Inside This Issue:
- Town Withdraws Traveling Circus Animal Ban After Being Informed There Are No Circuses to Ban
- Animal Shelter "Under Review" After Euthanizing Family's Missing Dog
- Florida Invasive Fish Dive Catches 31,773 Lionfish
- More Wildlife Phone Encounters. Can We Have Some Common Sense, Please?
- You Can’t Just Spay and Neuter Your Way Out of a Problem like This... But It Helps!
Town Withdraws Traveling Circus Animal Ban After Being Informed There Are No Circuses to Ban
The elephant in the room is that there is no elephant.
In Greenwich, CT, a proposal to ban traveling circuses that use animals was withdrawn at the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) earlier this week. The initiative, which was initially pitched by HSUS and approved in draft by the Board of Selectmen in August, aimed to prevent circuses from setting up in Greenwich. However, circuses featuring animal acts haven't visited Greenwich for decades, and major circuses like Ringling Bros. do not use animals in their performances.
The lack of a real problem has never been a deterrent when it comes to animal rights legislation, though. In fact, pushing symbolic laws that “vanquish” non-existent opponents – banning the sale of dogs and cats from pet stores in towns that don’t have pet stores that sell dogs or cats, for instance – is one of the animal rights movement’s favorite ways of chalking up legislative victories. They get to fundraise off of the campaign, score an easy victory, then cajole the next set of lawmakers by telling them “Hey – 23 forward-looking, humane municipalities have banned such-and-such activity already. You smart, lovely folks don’t want to be on the wrong side of history, do you?” It’s a highly disingenuous playbook, but also highly effective.
Well, usually effective. In this case, the RTM members were not at all keen on wasting time legislating against a non-issue. The First Selectman, Fred Camillo, who suggested withdrawing the bill, received applause from his fellow RTM members, indicating support for his judgment on the matter. Big kudos to these smart, lovely folks for seeing through this gambit, and spending their legislative time on issues that might actually impact their town!
It is important to note that in 2022, NAIA Trust was instrumental in defeating a bill in the CT state house that would have banned exotic animal performances within the entirety of Connecticut. This ban in Greenwich in particular stemmed from Annie Hornish, a former state representative that now serves as the HSUS director for the state of Connecticut. She has since used her connections to push HSUS’s agenda in the state including, but not limited to, exotic animal bans and ending the retail sale of cats and dogs.
Source: Greenwich first selectman withdraws ban on traveling circus acts after it gets no support from RTM
Animal Shelter "Under Review" After Euthanizing Family's Missing Dog
Elderly lab.
After spending hours searching for his missing dog, Gunner, a Texas man was relieved to learn that his dog was alive and had been taken to an animal shelter. This was great news, though there was a catch: the shelter was closed, so he’d have to wait and pick up Gunner the next day.
But when he arrived at the shelter the next day, he was told his dog had been euthanized. According to the owner, the shelter wouldn’t or couldn’t give him a straight explanation for why they killed his dog. Later, the shelter posted a statement claiming they worked in consultation with a veterinarian and had found Gunner (a 12-year-old lab) geriatric, incontinent, and suffering from severe mobility issues. Because of these findings, they said they felt compelled to end Gunner’s suffering and waive the standard 72-hour euthanasia policy.
Records obtained later suggest that the shelter’s consulting veterinarian did not recommend euthanasia, or anything stronger than pain medication. Gunner’s owners feel that the pain medication may have even been what caused their dog’s incontinence.
This is an incredibly sad and infuriating story. As you can imagine, it has made waves nationally and locally, and it touches a pretty deep nerve with us. Had he been a shelter pup in need of a $7,000 lifesaving surgery, it’s not hard imagining him receiving his own GoFundMe campaign. If he were a dog with a double-digit bite history, who knows – maybe he would have found himself in yet another home by year’s end. Apparently, wobbly old dogs don't receive that level of effort and grace. But if Gunner had been given just the minimum, he'd be home with his family right now.
More news on this bummer of a story as it unfolds. As of now, the city has called in an outside firm to review the shelter and provide recommendations, with the results being made public in November.
Source: Denton announces independent review of animal shelter after controversial euthanizing
Florida Invasive Fish Dive Catches 31,773 Lionfish
Florida would like you to eat some lionfish
Invasive lionfish along the coast of Florida represent one of the more notable marine invasions in recent ecological history. Lionfish are originally from the Indo-Pacific. They became popular aquarium fish due to their striking appearance, vibrant colors and fan-like pectoral fins. How they were first introduced to the Atlantic hasn’t been confirmed, but it's widely believed that lionfish were released or escaped from aquariums into the wild off the Florida coast in the 1980s or early 1990s. Hurricanes and subsequent aquarium releases may have also contributed to their spread.
Lionfish have no natural predators in the Atlantic and have venomous spines, which allow them to thrive unchecked. They are voracious predators, consuming over 70 different species of fish and invertebrates, including ecologically and commercially important species. On top of that, lionfish reproduce rapidly, with females releasing tens of thousands of eggs every few days, leading to exponential population growth.
Efforts to control lionfish populations include organized dives where they are speared or netted. There's also promotion of lionfish as a food source to create a market incentive for their removal. Recently, the Florida Wildlife Commission held its 9th annual Lionfish Challenge where dedicated divers went on 700 trips throughout the state and removed 31,773 lionfish from the waters of Florida. The competition not only helps in reducing lionfish numbers but also raises public awareness about invasive species and their ecological impacts. It also encourages conservation through direct public involvement: you have to go outside – you can't dive for lionfish from behind your computer screen!
A participant from Duval County, dubbed the "Lionfish King," caught 915 lionfish in 2024, though this was less than his record-breaking catch in 2023. Another individual from Duval County won in the commercial category with 1,785 pounds of lionfish. Competitors must handle lionfish carefully due to their venomous spines. However, once properly prepared, lionfish are safe to eat. This event underscores Florida's ongoing battle against invasive species, utilizing public participation in a tournament format to both control the lionfish population and educate participants and the wider community about marine conservation.
Source: Divers catch record 31,773 venomous fish in tournament off Florida coast. ‘Awe-inspiring’
More Wildlife Phone Encounters. Can We Have Some Common Sense, Please?
Grizzly crossing the road in Yellowstone National Park. To get to the other side, of course.
Last week, we covered a town in New York where human gawkers, ignoring numerous “do not interact with wildlife” notices, harassed and boxed in a family of bears. The unwanted attention caused the bears to become “severely agitated” and they were euthanized. This story is as frustrating as it is sad, as it was entirely avoidable. Follow simple instructions and treat wildlife with the most basic common sense and courtesy – how difficult can it be to pull that off? Well, if this next story from Yellowstone National Park is any indication, some folks find this very difficult indeed.
In a video posted to Instagram, a wildlife photographer in Yellowstone Park turned his spotting scope onto a different type of animal: a gaggle of human tourists. The tourists had lined up to take photos of a bear, nearly surrounding the confused animal and blocking its path as it tried to cross the road. According to the photographer, this went on for some time, and the bear tried to flee the crowd multiple times. Fortunately, this encounter didn’t end like the incident in New York, but you have to wonder how long it will be before this time bomb of clueless entitlement goes off. In the last few years, we’ve seen multiple people get too close to bison, only to be – shocker! – gored, and their trips to the hospital haven't altered anyone’s behavior. Luckily for the tourists in this Instagram shame video, bears mostly want to be left alone and are highly unlikely to attack people, even if they are annoying. But keep in mind that bears aren’t the most predictable of wildlife, and “highly unlikely to attack” is not the same as “won’t attack.”
The very first rule posted on Yellowstone National Park’s safety page states “Always stay at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves, and at least 25 yards away from all other animals,” and to exercise “common sense” when that is not possible. All of these recent wildlife encounters raise uncomfortable questions. Chief among them: are we, as a culture, really so self-absorbed and removed from wildlife that we can't treat wild animals as anything other than doggos of different shapes and sizes? We certainly hope not!
Source: Photographer Films Yellowstone Park Tourists Blocking Grizzly Bear’s Path
You Can’t Just Spay and Neuter Your Way Out of a Problem like This... But It Helps!
Don't let your dogs roam, folks!
Tourists have long associated Las Vegas with a good time: gambling, entertainment, shopping, fine dining, and more. Locals, however, have recently been associating parts of the city with packs of semi-feral dogs. Animal Care has received numerous calls about these roaming packs, numbering between 8-20 dogs. The exact composition of these packs is unknown, though it is suspected that many of the dogs have been dumped by their owners, while others are known to be owned – out roaming because their owners leave them outside.
The threat these dogs pose to public safety, property, and backyard poultry required a response beyond urging residents to carry pepper spray and a big stick. But what would the response be? In recent years, The Animal Foundation, a local taxpayer-funded shelter, has been beset with seemingly no end of drama, and the city has had such a hard time holding on to animal control officers, actual police officers were recently diverted to handle animal complaints.
So this called for a back-to-the-basics approach: engaging in some literal “dog catching” with the pack, and even more importantly, implementing low-cost, high-volume spay/neuter services and vaccinations. Last year, the Animal Welfare Coalition of Northeastern New Mexico spayed and neutered 550 dogs and cats over the course of three clinics, and only a few weeks ago, Helping Paws Across Borders dropped in and fixed a whopping 463 animals in only four days! Wow! More funding has been set aside for future spay/neuter clinics, and according to the city’s Animal Care Center manager, fewer calls are being received about roaming dogs. There is still a long way to go, of course. As important as spay/neuter services are, given the number of owned dogs within the roaming pack, public outreach and education will clearly be a vital component, too. And eventually, for the folks who don’t or won’t get the memo, so will enforcing existing leash/roaming laws.
(Oh, and while we’re at it, and since we can't help but bring up the futility of mandatory spay/neuter laws: the city should also consider removing some of its unhealthy and unhelpful ordinances that clearly didn’t help with the dog and cat surplus).
Also in the News...
★ New York City Council holds hearing on options to control overcrowding in animal shelters (Rescue & Shelter Solutions)
★ St. Augustine Alligator Farm announces first captive hatch of new crocodile species in western hemisphere (Conservation & Captive Breeding Success Stories)
★ Cedar Valley Humane Society asks for help after rescuing 22 animals while already over capacity (Rescues & Shelter Intake)
★ Kids get up close and personal with animals at Fall Farm Field Day (Get to Know Your Food and Farmers)
★ Study finds marine animals in untouched habitats are at greater risk from human impacts than previously thought (Inescapable Ecological Peril)
★ Humane agents take animals out of condemned Youngstown home (Filth and a Gas Leak; Bad Day for Everybody)
★ Which animals are evolving fastest? (Blink and You'll Miss 'Em!)
Click here to see what is happening legislatively
