To:
Nathaniel Woodson, United Illuminating Co.
Dale May, Connecticut Dept. of Environmental Protection
Monte D. Chandler, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
Milan Bull, Connecticut Audubon Society
I write to ask that you immediately discontinue the torment of the parakeets. It is immoral to take living and conscious birds for research and it is immoral to kill them.
Apparently, the location of their nests and the hazards this could possibly cause is the only problem that is being pinned on the parakeets (who apparently do not compete with native birds for habitat or food). Nesting complaints are fairly common with a wide variety of birds, regardless of the birds’ origin. Train stations, for example, deal non-violently with nesting prevention as a matter of course.
These birds have built their nests over time and the physical structures that attracted them are the creations of human planners. If the planners did not anticipate birds’ nests, then that is the planners’ responsibility; it’s unacceptable to take the easy way out and punish the birds for the a lack of planning on the part of United Illuminating. Human wisdom is now needed to devise a way to steer the birds to more natural settings. Please, redirect the resources from the tormenting of the birds to an enlightened response. If it’s been managed in New York and New Jersey, surely it’s possible in Connecticut.
The Connecticut Audubon Society’s reasons for endorsing this torment are incomprehensible. The Society should consider the reality that animals have inherent value, as the legal community is now acknowleging.
In the preface to the casebook Wildlife Law, Professors Dale Goble and Eric Freyfogle observe that “[e]nvironmental law, once focused on direct threats to human health, now is concerned with assaults on non-human life.” This suggests that law is poised to make room for a recognition of the value of nonhuman lives unto themselves. What about the Connecticut Audubon Society?
I should like to hear back from the decision-makers involved that a respectful response has been created, one that does not involve killing or experimenting on the birds or holding them in captivity. I think a growing community of concerned people would appreciate and respect it greatly.
Very truly yours,
Lee Hall
Legal Director,
Friends of Animals
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