and only with some effort did I spot her again, this time with a buck. There was no hurry. They walked with ease, like they were camels, with one eye on me, until they were gone from sight. That was certainly the highlight of my Sunday.

To be frank, yesterday, I was flat-on-my-ass surprised that Governor Christie conditionally vetoed S2923. Evidently, the Governor realized its harmful and inconsiderate proviso that sought to end the 7-day grace period afforded stray animals before they are euthanized at the shelter. That was one big bullet we all dodged regardless of your persuasion. You don't have to be an animal rights proponent to be against S2923. Any sensible person will be alarmed by its overarching condemnation of stray animals. I can only imagine the volume of calls and emails that went the Governor's way in the week before his deadline to veto the bill or not. S2923 was the brainchild of Senator STEPHEN M. SWEENEY , District 3 (Salem, Cumberland and Gloucester), Senator JEFF VAN DREW , District 1 (Cape May, Atlantic and Cumberland), and Assemblyman JOHN J. BURZICHELLI , District 3 (Salem, Cumberland and Gloucester). How could these people propose, even conceive of, a bill like S2923 (http://www...

It hasn't been a year yet, and I am already thinking about it. What horror awaits our black bears we will soon get a whiff of. Governor Christie, DEP Commissioner Bob Martin, and Fish & Wildlife's Lawrence Herrighty, I imagine, are champing at the bit. In fact, the recent cases of roaming black bears (shot dead, of course, as in Clifton) are rumored to be contrived. Bears captured at a remote place are transported and deliberately let loose in populated areas, making the case for bear over population easier. It's all so devious and diabolic. This may seem far-fetched, but rumor often turns out to be premature fact. You've got to wonder about the mindset of people who look forward to another bear hunt. It must be, for them, something like what we feel when the time to procreate with our chosen partner is imminent. Well, for these hunters, it will not be about caressing. The only squeezing they have in mind involves the trigger, ejaculatory for them nevertheless. ...

Is it just me, or is New Jersey really going to pot on animal welfare? We're hitting all the stops on the animal cruelty line. New Jersey has become the Kill State with kill the bears, kill the deer, kill the geese, and now kill the strays. That's quite a fall from grace since we were once the Garden State. We still are? Don't insist. It's no longer true. Killing is our forte now. Well, where does this malaise come from? This bill S2923 isn't just an afterthought. At this point, It has passed both houses of legislature and it is ready to be made into a law by a stroke of the Governor's pen. Quite frankly, I don't see Gov. Christie having a pang of conscience and vetoing this bill. He has no conscience. He's not a friend of the animals unless they are on his plate. If you too feel that everything is starting to stink in New Jersey, remember that the fish rots from the head. With this bill becoming law, pray for those pets who happen to lose their w...

The deer of Morristown, New Jersey need your help. They have had relative safety in the woods of Morristown National Historical Park, but that may end soon. The National Park Service (NPS) may decide that it is time to cull their population in order to preserve mixed hardwood species that don't get a chance to grow (the white-tailed deer eat up the saplings, according to them) and consequently nonnative invasive species would overrun the place. With an eye on aesthetics, the NPS prefers that the national historical park look like it did when our revolutionary army was encamped there. I don't get the point here. Obviously, with the creation of park centers, parking lots, roads, and trails, the NPS had become a greater, guilty party than the deer in changing the landscape of the area. Further, if the NPS is so concerned about authenticity, then why have they not enlarged the present day continental army parade ground to its original dimensions? Along the same lines, why have t...

The Animal Protection League of New Jersey is joining the Bear Group's protest. See details below. We hope to see you on Sunday. The BEAR Group will hold a protest THIS Sunday, July 24 (10am - 12 noon) to condemn the senseless killing of an orphan bear cub by the Clifton Police Department... and we need your support. Police claim the cub was creating a hazardous situation because it had crossed back and forth Rt 46. But the media has reported that the cub was shot in a wooded area OFF of the highway. Another source tells us that this cub was shot WHILE the police were waiting for the Division of Fish & Wildlife to arrive. Please join us...show them that such extreme acts of cruelty will NOT be tolerated. Date : Sunday, July 24, 2011 Time : 10:00 am – 12:00 noon Place : Van Houten Ave & Clifton Ave, Clifton, NJ 07013 http://tinyurl.com/3f72k9y PARKING : Please park in the public municipal lot behind the municpal building. Thank you and we look forward to seeing you on S...

Dear Friends of NJ Wildlife, Many of you may be in the midst of vacation plans, but if your schedule permits. won't you come out to join us in Jockey Hollow for the public meetings on July 27 and/or 28th? Directors and members of the League of Humane Voters, the Animal Protection League of NJ, and members of the press will be in attendance. It is critical that we have a large turnout for these meetings. PLEASE come out and lend your voice to 'science, not slaughter.' Also, please be sure to submit comments via the link below. We hope to see you in Jockey Hollow on July 27th and 28th. Thank you on behalf of NJ Wildlife! Merrilee Cichy for K.L.I.P. Animal Protection League of NJ ...