Animal Phobic -- A New Pandemic?

Dark days ahead for wildlife in city parks?

The abuse and neglect of wildlife at Brooklyn's Prospect Park continues unabated as the following article illustrates: http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/33/47/web_cygnet.html

Between the deliberate gassings of the geese last July and the lack of enforcement of fishing rules, resulting in swans and other waterfowl getting caught in fishing barbs and lines, it seems there is lots of hype and little "care" at one of NYC's major parks.

Next Wednesday, there is an important community meeting occurring at Prospect Park to address future "management" of the Canada geese. Details are below:

MEETING CONFIRMED- NOVEMBER 17th- 6:00pm- Picnic House (inside Park not far from the 3rd St entrance - Wildlife Management Advisory Committee presenting it's plan on Geese management
IMPORTANT: Please RSVP to elandau@prospectpark.org
Subject line should read "Community Committee RSVP

Unless there is good turnout to speak up for the wildlife at Prospect Park, we can expect that the new goose "management" plan will be management to extinction.

More and more these days, we seem to becoming an "animal phobic" nation.

It is almost impossible to keep up with the daily onslaught of articles decrying people's "problems" with some animal species, wild or domestic.

Though most of the recent emphasis has been on Canada geese (and deer) they are not the only bird species to occur the wrath of human disdain.

Yesterday, it was wild turkeys. Stories of the "nuisance and terror" that turkeys are creating in Staten Island hit the major network news broadcasts, as well as the newspapers. This article from the Daily News:

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/11/10/2010-11-10_scourge_of_staten_island_turkeys_terrorize_residents_as_they_roam_hospital_groun.html

The same day, there was a news story of a Condo board that spent more than $100,000 in legal fees trying to evict a woman and her three-pound Yorkshire Terrier. It seems there was a "no pet" rule imposed by the apparently animal phobic board. However, in that case, the woman and her tiny pooch won the case as the by-laws of the condo allowed for pets.

My question is, why would the woman even want to stay in a building where her tiny three pound dog was viewed by other residents as some kind of alien terror invader?

Nevertheless, the woman deserves credit for fighting the case and legally winning in court.

That only more cat and dog guardians would do the same with hostile landlords and condo boards.

As mentioned in previous blog entries, virtually all city parks now have signs admonishing anyone for feeding wildlife.

Additionally, city law forbids people from feeding pigeons and those who dare to feed stray cats or dogs are viewed as either crazies or community criminals.

One does have to feel bad for the people (and children) who genuinely care for animals, but who live in "no pet" buildings and are then even forbidden from interacting with or feeding wildlife or homeless cats and dogs.

It seems we are not far off from the day when the only ways people will be able to see or "interact" with animals will be to go to a zoo, blow the animals out of the skies with guns, or watch documentaries on exotic wildlife on NatGeo.

"Animal phobia" seems to be a disease that is slowly becoming pandemic. --PCA

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