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| Lynx Issue 23: South Side Cleanup Review, Factory Farming Exhibit at Pridefest |
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| Friday, 18 July 2008 00:00 |
In this week's edition:
South Side Park Wildlife Awareness Day a Big Success VFA volunteers took to South Side Riverfront Park on Sunday, July 6th to help cleanup the mass amounts of litter and fishing tackle left behind by park visitors and raise public awareness of how such indifference means injury and death to animals living in the park. Many animals who come into contact with fishing tackle in particular are maimed, permanently injured, and killed. Monofilament fishing line strewn on a beach or tangled in surrounding bushes is especially lethal to birds and other wildlife. We also had a second goal of being there: to educate park visitors about how the seemingly benevolent act of feeding ducks and geese can actually cause them more harm than good. Geese are wild animals who know how to feed themselves. Processed food like bread is not a natural, healthy meal for geese. Furthermore, feeding geese delays migration, causes overcrowding, and encourages them to stay in the park and surrounding area where they are vulnerable to another roundup. Last October the USDA rounded up and killed a large part of the South Side Canada goose flock on behalf of its client, Regional Industrial Development Corporation (RIDC), which manages the Technology Drive development on Second Avenue. RIDC hired the USDA to "manage" the geese on their property, whose landscaping serves as a magnet for geese. The most basic step in discouraging large flocks to gather in the area is erecting "No Feeding" signs at Riverfront Park, and this was not taken until after the killing of the geese. The few signs by the docks that were put up following the slaughter merely instruct visitors not to feed the waterfowl without educating them as to the reasons why. We found through interaction with the public that many people think feeding geese is a kind and generous act, and do not understand that they are harming the geese through giving them a handout. This is why there is a great need for signs at the park that not only instruct visitors not to feed the waterfowl, but inform them how doing so is detrimental to the geese and the environment. We collected bags full of garbage and fishing tackle off the beaches and riverbanks and passed out leaflets on the harms of littering and feeding to visitors who were really curious as to what we were doing-including a family we found feeding the geese further away from the docks (where signs aren't posted). Four different media outlets came out to cover the event: WTAE, KDKA, WPXI, and the Post-Gazette, and stories about the cleanup ran on all three stations and the paper. This will really help in raising awareness about this issue and getting our message out to the public. The Post-Gazette in particular ran a great article about the cleanup which you can read here: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08189/895250-52.stm http://picasaweb.google.com/VoicesForAnimals/VoicesForAnimalsSouthsideRiverfrontParkCleanup
There are some important follow-up actions you can take on this issue to help the animals at Riverfront Park and other waterfront areas where wildlife live: · Write to the Pittsburgh City Parks Department and ask that better and more informative signage be put up relating to feeding waterfowl and littering, especially in regards to fishing line: · Write a letter to the Post Gazette in support of last Monday's article (letters to PG can be no more than 250 words and must include address and phone number for verification purposes): Letters to the Editor · If you live near a waterway, pond, or lake that is a popular fishing sport, organize a clean-up morning/afternoon/day with a few friends. If there is lots of fishing line, don't be afraid to take the results of your clean-up along to the local authority responsible and politely request action. If you do a clean-up, be careful to wear gloves and watch out for sharp fishing hooks on sandy beach areas. Thank you to all our volunteers who came out to help with the cleanup and thank you to everyone who takes action on this important issue! Pridefest Tabling and Exhibit a Success On Sunday, June 22nd VFA tabled at Pridefest downtown. Our display included the usual literature; fund raising via selling smencils, cat toys, and other items; and a new edition: A Factory Farming Art Exhibit, courtesy of Mobilization For Animals in Philadelphia, by photographers Nelson Lau and Gary Reed. The exhibit asked passers by to put themselves in the nonhuman animals' places using graphic images and descriptions of farming practices to depict this. Even we were surprised at the amazing response to the exhibit. Not only were we able to reach so many with our literature, but people crowded around the exhibit which literally stopped them in their tracks. We also had many new members sign up for our email list. Overall the tabling opportunity was a success and we thank everyone who stopped by or signed up for our e-newsletter! Pet Ministry Tabling VFA tabled on Saturday June 21st at the annual "Pet Ministry" event in Bethel Park, which was attended by many local rescue groups and shelters. On the occasion, we launched our new "Scrap the Trap!" display which compares and contrasts the trapping and killing of wildlife (bad!) with managed Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) of stray and feral cats (good!), complete with life-size raccoon puppet and motion-sensitive toy cat! Overall we got a good reaction from the public. Many people took brochures about TNR, "Why it's time to Scrap the Trap" and animal-specific wildlife leaflets. It was a very successful day and some good contacts were made. Thanks to the organizers for the invite. Wildlife Update On the subject of wildlife, the spring/summer has been exceptionally busy for local rehabbers so far. Some recent VFA interventions have had a successful outcome, including an orphaned baby raccoon with a nasty case of maggots, successfully treated by Windy Ridge Wildlife Center. Others have been more bittersweet, like the raccoon who climbed into the wheel well of a car on the North Side, near the home of a VFA member, prompting a degree of public panic and the arrival of four police cars. After the tire was removed, it became clear that the animal was seriously injured, apparently hit by a car. With the cooperation of a compassionate police officer, the raccoon - who never displayed any aggression - was coaxed into a carrier and taken to a rehabber to be euthanized. This incident, and the fear and lack of knowledge displayed by some local residents, only reinforced in our eyes the need to educate the public about wildlife in the City, and to promote a message of intelligent coexistence. Tiger Ranch Rescue Media Updates In continuing updates about Tiger Ranch, VFA would like to make note of two recent media stories on the substantially improving conditions of the rescued cats. WPXI footage can be found here: http://www.wpxi.com/video/16914006/index.html, as well as a slideshow of images at the following: http://www.wpxi.com/slideshow/16911937/detail.htmlindex.html?currentSlide=23&taf=burg. Tribune Review's article can be found here: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_578026.html As noted, donations of premium quality dry food, canned food of all varieties, and cat litter are needed. You can avoid shipping or gasoline costs to Clarion by leaving your donations at VFA's collection bins located in Point Breeze at Construction Junction, to the right after the entrance, behind the blackboard. Many thanks to all who have donated thus far! Canine Rescue, a Dog Among the Cats Speaking of Tiger Ranch, a volunteer arrived to the Clarion shelter last week to what was thought to be a donation of a cat carrier. To their amazement, the cat carrier included a 12 pound terrier mix! While VFA is not primarily involved with domesticated animal rescue right now, we were very fortunately able to locate a foster willing to care for this very special "donation." |