[Fwd: HEARING ON WILD ANIMAL ORDINANCE - Alameda Board of Supes - Tuesday, May 18]

[Guest guest]

UPDATE - 5/18/04 ALAMEDA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS HEARING ON

PROPOSED ORDINANCE TO BAN WILD/EXOTIC ANIMAL ACTS AT THE ALAMEDA COUNTY

FAIR, AND OTHER UNINCORPORATED AREAS OF THE COUNTY

 

Colleen Patrick-Goudreau has written an extraordinarily good Letter to

the Editor (which she has forwarded to all the Supervisors and the

County Fair). I hope everyone reading this will do likewise. Colleen's

letter follows my diatribe, below. (ALSO SEE ARTICLES IN TODAY'S

CONTRA COSTA TIMES and the OAKLAND TRIBUNE.) Then write those letters.

I'd appreciate copies.

 

 

FROM ERIC MILLS, COORDINATOR OF ACTION FOR ANIMALS, 5/19/04:

 

Democracy got lynched yesterday, as did the Will of the People of

Alameda County, and captive wildlife. We've been working on this issue

for two years, and yet were allotted only 15 minutes to make our case

(5 witnesses: 3 minutes each). I'm pretty much convinced that the

Supervisors (Scott Haggerty, chair; and Keith Carson) had made up their

minds long before the hearing, which lasted less than an hour. (Only

last year Supervisor Carson told me he would support the ordinance.

That was then, apparently.) Our people did a great job (Dr. Rene

Gandolfi, Castro Valley vet; Greg Gilbert, Sr. Elephant Keeper at the

Oakland Zoo; Curt Ransom, Regional Coordinator for HSUS/Sacramento;

Virginia Handley, The Fund for Animals; and yours truly). They all

deserve some thank-you letters (call me for addresses, if needed). We

also had a good turn-out of animal activists--many thanks for coming. I

only wish you all have been allowed to speak.

 

This hearing had been scheduled for July 31 last year, but then was

cancelled at the last minute. It took them nearly a year to re-schedule

the hearing, which gives you an idea of just how seriously they take

animal welfare. In a lousy bit of bad timing, both Dr. Joel Parrott, of the Oakland Zoo, and Pat Derby, PAWS, were at the PAWS

conference yesterday, and were unable to testify. Dr. Parrott had

written an good support letter for our efforts, and has spoken out

frequently against the use of elephants in traveling circuses (for which

he has been punished accordingly, of course, by his peers).

 

Support letters for the proposed ordinance came from a dozen major/minor

animal welfare organizations, representing more than one million members

in California (and at least 100,000 in Alameda County). Senator Don

Perata and Assembly Members Wilma Chan and Loni Hancock also wrote.

(You might wish to thank them, too, and express your dismay about

yesterday's fiasco. All legislators may be written c/o The State

Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814.) The Board also received some 200

support letters from concerned citizens. SO FAR AS IS KNOWN, NOT A

SINGLE LETTER OF OPPOSITION CAME IN (save one from the Fair Board, the

Fox in the Henhouse, as it were). AND WE STILL LOST. Should have been

a slam-dunk. Astounding, bordering upon criminal. (Yes, I'm still angry!)

 

Supervisor Haggerty attempted to rationalize his dereliction of duty by

disingenuously suggesting that we take this issue to the State

Legislature to pass state-wide legislation to ban the wild/exotic animal

acts. Yeah, right. We all know how easy THAT would be. Both he and

Rick Pickering, Fair CEO, said that they didn't think it fair that the

Alameda County Fair should be the first in the state to have such a

policy, they didn't want to set a precedent. And why not, pray? What

exactly is wrong with compassion and real concern for the well-being of

wild animals? (Yet another example of too much testosterone in the

world, in myview.) It was this very same Board which in 1993 passed the

strongest rodeo animal welfare policy in the country per my request.

They certainly didn't suggest that I take the matter to the State

Legislature then. Something fishy here.

 

E-MAIL ADDRESSES: Supervisor Scott Haggerty - scott.haggerty

Supervisor Keith Carson -

bosdist5

Supervisor Gail Steele (pres.) -

dist2

Supervisor Alice Lai-Bitker -

bosdist3

Supervisor Nate Miley -

bosdist4

 

FOR ADDRESSES/PHONES/FAXES, CALL THE COUNTY CLERK: 510/272-6347

 

ALAMEDA COUNTY FAIR BOARD (Rick Pickering, CEO), 4501 Pleasanton Avenue,

Pleasanton, CA 94566; tel. 925/426-7600; fax 925/426-7599.

 

I'd appreciate some feedback about all this. But gimme a couple of days

to cool down, hey? I'll be in the garden recuperating.

 

 

IN THE MEANTIME: Do something about the mountain lion who was just

murdered for no good reason in Palo Alto.

 

And see today's CHRONICLE re the death of the gorilla Kubi at the S.F.

Zoo. See especially the last paragraph: " 'This is losing a family

member,' said zoo spokeswoman Nancy Chan. The zoo had planned to

allow Kubi to return to the outdoor part of his exhibit Friday.

INSTEAD, HE WILL BE CREMATED, WITH HIS FEET, HANDS, SKULL AND AT LEAST

ONE LEG PRESERVED FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. "

 

Is this depraved, or what? CALL THE ZOO, WRITE SOME LETTERS, CALL THE

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND OTHER LEGISLATORS. RAISE HELL! (Zoo's main

number is 415/753-7080. Then press " O, " and ask for Nancy Chan, the

P.R. person. Ms. Chan's cell phone is 740-9745.) The new zoo director

is Manuel Mollinedo. Express your concerns to him, too.

 

INDIVIDUAL RIGHTEOUS ACTION REMAINS THE BEST CURE FOR DEPRESSION AND

INJUSTICE. GO FOR IT!

 

Thanks to all who help make this dying planet a better place. And as

for the rest of you bastards, may you pee the bed for the remainder of

your (hopefully short) miserable, selfish lives.

 

FOR THE ANIMALS,

 

Eric Mills, coordinator

ACTION FOR ANIMALS

 

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Re: HEARING ON WILD ANIMAL ORDINANCE - Alameda Board

of Supes - Tuesday, May 18

Wed, 19 May 2004 07:23:21 -0700

Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

 

To:

References:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WILD ANIMAL ACTS BAN - NOT!

 

Dear Editor,

 

What do you get when you have concerned citizens and animal advocates

filling up a room urging two county supervisors to ban something that is

cruel, unnecessary, and dangerous?? Oh, add to the fact that over 200

letters and calls were made in support of the ban and that no letters of

opposition were documented.

 

You'd THINK it would be an easy victory for the wild and exotic animals

who have NO PLACE at the Alameda County Fair - or any fair. But alas,

the supervisors saw no reason to enact this ban, despite the sundry

arguments that would protect people and animals. It should be noted that

Supervisor Scott Haggerty, by his own admission, was intimately involved

with the Fair organizers and board and spent more time waxing

sentimental over how wonderful the 4-H programs (that the fair supports)

are for his daughter, who saved her sick 4-H pig (just in time to take

him to the fair to sell for slaughter). (I'm sorry, can you please tell

me what this has do with the wild animals, Supervisor?)

 

How pathetic it was for those of us sitting in the room in support of

the ban, in support of the animals, with no money to gain from such a

ban - to listen to the Fair organizers lament that it would be injurious

and torturous to children were they not allowed to be " educated " about

our natural world. (We laughed and sighed as we looked at a 2002 news

article that featured a bear from the fair with a bandana and cowboy hat

on, a leash around his neck, pushing a wheelbarrow. Education??)

 

And how disappointing that Supervisor Haggerty would sigh a long breath

when Eric Mills, from Action for Animals, who has been working for years

to get this meeting, asked to speak again. And how disappointing that

Supervisor Haggerty was all but falling all over the Fair organizers,

praising them for their concern for animals. (?) And how disappointing

that when Supervisor Keith Carson finally asked a question that

demonstrated some concern for the animals themselves, the fair organizer

answered the question he wanted to answer and not the question that was

asked. And nobody pressed him to answer the question.

 

And when Supervisor Haggerty allowed ONE question from the citizens that

pressed the fair organizers to explain how humiliating animals is

education, the fair organizer offered him his card and said " I'll get

back to you. " When the audience pressed Haggerty to make the organizer

answer, he said " Look - he gave him his card. " Pathetic.

 

Pathetic. Pathetic. Pathetic. Another loss for animals. Another gain for

animal exploiters. Shame on the supervisors, shame on the Alameda County

Fair, shame on all of us who don't speak loud enough to protest such an

outrage.

 

Colleen A. Patrick-Goudreau

 

 

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" The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but

because of those who look on and do nothing. " ~Albert Einstein

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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