On Loving Animals...

New Jersey's five-year Bear Management Program vilifies the Black Bear as a public nuisance, a danger to humans, and whose population is exploding. The program is the brainchild of Governor Chris Christie. Jon Corzine, the previous Governor, disallowed hunting the Black Bear during his terms in office. The Department of Fish & Wildlife serves as Gov. Christie's running dog. The program has nothing to do with conservation nor public safety. No one has ever been attacked and killed by a Black Bear in New Jersey. The Black Bear does not destroy the environment. If nothing else, the Black Bear ends up hauling away the garbage humans generate. The program is a sop to the well-organized gun and hunting groups who helped elect Christie to office. Only one percent of New Jersey's population hunts, but they are a well-organized as a lobby group.  Already in its third year, the program has killed roughly 1200 black bears. The dead include both young and old. Even bear cubs

Well, it is that time of the year again when Van Saun County Park  becomes ablaze with colors. I was thinking the other day, wondering what is my favorite month. The truth is, I don't truly know. Never given it a serious thought. Certainly, it wouldn't be January or February. Those months remind me of stiff and desiccated corpses in their dank graves. Deep Winter months have no juice, tinged with gray, and stone cold. I love the Summer months for the heat and the extended hours of sunlight, but not much color. It must be October then. The most beautiful weather in the year occur in the Fall, particularly in October.  My birthday is in October, and I am beginning to treat that day extra specially just like in my younger years. However, it is not for the gifts but for scoring one more against Father Time. The height of the Fall colors comes around mid-October in the New york/New Jersey area, at or around the 40th latitude North. As a bonus, I get a holiday in October, Columbus Da

S1848  (Senators Bob Smith (D-17), Jennifer Beck (R-11)  (Our top priority.) As the Senate returns from summer holiday, Senator Smith will  press his colleagues to pass S1848, the Poaching Bill. Once again,  we are asking that you again contact your Senator to express your  strong opposition to this cruel, irresponsible, and ecologically  damaging measure. The Poaching Bill (S1848) would expand the killing deer on  forest stewardship and commercially logged lands by poaching  methods long banned as unethical, unsporting, and unsafe.   Methods include killing animals directly over bait, any time  of day or night, the use of vehicles, and jacklighting, or  stunning deer with strong lights. Under Pennsylvania anti-poaching  laws, first-time offenders who jacklight deer at night face  ninety days in jail. The poaching practices will be permitted on stewardship lands,  a significant portion of which are leased by hunting clubs and  managed for "trophy bucks"

The campaign to replace New York City's horse-drawn carriages with electric, horseless carriages  picked up some steam when two city council members pledged their support for Intro 86a. They are Margaret Chin  of District 1 and Peter Koo  of District 20. The New York City Council  has 51 members. By my estimation, there are 16 council members who support Intro 86a including Koo and Chin. Supporters on the Council are Melissa Mark-Viverito (Prime sponsor), Maria Del Carmen Arroyo, Fernando Cabrera, Daniel Dromm, Julissa Ferreras, Daniel Garodnick, Sara M. Gonzalez, Letitia James, Jessica Lappin, Rosie Mendez and Ydanis A. Rodriguez.  We all know that the horse-drawn carriage industry is archaic, cruel, and far from being a romantic ride.  Who wants to sit and kiss right behind a horse's ass?  The horses work an average of 9 hours a day, pulling a carriage that weighs hundreds of pounds, in all four seasons of the year. You can see them still working past midnight in hea

Chase's story is just one of the  many rescue stories that come out of the Philippine Animal Welfare Society  (PAWS). The rescue team from PAWS came out on August 22, 2012 to rescue a dog reportedly stranded on an island along a very busy highway. That dog turned out to be lost alright, but the owner was found after some effort. All was well and good until, on closer inspection of the area, the team discovered this dog cowering in fear. That was Chase.  As you can see from his admission photo, Chase was covered with mange and open wounds. The team took Chase to the Philippine Animal Rehabilitation Center  (PARC) where he received immediate attention and treatment. You can see Chase's greatly improved condition in the photos. Chase still has a long way to go until adoption, but he certainly is on his way.   I am providing pertinent information below for any of you who want to help PAWS help animals like Chase. All amounts, large or small, will be appreciated.  PAWS

ABC News, last Monday, reported on an incident  that took place on-board a Virgin Australia  flight that involved an adult male passenger and two unaccompanied children who sat next to him. Johnny Mcgirr, like most of us traveling alone, didn't know who would be sitting next to him. Like Mcgirr, most of us do not truly care, trusting that most people would be reasonable, well-behaved, and clean. Evidently, Virgin Australia does care who sits with whom, for they asked Mcgirr to change seats so that he wouldn't be seated next to 10-yr olds during the flight. The reason? He's a male. Virgin Australia admitted that it is their policy to disallow grown males from seating next to unaccompanied children, for the children's safety. Now, we can easily connect the dots, make the equation that looks like this: grown man = pedophile, grown man vis-a-vis children traveling alone = trouble. Eliminate grown man = children safe. No sweat, this is an extremely sexist attitude, a

    I am crossposting a message from Keep Life in the Park regarding a bill that would make it easier for hunters to kill a deer. I used, "hunters," liberally and it does not necessarily mean humans who hunt. You'd think with all the modern weaponry, gear, and other aides the hunters would have a tremendous advantage over the animal, but no.  But, really, forget the hunt. There is just baiting now. There are no more hunting skills involved because the bait does all the work. This bill in question will legitimize a practice that is already quite prevalent among the shooters.  And what else would capture the attention and take up the time of State Senators Bob Smith and Jennifer Beck than more ways to cater to the hunting cabal in the state, figuring out more ways to destroy our wildlife? They are enemies of New Jersey wildlife.  ======================================== Dear Friends of NJ Wildlife, The New Jersey Legislature is considering a b

I don't recall working a job that wasn't a people-oriented job, one that faces and serves the public and not only interact with co-workers. Sometimes, I find it to be some kind of a twisted joke for a misanthrope like me to be a public servant. I've done a pretty good job at sublimation, always courteous and accommodating to people even after becoming aware of multiple forms of animal cruelty from the outright beating of an animal to covert forms like stuffing one's face with a cheeseburger. I try not to blame the individual for specific offenses, but I hold the whole lot suspect by dint of being human. I would prefer to entrust my life to a wild animal than a human being. We are a seriously flawed species with issues rooted in vanity, greed, common stupidity. I had a good laugh at a comment made by a reader in a newspaper editorial about the environment and those who protect it. The reader concluded that environmentalists tend to coddle an anti-human mentality. I am

Dear Friends of NJ Wildlife, If you haven't done so, PLEASE contact your Senators and express your STRONG OPPOSITION to S2066, the Sportsmen's Heritage Act. Find contact information for NJ Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez here: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?State=NJ Remember to share this information with friends and family out of state! You will also find a link to the Humane Society of the U.S. Advocacy page below. PLEASE cross post!  Thank you! K.L.I.P. Here are some points to reference in your communication. Please oppose S2066 and help to protect wildlife, habitat and the public.  As one of your constituents, I urge you to help protect human health, wildlife and public lands by  voting against S2066 . This legislation, if passed, will undermine provisions of existing conservation statutes including the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Toxic Substan

Is this the New Jersey black bear we are supposed to fear? Governor Christie, Commissioner Bob Martin of the Department of Environmental Protection, David Chanda and Larry Herrighty of the Division of Fish & Wildlife wants us to consider a black bear in our backyard as a danger to ourselves and our children. And the hunting cabal in the state fans the fire of fear and hate, trumpets overpopulation fairy tale, to justify the yearly massacre of the black bears. The trophy hunts of 2010 & 2011 killed close to 600 bears respectively, approximately 1200 bears total so far. But, do you know that there has never been a black bear attack on a human in New Jersey. Can you see why?

Our brethren in South Florida are not the type of people you want to mess with. They will root you out at your workplace. And then show up just when and where you think you're safe---at your doorstep. John Resuta learned the hard way. The video above shows our friends at his doorstep in Cutler Bay. You see, John works as the Operations Manager for Primate Products . This company imports and breeds monkeys destined for a hideously cruel, life-long existence in animal experimentation. The company's Live Animal Division is located in Miami, Florida. It is a morally bankrupt line of work, if you ask me. This is a company who ran a promotional drive that offered anyone a complimentary five aluminum collars and one capture pole for every restrainer purchased. What a bargain! They should be listed as a victim-delivery service. I must ask,  who do you think is more depraved, the men who gang raped a woman, or the guy who delivered the victim to the gang?  These photographs