(Photos: "Lil' Brad." - Crippled drake at Harlem Mere. Suspected victim of dog attack.)
Animals Shot with Blow Gun at Pelham Bay Park and Vital State Legislation to Address Wildlife Cruelty:
Anyone following this blog is already familiar with New York City's "war on geese" which has resulted in the needless and exceedingly cruel deaths of more than 4,000 Canada geese living in city parks and a wildlife refuge in just the past three years. (Such massacre was wildly accelerated this year by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D) NY who is up for reelection and virtually guaranteed to win.)
But, animal cruelty in city parks is not limited to Canada geese.
Over the past several weeks, geese, gulls and at least one squirrel were shot with a blow gun at Pelham Bay Park and four of the animals have since died. The incidents were reported in the "A Walk in the Park" blog by Geoffrey Croft and numerous local media outlets, including CBS and ABC news:
In response to these heinous attacks on innocent wildlife, NY state Assemblymember, Linda Rosenthal (D)has urged swift passage of her bill A-1843-D which would make aggravated cruelty to wildlife for no justifiable purpose a felony offense.
It is urged that everyone who cares about the protection of wildlife in our city parks contact their state legislators to support this vital and necessary bill. If you don't know who your state representatives are, you can call the League of Women Voters at (212) 725-3541 during regular business hours to find out or contact them online.
The repeated cruelties to wildlife in city and state parks should not be tolerated.
Prospect Park Swan Continues to Suffer Distress:
In response to my recent blog posting regarding the long sordid history of animal cruelty at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, a reader submitted the following comment:
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Prospect Park, New York: A Sordid History and Hotb...":
"I saw the swan with the embedded line today. The line is all frayed and I could see a dark metal object attached to the breast of the swan. I don't think it is a fishing line - it looks more like a rope that frayed.The swan was pulling at it but could not remove it. The object is attached to the breast, about 10 inches above the left leg toward the neck. It can only be seen when the swan is standing. There is also something hanging from the right side.
I would not be surprised if this injury resulted from an attempt to catch the swan or other wildlife for food. All around the south and east shore of the lake people have been camping since spring. There are all kinds of tents made with plastic sheeting, disguised with branches. The shore and water is full of litter.
I have no expectations of the park rangers. They rarely leave their vehicles. They usually drive around the main roads or park their cars in secluded spots and work their phones. Also, physical fitness does not seem to be a requirement to be a park ranger. I can't see them trying to catch anything."
Although I don't live near Prospect Park and have not personally seen the inured swan, I believe every word in the above comment to be true.
As noted numerous times in this journal, Urban Park Rangers are not properly equipped to do any serious animal rescue and the leadership of Prospect Park is particularly indifferent to animal cruelty.
Obviously, the swan is suffering and in "distress" despite all the PP claims to the contrary.
"Lame Ducks"
Most of us are familiar with the phrase, "Lame Duck" usually to refer to a second term Presidency.
However, actual lame ducks (and geese) can also be a fairly familiar sight in city parks.
Over the years, I have seen a number of lame waterfowl, usually due to fishing line entanglements.
But, ducks and geese can be victims to other types of cruelty as well. One of the most common is attacks by off-leash dogs.
Almost two years ago, "Joey" a white Pekin duck was attacked by a dog on the icy lake at Harlem Mere (in Central Park) in the middle of winter. Joey suffered a gaping bite wound on the top of his back.
Fortunately, because the domestic duck was incapable of flying, he was able to be rescued by park rangers and was subsequently treated and adopted out.
Other ducks are apparently not so lucky.
Last week, I observed an owned, off-leash dog in the water at Harlem Meer, chasing mallards.
I began to approach the owners of the smallish, terrier-type dog to say something, but they quickly called their dog back and moved away.
A few nights later, I noticed a severely crippled mallard at the Mere.
The drake, (whom I have since named, "Lil' Brad") is unable to use his left leg at all and appears to have missing tail and back feathers. Though one cannot be certain how such injury occurred, it is easy to speculate the duck might have been grabbed by a dog and managed to escape.
Lil' Brad is unable to walk without holding the crippled leg up and falling over. He is unable to use the damaged leg when swimming.
What is particularly pitiful is that other ducks, when noticing the disabilities of Lil Brad, harass and go after him. (Ducks are not as kindly to their injured as geese are.) This is particularly true if Lil Brad is hobbling around on land. Fortunately, Lil Brad is still able to fly -- at least enough to get him quickly back to the water and away from danger.
I found Lil Brad last night roosting about 10 to 15 feet away from the other ducks on the grass. If he previously had a flock, he is somewhat separated or "shunned" now presumably due to the injury.
I am not sure if Lil Brad will be able to survive the upcoming winter. For the moment the weather is good, there is sufficient food and there are about 30 ducks remaining at the Mere since the visiting flocks flew out after feasting on duck weed for more than a month.
Winter can be a very different story however. Unless large gaggles of migratory geese fly in to help maintain open water through the winter, Harlem Mere is likely to freeze over.
I have a feeling that Lil Brad, (like the domestic ducks, Wiggly and Honker) will be forced to remain at the Mere regardless of conditions due to his injury. Should the three ducks be the only waterfowl there over the winter, survival could be very precarious and uncertain.
Those people thinking it "cute" that their dogs go into water to harass and sometimes injure or even kill wildlife don't deserve to have a "pet" as they have little real respect or understanding for any animal life.
Let us hope that Assemblymember, Linda Rosenthal gets support on her very needed proposed legislation.
Until there is meaningful penalty and consequence, cruelty towards wildlife in city parks will shamefully continue.
It is indeed, no "walk in the park" for our city's remaining wildlife. -- PCA
*********
1 comment:
right here look at more info site here blog click over here go right here
Post a Comment