Contacts:

Priscilla Feral, President, Friends of Animals, Darien, Connecticut
Current tel: (at Primarily Primates sanctuary): 830.755.4616, or mobile: 203.219.0428. E-mail

Lee Hall, Legal Director, Friends of Animals, Tel: 610.964.0090. Email

Mike Harris, Director of the Environmental Law Clinic,
University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Denver, Colorado
Tel: 303.871.6140, or mobile: 720.841.0400. Email

WASHINGTON DC — A decision has been issued in FRIENDS OF ANIMALS v. KEN SALAZAR (Civil Action 04-01660): The Interior Department’s US Fish and Wildlife Service violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by issuing a blanket exemption allowing trophy hunting at U.S. ranches of endangered African antelopes.

Friends of Animals (“FoA”) and others sued the Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of Interior on the grounds that the Service unlawfully exempted US-bred scimitar-horned oryx, addax, and dama gazelles from prohibitions against harming, harassing, pursuing, hunting, shooting, wounding, killing, trapping, capturing, or collecting endangered species.

Section 10 of the ESA allows some uses for “scientific purposes or to enhance the propagation or survival of the affected species,” if the government publishes notice and allows for public comment for each “good faith” application for an exemption or permit at every stage of the proceeding. It does not provide a means to authorize the sport hunting of these animals.

The antelopes at issue are native to northern Africa. Today, addax and dama gazelles are nearly wiped out, due to hunting, war, desertification of habitat, human settlement and agribusiness. Scimitar-horned oryx are virtually extinct; most live on Texas hunting ranches, where they are bred. In 2005, following a Friends of Animals lawsuit, these antelopes were listed as endangered, but the government issued a rule creating a loophole for captive-bred antelope, claiming “captive breeding in the United States has contributed significantly to the conservation of these species.”

Under Bush’s leadership, the federal government has eroded the Act’s protections to cater to local governments and special interests. In July 2008, for instance, the Service removed protections for Preble’s meadow jumping mice in Wyoming while keeping the Colorado populations on the endangered species list — so protections would end at the state line.

“The Obama administration must reject this fragmentation of the Endangered Species Act,” said Hall. “We’re glad the party’s over for ranches that allow hunters to kill antelopes, typically pimping the oryx for around $3500 each, and the gazelles and addax for more.”

The Endangered Species Act’s subsection 10©, said the court, shows that Congress intended an individualized permitting process, to provide meaningful public participation. Yet advocates have been kept from even finding out which ranches were operating under the loophole. The Safari Club, which intervened as a defendant, said advocates could find their information on the Internet.

But US District Judge Henry H. Kennedy, Jr. wrote, “Blanket exemptions under regulations are anathema to this intention because they allow the FWS to permit a great number of exemptions at once without providing the detailed information to the public that would be required in an individualized analysis.”

Friends of Animals president Priscilla Feral expressed appreciation for the outstanding work of the University of Denver Environmental Law Clinic. Feral added, “We are heartened by the message the federal court has sent this week against exploitation. Why would the government allow the hunting of these antelope any more than they’d allow the hunting of a chimpanzee?”

“We’d like the federal government to protect the animals currently in captivity, who number about 2000 or more, from harm at the hands of hunting enterprises.”

###

In what many believe will be the final word in a long fight, Secretary of Natural Resources John Griffin on Monday (8 June 2009) accepted the report of a hunter-dominated task force on the swans, saying that his staff is “unfortunately compelled” to continue population control efforts on the fewer than 500 birds still living on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

That means shooting adults or snapping their necks, and shaking eggs to kill the embryos.

The report claims mute swans “would be a constant and perpetual source of competition for scarce conservation resources,” but in fact mute swans compete with hunters who want to kill ducks and geese that eat the same underwater vegetation the swans do. To camouflage their hunting scheme, the task force, which includes bureaucrats and hunting groups such as Ducks Unlimited, assail mute swans erroneously as “feral” birds who are “an environmental hazard to the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.”

Of the many hundreds of thousands of birds living at the Bay, the community of mute swans adds up to a mere 500. Just six years ago, there were approximately 4,000 but Maryland Department of Natural Resources is systematically killing them to eradicate them from Chesapeake Bay.

Mute swans are deemed “invasive” by the DNR — a loophole from federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act protections — but they are naturalized members of the biocommunity.

Friends of Animals president Priscilla Feral states, “They’ve found an ecological niche here. Let them be. The DNR’s assault on mute swans is deeply dishonest and deplorable.”

“We too have come onto the continent and proliferated. We should be disrupting the lives of free-living animals as little as possible, and addressing the main causes of the state of the Chesapeake Bay, the country’s largest estuary.”

The demise of aquatic vegetation is mainly caused by sewage treatment plants, runoffs from animal agribusinesses, construction and road-building. All of these factors degrade water quality, making the Bay water turbid and blocking sunlight that gives underwater vegetation the energy it needs to grow.

“NPR and other media outlets have said plenty about how the chicken-selling industry is damaging the Chesapeake,” observes Feral. “But Maryland officials fiddle, and target undomesticated birds.”

Ask the Office of Governor Martin O’Malley to intervene now to stop the killing off of Maryland’s Mute swans.

Telephone:
Colm O’Comartun
Director of Governor’s Office 410-974-3901 Email
Sue Casey
Senior Advisor to the Governor 410-974-5041 Email

Also contact the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR): John R Griffin, Secretary; and Jonathan McKnight, Associate Director.

Call Jonathan McKnight at 410-260-8539 Email

Let them know killing Mute swans is no answer to the Bay’s problems. Tell them to stop the killing now.

Or call toll-free in Maryland at 1-877-620-8DNR (8367) (Weekdays 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.)
Out of state: 410-260-8DNR (8367) (Weekdays 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.)

By US Mail: Maryland Department of Natural Resources
580 Taylor Avenue
Tawes State Office Building
Annapolis, MD 21401

Join in solidarity with activists in Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Victoria-British Columbia, Dublin, Rome, Florence, Vienna, Belgrade and Tel Aviv.

In New York City, join Friends of Animals, Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages, and Heart for Animals for a rally.

WHEN: Saturday, June 6, 2009 at 12:00 noon until 2:30
WHERE: Meet at noon at Columbus Circle by the statue (this is equivalent to the north-east corner of Central Park South and Central Park West)

In Philadelpia, join Friends of Animals’ new Pennsylvania chapter for a vigil and protest.

WHEN: Saturday, June 6, 2009 from 11:00 AM to 12:30.
WHERE: The NE corner of 5th & Chestnut

Find a demonstration in your area.

Let’s show the world that we want to see an end to the horse-drawn carriage trade. Stand together with the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages and animal-rights groups throughout the world, creating a movement in which cities and towns say “no” to horse-drawn vehicles, because horses came into the world for their own reasons.

The sanctuary Primarily Primates continues to grow strong despite an attempt by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to destroy it.

Buck was born on the 15th of September 1994, to be kept as one of three chimpanzee pets in a Missouri house.

As the couple that owned Buck aged, it became apparent that Buck would outlive them — and it became terribly expensive to keep three mature chimpanzees in a house.

One of the owners contacted Primarily Primates, Inc. in early 2009 to find out if the refuge could accept Buck. After the owner agreed to send some money with Buck — to help pay for initial vet checks, a vasectomy, and basic care — travel arrangements were made. On the 20th of April 2009, Buck arrived in San Antonio. PPI president Priscilla Feral and director Stephen Tello were on hand with the sanctuary’s veterinarian, Dr. Val Kirk, to ensure Buck safely returned to consciousness, and thank goodness all went well. 

At first, Buck wouldn’t eat. Buck was not much interested in fruits and vegetables. When Danny, a caregiver, offered lettuce, other greens and broccoli, Buck handed them back.

At first, Buck was afraid of grass, and avoided it and stayed inside or walked along little strips of cement. Buck’s outside enclosure is grassy. Learning to move along elevated platforms in the new living area was essential, so Buck could meet Holly and Mandy, and learn from them how to enjoy melons and other fresh foods. It worked.

On Tuesday the 21st, Stephen saw Buck sitting inside (all the chimpanzees have roomy indoor bedrooms), making raspberry noises, and making a “don’t look at me” face. By now, Buck was already willing to eat bananas and tomatoes. The introductions were scheduled for Thursday.

Buck’s outside area is 60 feet long, 40 feet wide and 20 feet high with a pitched ceiling. A tunnel separates this living area from one occupied by Amy, Hope and little Grace, Deeter, Jewel and Stella.

Stella, who came from the now-defunct Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates of New York, is the elder of the group. Amy and Hope also came from LEMSIP. Both are now about 13 years old, and they like ten-year-olds Deeter and Jewel.

That is the group that might be able to be combined with Buck, Holly and Mandy. They would socialize by going through the tunnel to either living area.

On the afternoon of Thursday the 23rd of April, as planned, Buck met Holly and Mandy. The introduction has gone well. Here’s how Stephen describes it:

Anti-climatic. Holly was out first and then Buck was let out. Buck bristled up right at the beginning then his hair went down and Holly and Buck just stayed their distance… they passed by each other once but no direct contact.Buck showed fear grimacing, and was coming to us a lot for reassurances. I let Mandy out about ten or fifteen minutes later. Again, no vocalizations. They are all aware that they are together, but no direct contact. Mandy is giving Buck some space. She follows him and he walks away, then he walks towards her and she walks away.

Overall, the quietest chimpanzee introduction ever, the most boring. They really just are nice chimpanzees and they are giving each other space and room, not being confrontational, not giving off aggressive vocalizations; it is starting off really nice.

I told everyone that there are a lot of people here: Nicki, Dr. Val, Danny, Tracey, James and I. Some of us need to move away. I am back in the office. Tracey and Dr. Val have stuff to do, and this gives the chimpanzees less to focus on, so that they have to focus on each other. I have to stay nearby in case of an emergency; but really, there isn’t much to say.

The next morning, Stephen says, Buck, Holly and Mandy were inside, sitting together in one of the bedrooms. Holly is Mandy’s daughter. Holly and Buck would gingerly touch their feet together, and look away, pretending not to notice. Stephen is pleased. It appears as though they’ve always been together. Priscilla thinks Buck has a face like Curious George.

Buck at PPI 24 April 2009

Stephen says:Chimpanzees have this hollow-sounding laugh, very breathy. So as I ran down the sides of the inside living area to get in front of him to take pictures, Buck chased after me on the inside laughing all the way. A lot of muscle and sweat went into getting these pictures of Buck. What a great, playful guy he is.

On Saturday 25 April, Stephen will move Mallory over to be introduced to Holly, Mandy and Buck. This idea has arisen because Mallory has been picked on by Thomas (whose baby photo appears at the bottom of page 27 of the Spring issue of Act•ionLine. Mallory (born in 1983) was released from LEMSIP in 1997. Holly (born 1985) and Mandy (born on New Year’s Day 1971) came from the Scotch Plains Zoo in New Jersey as the result of a USDA zoo confiscation and closure case. They too arrived at Primarily Primates in 1997.

Buck’s owner is showing video of the introductions to the other two pet chimpanzees in Missouri. We wonder if, one day in the future, those two will join us in Texas.

Thanks to: Leila, Scott, Allison, Brandon, Deanna, Maryanne, Steve, Matt, Lee, Jason, Leeann, Maggie, Charlie, Christine, Maria, Lauren, Gregg, Gigi, Lisa, Erik, Dara, Nathan, Randi, Dave, and all who have sent support for Buck.

Lee Hall explores the connections:

read full article

This latest assault against PPI is just the latest lawsuit in a series of lawsuits instigated against PPI by PETA. The first lawsuit, which was filed in 2006 and named 9 chimpanzees as plaintiffs, alleged animal abuse. This suit was dismissed by the Honorable Andy Mireles for lack of standing. None of the allegations of animal abuse were ever substantiated. The second lawsuit was filed by the Attorney General’s office at the behest of PETA. This lawsuit alleged financial mismanagement. However, this allegation also proved to be unsubstantiated, and the Attorney General voluntarily agreed to dismiss the lawsuit, finding it was in the best interests of the State of Texas, PPI, and the animals entrusted to its care to do so.

After the first two lawsuits instigated by PETA against PPI failed, PETA went knocking door to door in PPI’s neighborhood to recruit additional plaintiffs for yet another lawsuit. They found two—Virginia Baker, an elderly woman with brain cancer, who has since dropped out of the suit, and Carl Hensley, a retiree. Although Plaintiffs’ lawyers initially refused to answer questions about the funding of the lawsuit, they were later forced to admit at a hearing on Plaintiff’s application for a temporary restraining order in front of the Honorable Andy Mireles (Judge Mireles denied Plaintiff’s application for a temporary restraining order) that the entire suit is being funded by PETA.

It is not clear whether PETA’s motivation is personal vendetta, greed, or a movement to shut down all animal sanctuaries, but this latest assault against PPI threatens every animal sanctuary in the state of Texas. As a $30 million per year organization, PETA can afford to file all the frivolous lawsuits it wants, hire as many lawyers as it wants, and make all of the frivolous arguments it wants. However, PETA is hard-pressed to explain how this lawsuit helps any of the animals in PPI’s care. We are asking for your help to stop it.

Priscilla Feral

President

Friends of Animals

IT’S spring, and monk parakeets, the small green birds from South America that have proliferated in Connecticut and other parts of the region, are building their huge nests in utility poles and lighting fixtures here — rebuilding, really, after their nests were torn down by utility workers last fall.

United Illuminating, the utility company, is in the midst of its twice-yearly campaign to remove the bulky nests, which they say can cause power failures and electrical fires.

West Haven is not the only battleground in the efforts to keep the birds out of utility poles and other lighting fixtures, a struggle that has pitted the utility companies and municipal agencies against animal-rights activists since the parakeets found a home in towns in the region beginning in the 1970s. In a recent survey, United Illuminating said it had counted 75 monk nests in 17 towns on its electrical poles.

The exotic birds would not be so noticeable among the area’s many species of winged creatures were it not for the size of their nests and where they choose to build them. A typical nest provides a home for about 20 pairs of birds and can weigh as much as 440 pounds, officials said. The material from one nest, mostly twigs, can fill the back of a city pickup truck, they said.

Attempts to get the birds off power and lighting fixtures have proved difficult. In 2005, United Illuminating captured a number of birds and then turned them over to United States Department of Agriculture officials, who euthanized them. That caused an outcry among animal-rights advocates. Friends of Animals, a Darien-based group, sued United Illuminating to stop further killing of the birds. The suit was dismissed by a Superior Court judge last summer, but the group has filed an appeal.

Al Carbone, a spokesman for United Illuminating, said the campaign to remove the nests, which costs the utility company between $60,000 and $70,000 annually, has not proved effective. The birds like the warmth of the transformers, Mr. Carbone said, and keep returning even when their nests have been torn down once. On a recent tour of parts of West Haven, Mr. Carbone pointed out several of the nests, some the size of basketball hoops, along shoreline utility poles.

Company workers remove the nests in late March and early April, before the mating season begins, and again in the fall, typically October, well after any eggs are hatched, officials said.

Kathleen Hickey, 60, of Bungalow Lane in West Haven, said she was concerned about the birds causing power failures because her mother, who lives with her, relied on oxygen machines. There are many other elderly residents on the street as well, she said.

“I don’t want the birds killed. We love animals. Maybe they can be moved to a wildlife place,” she said. “When you sit outside in the summer, they do get annoying.”

Mr. Carbone said the utility company had no plans to resume having the birds euthanized, but it is looking at other methods to keep them from building nests on the poles.

In Stamford, the nests prevented parks workers from being able to change light bulbs or do any maintenance on the lighting fixtures. One nest even caught fire, officials said.

“We were told if we put man-made bunkers up and left the sticks for their nests by the bunkers they would relocate in a matter of days, but they actually didn’t,” said Kevin Murray, parks manager. “Now they are in the trees.” The birds have also started nesting in lighting fixtures at the athletic stadium at Stamford High School.

Jenny Dickson, a wildlife biologist with the state Department of Environmental Protection, said the parakeets can be very persistent.

“Monk parakeets are one of the toughest birds to discourage. They can be tenacious,” Ms. Dickson said. “It is not as simple as removing the nests and then they will go nest in trees. Part of what attracts them to utility structures is the cross beams.”

Priscilla Feral, president of the group Friends of Animals, said she’d like to see more legal efforts to protect the birds from being killed.

“I’m really unhappy with the crass attitude that every other animal has to make room for us,” Ms. Feral said. “We have room for these birds. We can cooperate to discourage them from nesting on poles and still have a place in this environment for them.”

“The bloody seal slaughter, the killing of the defenseless animals, which can’t be even called a ‘hunt,’ is now prohibited in Russia as it is in most developed countries. It is a serious step towards the conservation of biodiversity in Russia,” said Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Yuriy Trutnev.

On April 1, the full European Parliament will vote on a ban of all seal products — a move which the United States adopted almost three decades ago — to eliminate a key trade route to major fur markets like Norway, Russia and China.

“There was silence. Total silence!” Senator Harb explained. “I was amazed that not one of my colleagues, from, any one of the political parties, would even want to debate the issue.”

Sounds like the uproar inside Canada by Canadians needs to be ramped up with events across the country that direct protests where they’re best aimed — at Canada’s politicians.

Beginning mid-March, and lasting for about six weeks, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) will have up to 300,000 baby seals clubbed or shot and killed off Newfoundland’s coast. In 2008, the Department recorded a total of just over 219,000 harp and grey seals slaughtered on the ice.

The Canadian government insists the kill provides economic opportunities for Canada’s coastal communities.

Reality check: The government squanders a lot on these bloody ice follies. Canadians’ money provides support in the form of icebreakers, helicopters, patrol planes, Coast Guard salaries, and legal expenses, including payments for four drownings and two more near-drownings of seal kill crewmembers.

That’s because of the use of the highly expensive Coast Guard for rescues on the treacherous ice, the constant marketing efforts and attempts to overcome NAFTA and four European countries’ seal pelt bans — and dealing with all those legal expenses and dead kill workers.

Seal pelts are sold in Norway, Russia, Eastern Europe, and China, and in Canada itself. People everywhere should firmly and constantly make it known that fur of any kind is not a wardrobe accessory; it’s a deprivation of others’ lives.

Canada’s annual seal kill should not exist. It is violent, unjust, morally degrading. And now we see it is also a travesty of economics.

The members and supporters of Friends of Animals demand that the Canadian government end the seal slaughter immediately.

Opportunities within respectful eco-tourism and green technologies should be encouraged, and coastal residents should be enabled to pursue careers in these fields. If the Canadian government wishes to offer genuine support to Newfoundland, it could and should get on with it, and let the seals be.

Join us in sending this message to those who should lead this initiative to stop the massacre.

1. Ask the heads of Canadian environmentalist groups to ENDORSE FoA’s STATEMENT. E-mail us the names of any who do: edita@friendsofanimals.org

2. YOUR URGENT ATTENTION IS NEEDED; please remember what the seals face in just days, drop everything for a few minutes, and contact:

Canadian Consulate General Daniel Sullivan

1251 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020-1175
Telephone: 1.212.596.1628
Facsimile: 1.212.596.1790

Prime Minister Stephen Harper

Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington St.
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2
Fax: 1.613.941.6900
Fax: 1.613.995.7858
Email address: pm@pm.gc.ca

Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans

House of Commons
441-S Centre Block
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Fax: 1.613.992.1974
Email address: Shea.G@parl.gc.ca

Please join Priscilla Feral and Friends of Animals on Sunday, March 22, 2009 from 3:00 pm–5:00 pm at New York City’s acclaimed vegan restaurant, Candle 79, for the release of Priscilla’s second cookbook, The Best of Vegan Cooking. More than a follow-up to the highly acclaimed Dining With Friends: The Art of North American Vegan Cuisine, the new collection of recipes highlights luscious and innovative dishes inspired by cuisines from around the globe— introducing creations from some of the world’s most talented chefs. Feral notes that “a plant-based diet is both sensible and sensual.” Sensible because all the earth’s inhabitants, and the earth itself, benefit. Sensual because vegan food excites and inspires all the senses.

What: Reception for the release of The Best of Vegan Cooking by Priscilla Feral

How: Please return this form, along with payment, to the address below.

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Please reserve _____ tickets @ $45.00 per person.

Make checks payable to Friends of Animals

To pay by credit card, please mail this form with your credit card number:

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Please include names of attendees if not listed above:

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Mail completed form with payment information to:
Friends of Animals
777 Post Road, Suite 205
Darien, CT 06820

OR for your convenience, you may fax this form to 203 656-0257

No Tickets Sold At Door — Advance Sale Only

By Ken Dixon and Brian Lockhart
STAFF WRITERS

HARTFORD — The leaders of the legislature’s Environment Committee on Friday promised to create legislation to ban private ownership of exotic animals, including chimps like the one that mauled a woman in Stamford
last month.

State Rep. Richard Roy, D-Milford, and state Sen. Edward Meyer, D-Guilford, co-chairmen of the committee, said though it is weeks past their mid-February deadline to raise bills, they will find a parliamentary maneuver to create penalties of up to a year in prison and $2,000 fines for violating the law.

Roy and Meyer made the announcement during a news conference with Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Greenwich; Gina McCarthy, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection; and a
representative of the Humane Society.

The new legislation would ban exotic animals including primates, alligators, kangaroos, wolverines, hippopotami, rhinos, elephants and snakes, including pythons.

Exceptions would be made for those owned by zoos or scientific laboratories.

“The simple truth is wild animals belong in the wild, in their natural habitat or sanctuaries, not in suburban homes where they can do the kind of horrific damage that a chimpanzee did in Stamford very recently,” Blumenthal said. “A woman has been disfigured and probably disabled because we lack the kind of ban; a clear and specific
prohibition that could have prevented that terrible accident.”

The bill would also require veterinarians who treat potentially dangerous animals to notify the DEP within 24 hours and provide them with the location of the animal.

“The incident in Stamford provided all too graphic evidence that primates are wild animals, they’re not pets,” McCarthy said.

DEP spokesman Dennis Schain told The Advocate last month the agency allowed Sandra Herold to keep her 14-year-old chimp, which seriously injured Charla Nash, 55, Feb. 16. Nash remains hospitalized in the
Cleveland Clinic.

“Our view was they had this thing for so many years before the legislature got into this, we let them keep possession,” Schain said at the time, adding the department had never been told of any issues
involving the animal.

Herold and her late husband had owned Travis since the 1990s. He escaped their vehicle and tied up traffic in Stamford for a few hours in 2003.

Blumenthal said Friday there is no evidence that after the 2004 law was passed the DEP ever came up with standards for issuing permits to residents who wanted to keep exotic animals as pets.

“So there really is no permitting program right now,” Blumenthal said, adding he viewed the 2004 law as “defective” for even contemplating a permitting process for exotic pets.

“How could you decide whether to permit one chimp or another? It’s just about impossible,” Blumenthal said.

He said that if the bill becomes law, if animal owners don’t report they own dangerous animals, their neighbors will.

Travis is not the only exotic animal who made headlines in recent years in lower Fairfield County.

In 2001, Norwalk police mounted a day long search for a small pet kangaroo — Joey — who escaped from the backyard of his owner’s home at 2 Christy St.

That owner — Susan DeFrancesco — no longer lives at that address and could not be contacted for this story.

But DeFrancesco, a former wildlife worker, was comfortable enough with Joey’s behavior to bring him to Wolfpit Elementary School in June 2004 as part of a reading campaign.

Blumenthal said despite how tame Joey and other exotic pets might seem, the state must ban them and take them away from their current owners.

‘The whole point here is wild animals belong in the wild,” Blumenthal said. “When you say, ‘He is trained’ the answer is ‘no.’ As domesticated as they may seem, it is completely a surface appearance because by
nature they are wild.”

To report the potential illegal possession of wild animals, people may call the DEP at 860-424-3010..

To the Editor:

The Minuteman’s article “Deer population in subcommittee line of sight” (Feb. 26, 2009) neglected to include the way in which the Conservation Commission’s meeting silenced some who attended.

I am a Fairfield resident. As an employee of Friends of Animals in Darien, CT, an animal advocacy organization founded in 1957 (www.friendsofanimals.org), I was contacted by an alternate member of the Conservation Commission and asked to present information at the meeting of February 19, on deer and hunting. I agreed to attend and invited another person to present and our names were put on the agenda.

Also present was the Fairfield County Municipal Deer Management Alliance, a group that promotes hunting. Their representative enjoyed the opportunity to provide the commission with information, answer questions, and hand out information. A few of the commission members made comments suggesting that there is a problem in Fairfield with deer overpopulation — as if they have already made up their minds.

The member who invited us to speak gave numerous statements that indicated much was left out of the discussion, yet none of what the member stated appears in the minutes from that meeting on the town website. I have placed a call to Conservation Department to inquire as to why these comments are, at the time of this writing, missing from the minutes.

I have written a letter to the First Selectman asking for clarification on exactly who makes the rules for these meetings. Are they guided by Robert’s Rules of Order — the opinion of the Town Attorney and the Town Clerk? Or the Town Charter, as rumor had it that night at the meeting? Either way, no public meeting should be conducted this way.

All residents of Fairfield should know there is now a subcommittee that will look into the issue of whether there is deer “overpopulation” and that at least some of its members have made up their minds, as was obvious at the meeting. At least one is a hunter, and can hardly be expected to say anything else.

If you care about the town of Fairfield’s open space, and the free-living animals who inhabit these areas, and do not wish to see these areas turn into killing fields, be prepared to speak up. You can be sure those who enjoy killing deer will be ready with their scare tactics and misinformation about Lyme disease, collisions, and landscape issues.

Sincerely,

Nancy Rice
Outreach Coordinator

by Kelcie Prodger

Priscilla Feral, president of local animal sanctuary Primarily Primates, will be signing copies of her recently released cookbook, the Best of Vegan Cooking, 7 p.m. Thursday, March 5, at Green, SA’s award-winning vegetarian HQ. The event, hosted by the San Antonio Vegetarian Society, includes an all-vegan buffet for only $10 and the opportunity to join in a discussion with Feral, who is also president of Friends of Animals, a non-profit, international, animal-advocacy organization. All proceeds from sales of Feral’s cookbook, which she describes as a collection of recipes for “high-quality vegan food with an emphasis on Italian cuisine,” will go directly toward funding for both Friends of Animals and Primarily Primates. Copies of the cookbook will be available for $20.

Feral is also making an appearance on FOX 29’s Fox News First Thursday morning, along with Green chef and co-owner Mike Behrend, to share recipes from the cookbook. On increasing the appeal of vegan food, Feral says, “Serving people wonderful, appealing-looking food can get them hooked. Then one backs that up with the logic and ethics behind the choice. It’s not a sacrifice to commit to a plant-based diet. It’s both sensible and luxurious.” Go to greensanantonio.com for info.