On Loving Animals...

Does it really matter where this is? It's a lovely place wherever you want to place it. Something good can be said about running water. It is soothing and cathartic. Stagnant water translates to trouble, but a raging river is an adventure. Active is better than passive. In its grander form, running water is a natural wonder. I am, of course, not talking about a leaky faucet. Think Niagara Falls, Colorado, Mississippi, and Susquehanna. These mighty rivers have been incorporated in our folklore. They are the subject of poems, songs, and myths. Rivers also teach us to flow, to adapt, and to carry on. It's all water under the bridge, as some say. This is actually the Black River. It runs through the Hacklebarney State Park in Chester, New Jersey. If you follow the Red Trail for approximately a mile from the parking lot, you'll come to this spot. It's a good hike but not challenging by any means. The trails (there are several) take you down picturesque ravines with picnic be...

Have you seen this alleged animal abuser? - National Dogs Examiner.com

Last week, I sat down at my dining table to read the overnight emails and posts on Facebook, hot cup of morning coffee at hand, when I looked out unto the deck and saw our little friend on a ledge. Spring brings new life, and don't the Blue Jays know it. Mating season for these birds runs from March through May. Yep, a new generation of these nest-raiding, territorial birds is germinating among the bushes and tree limbs at this very moment. That's just fine with me. It's the human population explotion that we should be concerned/alarmed about. We're taxing, polluting, and outright destroying the natural resources of this planet as fast as a young lady loses her virginity in Hollywood nowadays. Think gas exploration in the arctic, BP in the Gulf, and mountain top removal in the U.S. If these photographs look soft to you, you're right. I had to shoot through glass and a screen door. There was no time to set up a better shot because there wouldn't have been a shot ...

I am reposting a message from Keep Life in the Park (KLIP). ====================================== Dear Friends of NJ Wildlife, Our friend Dee at Wildlife Freedom Rehab is still in need of volunteers. 'Hands on' volunteering is rewarding, and you'll spend time with like-minded people who respect and support our wildlife. If you are physically able and have some free time, what better way to 'give back' to nature? Please phone Dee for more information. Wildlife Freedom Rehab is located in Wanaque, NJ (North Jersey). Thank you!!! Dee writes: I am still looking for some sincere responsible volunteers to help out at my Wildlife facility in Wanaque, New Jersey. The season has begun for orphaned wildlife as we already have some tiny, fox, raccoons and squirrels. Whatever spare time you may have to offer, your assistance will be very much appreciated. I am waiting for some new arrivals from the Humane Society as I write this e-mail. So please contact me ASAP if you have t...

Believe it or not, the Committee on Animal Welfare (CAW) is again pushing for the reinstatement of Tambucho Gassing as an accepted form of euthanasia in the Philippines. This comes after CAW dragged its feet from August 2010 to April 2011, stultifying a directive from Secretary Proceso Alcala of the Department of Agriculture to rewrite a previous CAW-endorsed administrative order that embraced Tambucho Gassing like it was a God-sent cure-all for stray or unwanted animals. For those coming into this matter only now, Tambucho Gassing is not carbon monoxide gassing as CAW would like the world to believe. Tambucho Gassing is death by vehicular exhaust fumes. No gas cylinders are used, just a rubber hose connected to a clunky, old, usually badly tuned gas engine. The animals are entombed in a sealed metal container and toxic fumes are pumped into it. In terms of expediency, the process is slow, inefficient, and ineffective against the problem. In terms of humanity, it is depraved, utterly c...

Yesterday evening, Sunday, April 17, 2011, Razzle's long journey to his forever home ended when I handed him over to a mother and child from Brewster, New York. We met in the parking lot of Stew Leonard's in Yonkers. I took possession of Razzle from another volunteer driver in Elizabeth, New Jersey an hour earlier. Razzle's journey started the previous day in Tallahassee, Florida under the aegis of the All American Dachshund Rescue (AADR). Days before, Razzle's new family saw him online, wanted to adopt him, but Tallahassee lay approximately 1200 miles away. Enter the network of volunteer animal transporters crisscrossing the United States like a grid. I am a member of the I-95 and I-80 group which are, for those who don't know, two of the longest interstate highways in the U.S. I receive via email information about transports, or runs, that cross my area (NYC, Northern NJ). I get to choose which leg I can possibly do. A volunteer driver normally does one-hour leg...

If you haven't noticed, the Robins are out in force. Their reddish, bronzy breasts make them easy to identify. They stand tall and proud; they epitomize the old saying to keep our breast out and stomach in. I spotted a lone Blue Jay a few days ago along the stream that flows through River Edge, and that's a bit of a rare sighting. Even more rare is a sighting of a Cardinal. I reckon even birds have to drink and take a bath, and a waterway is a good place to spy on them for more than a fleeting moment. Here's one I chanced upon in Van Saun Park. It was an unusually hot day for early April. The temperature peaked around 80F. As I said, the Robins were numerous but this one seemed to have excused himself from the rest to take a most personal bath. And I was there to play voyeur. Fortunately, I had my long telephoto lens on my DSLR and I started clicking away. Photo opportunities don't come easy, particularly with birds. Always bring your camera. No red-blooded biophiliac...

A message from our friends at Keep Life in the Park and the Animal Protection League of NJ ====================================== Dear Friends of NJ Wildlife, I pass along the following action alert on behalf of Animal Protection League of NJ . We must send a clear message to our state Senators that we DO NOT want them to support S 2649 . Particularly residents of Districts 12 and 17 (towns listed below). Please forward this email to those you know who reside in these districts as their voices are crucial. Thank you on behalf of NJ wildlife. Let's keep fighting for their lives! Merrilee for K.L.I.P. ======================================== Dear Members, Supporters, and Friends: On March 21, 2011, S2649 , a bill we thought was bad and unconstitutional , turned ghastly . We realize this is a lengthy email, but please take the time to read it, and act. This is a terrible bill that makes it even worse for the poor beleaguered deer in NJ. The general provisions of the bill as it ...