On Loving Animals...

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