Want some water? First, do this . . .

Didn't know it goes on at Princeton University and now sorry to learn it does. The "it" is animal experimentation (or "research," the carefully chosen word used in recent news stories).

Media reports indicate that Princeton has been cited for 11 violations of USDA rules (through the Animal Welfare Act of 1966) for treatment of laboratory animals. The university spokesperson offered "spokesperson-speak" in response: "We're aware of it and working on it. . ." and stressed that the animal laboratories there are "immaculate."

Hey, that's great! But within that notable cleanliness, animals sometimes did not get water till they participated in "research," they were not routinely given painkilling meds after surgery, but only "as needed"; and "researchers" performed more surgeries than research proposals had spelled out. Among other violations.

All this sounds like a "tip of the iceberg" situation, especially since the USDA report found its way to the media not from Princeton, but from a group called SAEN, or "Stop Animal Exploitation Now."

To me, a really big question that newspapers probably can't answer is, why, in more than 30 years of living in "greater Princeton," did I never hear or read a word about the university's animal "research"? Could it possibly be that it was just a teeny bit hush-hush?

(http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/science-updates/princeton-university-cited-for-violations-of-usda-rules-for-lab-animals)
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Save the date: walk for farm animals

Aileen Jiang, a high school student who was last year's coordinator for the Princeton Walk for Farm Animals -- see blog posts for Sept. 21 and 24, 2009 -- is back on the job again this year. She invites new walkers and those who want to repeat the trip, and their support, to sign up.

This year's walk will be Sunday, Sept. 19. Registration starts at 2 pm; the walk, at 3 pm.

The walk benefits Farm Sanctuary ("rescue * education* advocacy"), an organization all about the use and abuse of farm animals. (Visit the website: http://FarmSanctuary.org/issues/FactoryFarming, and see also the "about us" section.)

"Factory farming is an attitude that regards animals and the natural world merely as commodities to be exploited for profit. In animal agriculture, this attitude has led to institutionalized animal cruelty, massive environmental destruction and resource depletion, and animal and human health risks." -- Farm Sanctuary's website

Last year's Princeton walk attracted 75+ participants (including babies in strollers and dogs) and raised more than $5,000. It was a feel-good affair, a low-key but committed-feeling event -- no bullhorns, videos or shouting. Just people giving up a few hours of a weekend to stand up for farm animals and the short, horrible lives they lead.

Almost two months ahead of time, this is an invitation to save the date, September 19. And before then, check out the website for details about the Princeton walk (http://sites.google.com/site/PrincetonWalkforFarmAnimals/)
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They just can't win

Last week in Michigan, while carrying cows to the slaughter house, a truck turned over, giving the cows a chance to run for their lives. They did.

Reportedly, they made it over highway guardrails, forcing traffic detours and causing at least one accident. Within a day, seven of the 12 had been rounded up; there was no word then or later about the remaining five.

Here comes the kicker: State Police plan to euthanize them once all the cows are captured. No “compassion release” to a farm. No compassion, period. What more does a cow have to do to avoid the slaughter house, and needless death itself?

Of course, this is not a decision that cows can make. Of course, whoever “owned” the animals wants something to show for having raised them. Of course, of course. . .

It’s simple: Cows – and other animals that humans eat – can’t win. Not until we realize we don’t need meat, we can live nicely without it, and all animals deserve a life too . . . will such ugly stories disappear.
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"The pooh crew" -- eu!

"Most dog owners do not enjoy picking up after their dogs." -- Huh?! Who said "picking up" had to be fun? Most dog owners may not enjoy "picking up" after themselves either, but they do, and survive it.

But, for the fastidious "dog owners" -- let's call them dog people" and skip the "owner" bit -- whose sensibilities are truly offended at the "picking up" task, now there's "The Pooh Crew."

Really.

A flyer available at our vet's office says, "Keep your family safe! Call us to remove your dogs[sic] waste. Enjoy your yard again!" Then it goes on to tick off the 3 health hazards of "dog waste" -- presumably when it's not picked up. By someone.

The services offered by the "Pooh Crew" include "picking up," well, pooh, as often as a client may desire; doing so in uniform*** and with "disinfected tools"; and electronic or paper invoices; as well as cleaning, disinfecting and deodorizing decks, patios, dog runs and kennels.

Rates vary, starting from as low as $12.50/service. Squeamish dog people are urged to "Call us today, don't delay!" because "A clean yard is a happy yard!"

(And seriously, squeamish dog people who may want this service can phone 609-883-7178 or 609-635-0998; or email susan609@verizon.net.)


*** uniform! just imagine your pride when wearing "Pooh Crew" over your breast pocket!
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Seashore vignettes (2 of 2)

Moving right along, more on roads -- or I should say, off roads. That would be diamondback terrapins, a.k.a. the turtles who cross roads to lay their eggs -- but who historically often don't make it to their nesting grounds because they're hit by cars and other vehicles.

Used to be in July, there were dead female turtles all over the roads near wetlands. These days, at least in the Avalon-Stone Harbor area, it's not happening. And the cute yellow “Turtle Crossing” signs didn’t do it.

These happy changes are the work of the Wetlands Institute, in Stone Harbor. It began, I think, with the Institute’s Terrapin Rescue program, whereby thousands of eggs have been harvested from road- killed terrapins, incubated, hatched, and fed until attaining a size that enables them to return to the wild.

The Institute also pioneered the development of terrain barrier fences to reduce the countless deaths of female terrapins in traffic as they struggle to return to traditional nesting habitats. That program has been adopted by other communities in South Jersey.

Huzzah, Wetlands Institute! (www.WetlandsInstitute.org)
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Seashore vignettes (1 of 2)

A change of pace and a change of venue -- a.k.a. a few days at the south Jersey shore. Now back, these impressions of the animal scene between Avalon and Cape May . . .

* the drive south goes through scenic wooded and undeveloped areas, and it included much less road kill along the way than I'm aware of in this area. Maybe that's because animals have sanctuary right off the road. Whatever the reason, it was a joy not to see lumps in the road ahead that as we came closer, became dead animals.

Which reminds me of an earlier post, about birds who fly low across roads, not knowing vehicles are death machines for them. I saw even more of this while away, and it included birds standing in the road eating junk humans had thrown out. Still another reason not to litter: birds must think, that's where the food is, so go there.

Now I'm wondering how long it might take the process of evolution among birds to warn them off roads and get them to fly higher over roads. Millions of years, probably, and by then, humans may have done so much other damage to the planet that the question will be moot.

* "Tula" is a young-seeming black lab female who was roaming around "our" street at the shore last night. She sniffed a pine cone in the street for awhile, then she crossed and re-crossed the street, as if trying to decide where to hang out. She wore a significant leather collar, but when I approached and petted her, it didn't seem to have license or ID tags on it.

Of course, Tula wasn't street-smart, as evidenced by her jogging back and forth without looking. She led me down a driveway into a back yard where people were eating on a 2nd floor deck. I asked if anyone knew where Tula came from and one woman walked through, met me out front and pointed across the street.

Sure enough, after she called out to a woman in the yard, that woman began calling "Tula," and the wandering lab made her way home. No one knew Tula was outside because they were all so busy keeping track of the children. With luck, she'll stay home and go out only on escorted walks.

* one other dog issue: The woman going out who asked her parents to "walk the dog" before she returned. She had left "the dog" -- actually only seven months old, and reportedly a chewer -- in her crate. Probably it didn't bother "the dog," but I was aware she has a name that, if used, would sound much less impersonal and much more warm and caring.
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Let these leopards go!

Snow leopards: rare, endangered big cats. And their name suggests the part of the world where they’re native: the high, bitterly cold mountains of Central Asia.

So, then, what are two snow leopard cubs doing in Cape May, NJ? Easy. They are born-in-captivity residents of the Cape May County Zoo. It is to laugh (after sighing, gnashing teeth, fist-shaking).

The claim: that zoos around the world are helping to conserve these animals by housing and breeding them. Hmmmm. How’s that? These babies were never in the wild, nor will they be. They exist to be in the zoo, in this case, a south Jersey zoo.

That may be a fate worse than death, or extinction. “Extinction is forever,” the saying goes, but if an animal could be consulted, would s/he choose life in a zoo? Would any animal make that choice, if given the chance?

OK, so humans can visit the zoo and see the snow leopards – which are heavily furred animals, the better to withstand weather in the Himalayas. Then what? Maybe they’ll contribute to the Snow Leopard Trust, an organization proclaiming its desire to conserving the animal? Then what? More snow leopards in zoos?

Gee, maybe they could become circus animals too, like the tigers who are on the same endangered list. Or the pandas, ditto, who also populate zoos?

Is a "zoo snow leopard" (which I’ve read can’t be released to the wild, by the way) a real snow leopard? Would it be more intelligent and humane to let these creatures go extinct if they must, rather than making them into captive models for tee shirts and tote bags? Talk about fates worse than death. Or extinction.
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