THE LAW

DID YOU KNOW that New York City's pigeons, squirrels, crows, sea gulls -- even raccoons -- are subject to unregulated; unpunishable animal cruelty? Why?? Because the Department of Environmental Control has declared them “pest animals.”

Call a pigeon, a squirrel, even a baby raccoon a "nuisance" and it no longer is covered by any of the basic anti-animal-cruelty statutes. The anti-animal cruelty statutes cover animals. All of the hard-fought legislation to protect them is erased by insert-replacing the word "animal" with "nuisance animal." This strips all of these animals of basic humane treatment.

Because of this "work-around" of anti-cruelty statutes, millions of animals are relegated to brutality or neglect.

FYI...Animal Welfare Act, as set forth by the USDA can be found at: http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/legislat/usdaleg1.htm

REMEMBER ANIMAL FARM?
“All animals are equal” read the sign when it was first posted to declare communal egalitarianism. But after a series of increased corruptions; the sign was amended to read, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

As a case in point – in June 2004; 465 Canada Geese were slaughtered on Riker’s Island with a permit happily handed out by the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. While thousands of New Yorkers rallied on behalf of the Geese [even a group called “GeesePeace” offered humane alternatives to the slaughter] the city refused to budge.

Simultaneously, 100 Canada Geese were euthanized in nearby Olney, Maryland
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21876-2004Jul1.html)




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CURRENT LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS TO PROTECT 'NUISANCE ANIMALS"

As per a recent alert from The Fund for Animals
Background. Since current N.Y.S. statute permits the killing of "nuisance" wild animals in "any manner," it is perfectly legal to use cruel methods such as injecting acetone (nail polish remover) and other poisonous solvents into the animal, or drowning the trapped animal in a barrel of water.

Please contact Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, Chair, Assembly Codes CommitteeLentolJ@Assembly.state.ny.us(718) 383-74741. State whether you are a Brooklyn resident. 2. Ask him to represent you by using his chair position to pass bill A8423 (DiNapoli) through the Codes committee quickly and to the Assembly floor quickly. 3. Please leave your name and street mailing address and politely ask for a response.

This excellent bill mandates that nuisance wildlife control operators use the American Veterinary Medical Association approved standards of euthanasia if they do not release the animal. You can also contact us at: The Fund for Animals, 8121 Georgia Avenue, Suite 301, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone: (301) 585-2591.

[For more info also see: http://www.api4animals.org/209.htm ]

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INSPIRING LEGAL VICTORIES
Colorado is pigeon safe. It is pigeon safe because a young girl led a heroic fight against Avitrol poisoning.
Because of her efforts and the community that rallied behind her; Colorado is pigeon-safe.
http://www.rmad.org/boulderbirds.html

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LAWS

NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT (EXCERPT)
Act 451 of 1994

324.40902 Homing pigeons; use of certain devices prohibited.
Sec. 40902.

A person shall not at any time make use of any pit, pitfalls, deadfall, scaffold, cage, snarl, trap, net, baited hook, or any similar device, or any drug poison, chemical, or explosive for the purpose of
injuring, capturing, or killing a homing pigeon of another person. History: Add. 1995, Act 57, Imd. Eff. May 24, 1995 .

Popular
Name: Act 451

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Consolidated Laws of New York Agricultre and Markets LawChapter 69 of the
Consolidated LawsArticle 26 -- ANIMALSs353

Overdriving, torturing and injuring animals; failure to provide proper
sustenance. A person who overdrives, overloads, tortures or cruelly beats or
unjustifiably injures, maims, mutilates or kills any animal, whether wild or
tame, and whether belonging to himself or to another, or deprives an animal of
necessary sustenance, food or drink, or neglects or refuses to furnish it such
sustenance or drink, or causes, procures or permits any animal to be overdriven,
overloaded, tortured, cruelly beaten or unjustifiably injured, maimed, mutilated
or killed, or to be deprived of necessary food or drink, or who willfully sets on
foot, instigates, engages in or in any way furthers any act of cruelty to any
animal, or any act tending to produce cruelty, is guilty of a misdemeanor,
punishable by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more
than one thousand dollars or by both.
http://www.animal-law.org/statutes/newyork

S.663 is a ban on the poison Avitrol in any city in New York state with a
population of more than 1 million (New York City only). S.664 will allow cities
in New York state to pass ordinances to ban the poisoning of pigeons. You can
call the senators of NY at the numbers listed below: Senator Roy Goodman,
518-455-2211Senator Joseph Bruno, Senate Majority Leader 518-455-3191Senator
Marcellino, Chairman, Environmental Conservation Committee 518-455-2390

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If you'd like to investigate this further on your own; some handy links are:

http://www.animal-law.org/statutes/newyork/htr