Animals

Amy Goodman on Democracy Now recently did an interview with one of the SHAC-7 who was jailed at a Secretive Prison, or “CMU.” It’s not just about animal rights activism but other social justice issues deemed to be the #1 domestic terror threat by the FBI. It’s long, but well-worth watching: http://tinyurl.com/ox5mro

The baby bird in this picture was hopping along a tree-lined street in Brooklyn Heights when Jason and I happened upon her. She was trying to fly but couldn’t. Perhaps she left the nest too soon…

Her mom talked to her from the tree branches up above and kept her eyes astutely on Jason and I as we rescued her from underneath a parked SUV and then again from the steps to someone’s garden apartment that she had gone down, but could not get back up.

We even witnessed her mother catch a fly mid-flight and then swoop down to put it in the beak of her baby. She did it again with a tiny worm and then again with the crumpled up pieces of bread we threw to her.

We put in a phone call to our good friend Jen from United Action for Animals for a bird rescue reference, spoke to the person and found out everything we were doing was just about all we could do. She said the bird sounded healthy and that the natural steps to first flight were playing out the way it was supposed to. The other alternative she gave us was to capture the bird and bring it to her on the Upper West Side so she could rehab it and eventually release it back into the wild.

It was a tough decision – to finally walk away and leave the baby bird to fend for itself on the streets of Brooklyn, but neither Jason or I were willing to take it away from its mother. And so baby bird, I go to bed praying that you will find your wings tonight…

Somewhat begrudgingly, my husband dragged me to see “Up,” this past weekend, Pixar’s latest animation flick that has been holding it’s own in the box office. I don’t want to write an all-out review of the movie here, the NY Times already did that beautifully. But I do think it is important to share what the Times left out: the film’s subtle, yet extremely poignant message about animals.

The main character in “Up” is Carl Fredricksen, a recent widower who decides to take off on an adventure to South America and embarks on the most unlikely route to get there. He also gets stuck with the most unlikely of company, a young Boy Scout in pursuit of a badge of honor for assisting the elderly.

When they arrive in South America, they come face-to-face with Fredricksen’s childhood hero-turned-villain, and a pack of talking dogs with which the villain has been hunting a rare bird.

There’s a scene in the movie where three dogs are in hot pursuit of the brightly-colored, rare bird. My heart sank when I saw the dogs – depicted as rabid hunters – and sank even more when the little kid sitting on my left asked aloud to his mother if they were pit bulls.

The alpha dog was a Doberman, another was an American bulldog, and the other was a Rottweiler. To make matters worse, the one dog that is squeezed out of the pack and winds up becoming Fredricksen’s pet, was depicted as a yellow, fluffy golden retriever.

Fast forward into the movie and lonely old Fredricksen is now a geriatric action hero, warding off the enemy and his pack of dogs – several dozen of them pit bulls – while trying to save the bird, his new found pet, and the young boy he has begrudgingly become a grandfather figure to.

***Spoiler Alert***

In the end, Fredricksen accomplishes killing off the bad guy, saving the rare bird, and returning back home with the boy and his new dog. But what also returns back home with them is the remainder of the villain’s pack of dogs, the pit bulls. They are shown flying with their new master peacefully, and then again sitting dutifully in the audience as the young Boy Scout receives his badge of honor for helping the elderly.

It is a message that animal advocates, and pit bull advocates, drum-home daily. Animals, and especially pit bulls, can do bad things under the direction of bad people, like the animated dogs did when they lived with the bad guy in “Up.” But as soon as the villain was out of the picture (no pun intended), the pack became good dogs under the direction of a new, and good master.

The folks at Pixar also did a wonderful thing by calling attention to wildlife and the importance of protecting it, especially those species that are rare, as was the case with the bird.

What started out as disappointment about the way in which animals were being depicted in the movie, ended up as relief, and later on, even pleasure. Pixar, with its subtle but powerful way of making progressive messages, made an important one about animals in this movie. And for that reason as well as others, I highly recommend seeing “Up” if you have not done so already.

It was brought to my attention by DawnWatch and Karen Dawn, author of Thanking the Monkey, that NY1 has done a fluff piece on the Ringling Bros. circus.

As per Karen…

The web version of the story, posted June 18, is headed, “Protestors Greet Circus Opening.” The story printed on that page opens with, “PETA members protested Thursday ahead of the opening performance of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Coney Island.”

But when one clicks on the video that actually aired on the station, one sees and hears nothing of protests. Instead we are treated to the anchor telling us:

“The greatest show on earth lands in Brooklyn! Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus is debuting the Coney Island Boomerang Show today. The animal open house begins this afternoon at 5:30 and the show kicks off at 7. But there are lots of fun things to do before the show begins!”

Then we see a head-dressed elephant being led around and doing tricks in the ring, after which the Ringling production manager tells us about all the fun things that can be done before the show — like trying on costumes.

After the clip the anchor shares information as to how long the show is running and where we can get more information and a complete schedule.

The “Protestors” heading on the web story might be a cynical attempt to appease complaints rolling in, or expected to roll in, about the coverage. Particularly cynical could be the opening line mentioning PETA, given that PETA is having such massive credibility issues this week.

You can watch the disappointing video on line at:
http://www.ny1.com/Default.aspx?ArID=100953
OR, you can skip the video (why give them clicks for such shotty/misleading journalism?) and send them a comment instead.

NY1 takes comments at http://www.ny1.com/content/contact_us/

Finally, some good news for a change. Diana, one of the dogs rescued from the organized dog fighting ring in the Bronx, has found a home. Check out her story and please join the cause today! http://tinyurl.com/l8elvj

For more information about the charges being brought against those involved in the ring, click here, and here.

The Daily News’ Amy Sachs covers the latest hearing regarding the Bronx dog fighting case. At the center of it all, United Action for Animals. See below, or click here…

—

Earning a few thousand dollars is no simple task for many Americans in this dour economy. But now the opportunity is up for grabs for New Yorkers who help crack down on animal cruelty.

A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered by the Humane Society of the United States for any tip that leads to the conviction of people involved in illegal dogfighting or cockfighting.

“New Yorkers should have no tolerance for the cruel treatment of man’s best friends,” said Patrick Kwan, New York state director for the Humane Society.

New York has one of the worst animal fighting laws, ranking 48th in the country. While dogfighting and cockfighting are felonies in New York, possessing animals for the purpose of fighting is only a misdemeanor, and attending an animal fight is a misdemeanor punishable by little more than a slap on the wrist.

New York’s lenient laws also attract spectators from other states that have more severe punishments, such as New Jersey, which has the stiffest animal cruelty laws in the country.

But that may be about to change.

Last week, the state Senate’s Agriculture Committee unanimously passed a bill that would toughen the animal fighting laws by making it a felony to possess animals for the purpose of fighting and attend an animal fight.

Still, if passed, the law will not come early enough for some offenders to do time.

In late April, no arrests were made after 33 roosters were rescued by NYPD and NYC Animal Care & Control from a cockfighting operation in the basement of a Bronx apartment building on Hoffman St., in Belmont. Three of the four injured birds had to be euthanized, and others have been relocated to various animal sanctuaries.

The lack of punishment infuriated many animal advocates.

“New Yorkers want these criminals punished to the max for these heinous crimes and to rid animal fighting out of our great city,” said Jennifer Panton, who runs United Action for Animals (www.ua4a.org).

The nonprofit group launched the Anti-Animal Fighting Campaign last summer after 16 pit bulls and two roosters were rescued by NYPD and NYC Animal Care & Control from the backyard of a building in Tremont in the Bronx.

One of the dogs died on the way to a shelter and several others had to be put down. Some, like Diana, a beautiful pit bull, have found a new home, while others in foster homes wait to be adopted.

The suspected ringleader, Alexander Estephane, 44, lives at the Tremont building, where neighbors reportedly knew of the brutality, but did not came forward.

Estephane and two others were charged with felonies for dogfighting, but two men were charged only with misdemeanors for being spectators. Another suspect walked away free and clear.

The case is expected to go to trial in the Bronx Supreme Court next month.

Panton hopes her group’s campaign will incite the same public backlash that helped convict former NFL star Michael Vick for running a dogfighting operation.

“It is time for animal abusers to be viewed as the terrorists that they are,” she said.

For details on the Humane Society of the United States’ reward program, call (202) 452-1100, or go to www.hsus.org.

amysacks1@gmail.com

Cat mutilator.

This is Tyler Weinman. An 18-year old accused of more than a couple dozen cat killings and mutilations in his Miami-area community. Horrified owners have been finding their cats killed and mutilated for the past month in Palmetto Bay and another nearby community. Weinman is charged with 19 counts of animal cruelty, 19 counts of improperly disposing of an animal body and four counts of burglary. The Associated Press covers this horrific story, below…

—

MIAMI (AP) — A teenager was arrested early Sunday and accused of committing a string of gruesome cat mutilation deaths that had horrified residents of his Miami area community, authorities said.

For the past month, shocked pet owners in the Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay neighborhoods have reported finding more than two dozen cats killed and mutilated. Some of the dead cats were missing fur and appeared to have been cut with a sharp, straight instrument, police said.

Tyler Weinman, 18, was taken into custody early Sunday at a party, police said. Weinman was charged with 19 counts of animal cruelty, 19 counts of improperly disposing of an animal body and four counts of burglary.

Police put the home of one of Weinman’s parents under surveillance several weeks ago after receiving tips from community members, said Miami-Dade Police Department Maj. Julie Miller.

“This terrible time has drawn us together as a community, further emphasizing the importance of knowing our neighbors, communicating with each other, and always staying vigilant to suspicious activities whenever or wherever they may occur in our village,” said Palmetto Bay Mayor Eugene Flinn.

Weinman was being questioned by police Sunday. It wasn’t clear if he had an attorney. Messages left at phone numbers for his parents were not immediately returned.

In all, the deaths of more than 30 cats were under investigation, but Miller said some of those cats were likely killed by dogs. She said additional arrests might be forthcoming, but she declined to name other suspects.

“I sincerely hope that with his arrest, the residents will feel relieved and their cats will be safe once again,” said State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. “It is expected that the vicious crimes that have plagued these communities will not be repeated.”