New York Newsday
Published: May 21, 2013
By JENNIFER BARRIOS

Last week’s town board meeting attracted 50 residents and wildlife advocates who spoke out against the plan for about an hour. Edita Birnkrant, New York director of Friends of Animals, said Thursday afternoon’s protest, to be held in conjunction with Malverne-based Long Island Orchestrating for Nature, is designed to “send a very strong message” to town officials.

“What we’re hoping is that the kill option will be completely taken off the table,” Birnkrant said. “We will not rest easy until we know every single goose and their babies will be safe in the Town of North Hempstead.”

North Hempstead officials are rethinking their plan to call in federal workers to kill Canada geese residing in town parks after the idea raised a hue and cry among wildlife advocates, who plan to protest Thursday in front of town hall.

“Everything’s on hold until we sort out what the best approach to take is,” Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman said Tuesday. “From our perspective, it’s important that we reduce the impact of the geese on our parks.”

Town officials took the action after they said other measures, such as oiling eggs so they don’t hatch and using dogs to scare off geese, proved ineffective. The geese, which are not native to the area and have no natural predators, produce voluminous amounts of droppings, which foul waterways and fields, according to the town.

Last week’s town board meeting attracted 50 residents and wildlife advocates who spoke out against the plan for about an hour.

Edita Birnkrant, New York director of Friends of Animals, said Thursday afternoon’s protest, to be held in conjunction with Malverne-based Long Island Orchestrating for Nature, is designed to “send a very strong message” to town officials.

“What we’re hoping is that the kill option will be completely taken off the table,” Birnkrant said. “We will not rest easy until we know every single goose and their babies will be safe in the Town of North Hempstead.”

Kaiman said he didn’t expect the matter to appear on next month’s town board agenda, but he was open to hearing all options.

“If there’s a way to do it that creates less friction, then so much the better,” he said.

When: Thursday, May 23, 2013, 2pm-4pm
Where: In front of North Hempstead Town Hall, 220 Plandome Road, Manhasset, NY 11030
(The Manhasset stop of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) stops one block away from the Town Hall)

Your attendance is crucially needed on Thursday, May 23rd, 2pm-4pm to send a convincing message to North Hempstead, Long Island officials and media slaughtering the town’s Canada geese in area parks in the coming weeks will not be tolerated. We will gather in front of North Hempstead Town Hall Thursday to press officials to officially cancel any goose-killing scheme. We’ll bring posters, but please bring your own if possible. Last Tuesday’s packed North Hampstead Town Council Board Meeting, in which Friends of Animals and dozens of town residents attended and spoke against a plan to gas hundreds of the town’s geese to death in parks, caused a stir—and was covered by Newsday, News 12 TV and other local media.

Supervisor Jon Kaiman and Council Members listed for 90 minutes as passionate speakers voiced outrage over hiring the USDA to roundup and exterminate geese and their newly born goslings in area parks, starting in June by stuffing them into crates and sending them to gas chambers—costing the town nearly $10,000 in tax dollars. Friends of Animals and others have attempted to set up a follow-up meeting with officials, but no response has followed from any officials. Time is running out to save the geese.

Friends of Animals and others offered humane, effective alternatives, such as modifying park habitat and landscapes to deter geese from nesting and gathering in high-use areas of parks, as detailed in FoA’s Canada Goose Habitat Modification Manual, which was distributed to each official at the meeting. We also advised officials to make it a policy to clean up waste matter instead of saying all geese within town limits must die. Posting signs and enforcing no-feeding and littering rules are also sensible steps. Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman and Council Members need a different mindset, one that evolves beyond ignorance and intolerance. Many North Hempstead residents in attendance spoke about how much they value and cherish visiting parks and observing families of geese living their lives. They were horrified at the thought of a goose extermination scheme.

North Hempstead Parks and Recreation officials complain that goose droppings are a nuisance—yet there is no mention of the town using equipment which quickly and effectively remove goose droppings from grassy areas and parks. How can this be ignored?

The town claims they’ve tried everything to “scare off” the geese, and that nothing worked.” Predictibly, harassing geese from areas won’t work if flat, grassy areas remain unchanged. Geese will move in when others leave, occupying those areas for nesting, especially in the summer.

Habitat and landscape modifications are environmentally sound, long-term ways to deter geese from areas where they are seen as problematic — clearly what’s needed in North Hempstead. Co-existence with geese and other wildlife is required as sensible, suburban living. Are Supervisor Jon Kaimin and Town Council Members prepared to spend the residents’ taxes each year to kill geese instead of implementing the effective strategies Friends of Animals endorses?

The towns of Mamaroneck and Scarsdale, in Westchester, NY recently cancelled plans to kill Canada geese in parks after feedback and meetings from Friends of Animals and other agitated residents opposed to the killing. North Hempstead can and should do the same.

For more details or information, contact Edita Birnkrant, NY Director, Friends of Animals by EMAIL or 212.247.8120

If you can’t attend the demonstration on Thursday, please continue to call and email Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman and Town Council members and tell them to cancel the mean-spirited plan to slaughter Canada geese. Remind them that goose roundups are monstrous—USDA agents typically enter park areas during early morning, roughly separating goslings from parents, and then stuff the bound, panicked geese and babies into crates. Next, the geese are gassed or shot to death. Ask North Hempstead officials if they imagine such immorality is preferable to cleaning the grass and modifying some habitat and landscapes.

Contact Information:

Office - Contact - Phone - Email

Supervisor Hon. Jon Kaiman — 516.869.6311 and kaimanj@northhempsteadny.gov

Town Clerk Hon. Leslie Gross — 516.869.6311 and grossl@northhempsteadny.gov

Town Board
Councilperson District 1 Hon. Viviana L. Russell — 516.869.7701 and russellv@northhempsteadny.gov

Town Board
Councilperson District 2 Hon. Thomas K. Dwyer — 516.869.7702 and dwyert@northhempsteadny.gov

Town Board
Councilperson District 3 Hon. Angelo P. Ferrara — 516.869.7703 and ferraraa@northhempsteadny.gov

Town Board
Councilperson District 4 Hon. Anna M. Kaplan — 516.869.7704 and kaplana@northhempsteadny.gov

Town Board
Councilperson District 5 Hon. Lee Seeman — 516.869-7705 and seemanl@northhempsteadny.gov

Town Board
Councilperson District 6 Hon. Dina M. DeGiorgio — 516.869.7706 and degiorgiod@northhempsteadny.gov

Officials with the Town of North Hempstead want to kill of hundreds of Canada geese by shipping them to a food processing plant. (May 14, 2013 10:38 PM)

Animal activists were out in full force tonight in New Hyde Park to protest a controversial plan to eliminate the local goose population.

Officials with the Town of North Hempstead voted to consider a plan to kill of hundreds of Canada geese by shipping them to a food processing plant, where they would be euthanized. The geese would be herded by a U.S. Department of Agriculture wildlife specialist.

Activists…Content Preview

Photo credit: Kevin P Coughlin | A Canada Goose in a ravine along the shore of Middle Bay. Kelly Hamilton and Michelle Gibbons from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation performed a survey of the waterfowl inhabitating Middle Bay. (May 9, 2011)

Residents and wildlife advocates spoke out at an unofficial hearing following North Hempstead’s town board meeting, calling on town leaders to reconsider a contract to euthanize its invasive resident geese population.

To loud cheering, Edita Birnkrant, the New York director of Friends of Animals, pleaded with board members, saying: “You don’t want North Hempstead to be known as a town that slaughters its wildlife.”

Theresa Pratt, 48, of Manhasset held up a sign with pictures of young goslings. It read: “Geese feel, fear pain and panic just like humans.”

Other residents booed loudly and said “Get out” as Phil Weiden, 27, of Greenvale suggested the idea of moving some of the geese to zoos.

Afterward, Councilman Angelo Ferrara told the boisterous crowd: “If you don’t stop, I think we will end the hearing.”

Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman addressed the board beforehand, acknowledging “a great deal of concern” about the plan to kill the birds. “The question for us over the years is how do we balance the wildlife, the birds that are part of our community and the hundreds of pounds of feces that they drop?”

Later, Kaiman said, “If there’s a way to resolve this with some other methods, we’re open to it, but we need to clean our parks.”

Several animal-rights groups were represented, including the international Friends of Animals and the Malverne-based Long Island Orchestrating for Nature.

“We’re very disturbed that they would resort to legal slaughter. As soon as this next flock flies over, they’re just going to see this as suitable ground,” he said, adding, “It’s just permanent until the next flock flies over.”

He suggested dealing with the problem with technology such as machinery that sweeps away droppings and turns them into compost, and OvoControl G, an oral contraceptive made especially for Canada geese.

Last month, the town board unanimously approved the contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Services. Before euthanizing the geese, USDA wildlife specialists will survey town parks and decide whether the town has exhausted every other means of getting rid of the geese.

The USDA says its preferred method of euthanasia is using carbon dioxide.

Currently, no Long Island towns euthanize geese, but others, including North Hempstead, have other tactics: oiling eggs to prevent them from hatching; harassment, by chasing geese with border collies or workers in kayaks; fines and signs discouraging people from feeding the birds.

One group, Goose Watch NYC, which opposes citywide cullings, has taken to social media to drum up opposition to the plan. By Tuesday, an online petition had drawn more than 500 signatures.

Viviana Russell, a town councilwoman, said Monday that “We’re always open to listening to other suggestions.”

She said she was “comfortable” with the plan to eradicate the geese, which calls for them to be processed and donated to food pantries. “It’s not like we’re just killing off the animals; they’re going to be used for food,” she said.

North Hempstead, NY — May 14th, 2013 — Friends of Animals, (FoA) an international animal advocacy organization founded in 1957 is pressing North Hempstead, New York officials to cancel plans to hire USDA agents to annihilate hundreds of Canada geese and newly born goslings in town parks. FoA, in addition to residents and others will protest the kill plan and speak in favor of humane alternatives during the Tuesday, May 14th’s Board Meeting at the North Hempstead Town Hall, at 7:30pm, located at 220 Plandome Road, Manhasset, NY. NY Newsday reports on the town’s disastrous plan to spend $8,602.71 in tax dollars for the kill plan, in addition to $6 per goose to process the slaughtered geese who they absurdly claim will go to food banks after being gassed to death—in spite of reports that such geese are not safe for human consumption.

North Hempstead Parks and Recreation officials complain that droppings from the geese are a nuisance—yet there is no mention of the town utilizing machines available for commercial use which quickly and effectively remove goose droppings from grassy areas and parks—there’s no mention of any formal clean-up policy, in fact.” “How can the town leadership ignore such an obvious solution in favor of a mass slaughter”, asks Birnkrant?

Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman and Council Members who ordered the killing need a different mindset, and a plan to clean up goose droppings in fields and parks. Officials must make it a policy to clean up waste matter instead of saying all geese within town limits must die. Posting signs and enforcing no-feeding and littering rules are also sensible steps.

The town claims they’ve tried everything to “scare off” the geese, and that nothing worked.” Friends of Animals could have predicted that. Harassing geese from areas won’t work if flat, grassy areas remain unchanged. Geese will move in when others leave, occupying those areas for nesting, especially in the summer.

Habitat and landscape modifications are environmentally sound, long-term ways to deter geese from areas where they are seen as problematic — clearly what’s needed in North Hempstead. Co-existence with geese and other wildlife neighbors is required as a part of evolved suburban living. Are Supervisor Jon Kaimin and Town Council Members prepared to spend the residents’ taxes each year to kill geese instead of implementing the effective strategies Friends of Animals endorses?

Geese are attracted to areas with short, mowed grass and open sight lines as safe nesting areas. Growing grass longer in areas, planting native shrubs and trees to block sight lines (geese like to watch for predators), will deter geese from ponds, shores and parkland — reducing the time they spend in any one spot — especially for the 6 week period in summer when they’re molting.

Friends of Animals produces a Canada Goose Habitat Modification Manual detailing this process, and plans to meet with North Hempstead officials to present them with the manual, urge them to implement the changes and spare the geese. FoA’s Canada Goose Habitat Modification Manual is available by request to media

The towns of Mamaroneck and Scarsdale, in Westchester, NY recently cancelled their plans to kill Canada geese in park areas after feedback and meetings from Friends of Animals and from outraged residents opposed to the killing—North Hempstead can and should do the same. Friends of Animals is urging our members and supporters within North Hempstead and beyond to call and write Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman and Town Council member and tell them to cancel the mean-spirited plan to slaughter Canada Geese. We are also asking North Hempstead residents to attend the Tuesday, May 14th Town Board Meeting to speak out against this unjustified assault on wildlife and demand policies that protect and preserve wildlife.

Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman and Council Members who ordered the killing need a different mindset, and a plan to clean up goose droppings in fields and parks. Officials must make it a policy to clean up waste matter instead of saying all geese within town limits must die. Posting signs and enforcing no-feeding and littering rules are also sensible steps.

The town claims they’ve tried everything to “scare off” the geese, and that nothing worked.” Friends of Animals could have predicted that. Harassing geese from areas won’t work if flat, grassy areas remain unchanged. Geese will move in when others leave, occupying those areas for nesting, especially in the summer.

Habitat and landscape modifications are environmentally sound, long-term ways to deter geese from areas where they are seen as problematic — clearly what’s needed in North Hempstead. Co-existence with geese and other wildlife neighbors is required as a part of evolved suburban living. Are Supervisor Jon Kaimin and Town Council Members prepared to spend the residents’ taxes each year to kill geese instead of implementing the effective strategies Friends of Animals endorses?

Geese are attracted to areas with short, mowed grass and open sight lines as safe nesting areas. Growing grass longer in areas, planting native shrubs and trees to block sight lines (geese like to watch for predators), will deter geese from ponds, shores and parkland — reducing the time they spend in any one spot — especially for the 6 week period in summer when they’re molting.

Friends of Animals produces a Canada Goose Habitat Modification Manual detailing this process, and plans to meet with North Hempstead officials to present them with the manual. We’ll urge them to implement the changes and spare the geese.

The towns of Mamaroneck and Scarsdale, in Westchester, NY recently cancelled their plans to kill Canada geese in park areas after feedback and meetings from Friends of Animals and from outraged residents opposed to the killing—North Hempstead can and should do the same.

Take Action:

Please call and email Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman and Town Council members and tell them to cancel the mean-spirited plan to slaughter Canada geese. Remind them that goose roundups are monstrous—USDA agents typically enter park areas during early morning, roughly separating goslings from parents, and then stuff the bound, panicked geese and babies into crates. Next, the geese are gassed or shot to death. Ask North Hempstead officials if they imagine such immorality is preferable to cleaning the grass and modifying some habitat and landscapes.Contact Information:

Supervisor
Hon. Jon Kaiman
516.869.6311
kaimanj@northhempsteadny.gov

Town Clerk
Hon. Leslie Gross
516.869.6311
grossl@northhempsteadny.gov

Town Receiver
of Taxes
Hon. Charles Berman
516.869-6311
tax@northhempsteadny.gov

Town Board
Councilperson District 1
Hon. Viviana L. Russell
516.869.7701
russellv@northhempsteadny.gov

Town Board
Councilperson District 2
Hon. Thomas K. Dwyer
516.869.7702
dwyert@northhempsteadny.gov

Town Board
Councilperson District 3
Hon. Angelo P. Ferrara
516.869.7703
ferraraa@northhempsteadny.gov

Town Board
Councilperson District 4
Hon. Anna M. Kaplan
516.869.7704
kaplana@northhempsteadny.gov

Town Board
Councilperson District 5
Hon. Lee Seeman
516.869-7705
seemanl@northhempsteadny.gov

Town Board
Councilperson District 6
Hon. Dina M. DeGiorgio
516.869.7706
degiorgiod@northhempsteadny.gov

Please attend the Tuesday, May 14th North Hempstead Town Board Meeting to speak out against this plan during the public comment period of the meeting:

Tuesday 5/14/13 at 7:30 PMNorth Hempstead Town Hall
220 Plandome Road
Manhasset, NY 11030
Call: 516.869.6311

Note: the NY Newsday article has a poll - please vote yes here that the town’s plan is inhumane.

You can also post to the town’s Facebook page.

by Priscilla Feral (as printed in the CT Post)

The odd Boston Globe headline read, “Chaperones Needed for Horseshoe Crab Mating Season,” after Massachusetts marine officials reduced the number of crabs that anglers can use as bait for eel- and conch-catching — launching a spawning survey so the public would weigh in when horseshoe crabs were seen in late spring.

Horseshoe crabs, which have evolved little in 250 million to 350 million years, may be disappearing. There’s a ban on catching them for bait in New Jersey and South Carolina.

Atlantic horseshoe crabs, sometimes called living fossils, aren’t really crabs. They’re related to spiders. Four species of horseshoe crabs survive today; Atlantic horseshoe crabs are the only ones in North America. They live along the western shores of the Atlantic Ocean and in the Gulf of Mexico.

The crabs migrate to shallow coastal waters with soft sandy or muddy bottoms during the late spring breeding season, which is when my enthusiasm for them is kicked into high gear.

Each May and early June during the high tides, three days before and after a new and full moon, female horseshoe crabs descend on our Connecticut shoreline, coming ashore or staying in very shallow water to lay their blue-green eggs. Gathering on the shore, female crabs dig holes and deposit tens of thousands of eggs. Male crabs, two-thirds the size of females, positioned along the water’s edge as females arrive, hang on to the female’s shell with their glove-like claws as they’re pulled up the beach to the high-tide line, and fertilize eggs as they’re dragged over the nest. After the mating ritual, female crabs and attached males (sometimes more than one), leave the beach as waves wash sand over the nest.

The eggs that last beyond meals for shorebirds take about two weeks to hatch.

The federal government moved to protect these crabs, in part, by designating a 1,500-square-mile horseshoe crab preserve extending 30 nautical miles out into the Atlantic Ocean — from Peck’s Beach, N.J., to Ocean City, Md. This area is habitat to the largest horseshoe crab population on the East Coast.

If you find a horseshoe crab on the beach this summer, flipped over with legs up in the air, offer this ancient mariner a hand by turning the crab over before curious children approach. You can also help these crabs and all marine animals by keeping trash out of the ocean, and picking up litter.

I hope your summer is enjoyable and includes some intriguing interludes with nature.

Priscilla Feral is president of Friends of Animals in Darien.

Friends of Animals is moving its News & Alerts list. To keep receiving the latest updates on animal issues, please subscribe to our new list.

By Scott DeSmit

An animal rights group has released a mini-documentary detailing efforts to stop a squirrel-hunting contest in the village of Holley earlier this year.

Friends of Animals last week released the six minute, 41-second video showing “the horrifying behavior of the Squirrel Slam hunters and supporters,” said FOA president Edita Birnkrant.

Birnkrant said the video is part of the group’s ongoing effort to ban all animal-killing contests.

Birnkrant and other members of FOA attended Lobby Day in Albany Tuesday, encouraging lawmakers to approve three bills that have been pending. One of those bills would ban hunting contests. The other two bills: One that bans devocalization of cats and dogs and one that bans horse-drawn carriages in New York City.

It is the bill that bans animal-killing contests that is featured in the documentary.

Holley Fire Department conducted its seventh annual Hazzard County Squirrel Slam Feb. 16. Prizes, including cash and guns, were given to the hunters bagging the largest squirrels and most combined weight for up to five squirrels.

The contest drew the ire of animals rights activists, who for weeks sent letters and emails to fire and village officials asking them to stop the contest.

The protest was for the most part peaceful but as the documentary shows, there were instances of volatility.
Hunters passing by in trucks waved squirrels out windows, arguments ensued between protesters and supporters and at one point a man offers a veiled “death threat” to Birnkrant. He was charged with harassment.

Birnkrant said the video was done to “expose and reverse the mentality that embraces such violence in communities like Holley and elsewhere.”

The video can be found on FOA’s website or directly at http://www.friendsofanimals.org/news/2013/april/squirrel-slam-video.html

Friends of Animals is moving its News & Alerts list. To keep receiving the latest updates on animal issues, please subscribe to our new list.

Friends of Animals is moving its News & Alerts list. To keep receiving the latest updates on animal issues, please subscribe to our new list.

PR Newswire
SAN FRANCISCO, April 25, 2013

The Humane Farming Association (HFA) and a broad coalition of animal protection organizations today expressed outrage over Senator Feinstein’s introduction of “The Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2013.”

“The egg industry wants to establish egg factory cages as a national standard that could never be challenged or changed by state law or public vote,” said Bradley Miller, National Director of the Humane Farming Association. “The American public overwhelmingly supports the banning of egg factory cages, not measures such as this which would ban the outlawing of cages. This bill would clearly subvert the will of the people.”

Widely referred to by opponents as the Rotten Egg Bill, Feinstein’s measure would codify a controversial deal between the United Egg Producers (UEP) ­– the egg industry trade association recently sued for an alleged price-fixing scheme – and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), which is now endorsing the exact same egg factory cages it previously opposed.

“This bill would be disastrous for laying hens who would be forever locked in cages — as well as for millions of Americans nationwide whose voting rights would be traded away,” said Miller. “It’s appalling to see the cynical political interests of the egg industry placed ahead of those of the American public.”

“According to the bill’s own sponsor, this bill was introduced to protect the economic interests of the egg industry,” said Miller. “This bill would preempt state laws, such as California’s Proposition 2, and is a direct assault upon egg laying hens, voters, and states’ rights.

Price-Fixing, RICO Charges, Limit Prospects for Egg Bill

Last year, similar egg industry legislation failed to make it out of committee. This was attributed, in part, to the reluctance of many legislators to associate themselves with the scandal-ridden United Egg Producers (UEP). UEP and several of the egg companies it represents have been sued repeatedly for alleged illegal price fixing, paying $25 million to settle allegations that they illegally manipulated the price and supply of eggs under the guise of instituting standards for animal welfare.

Now, with active lawsuits still pending against them from companies such as General Mills and Kraft Foods — UEP and its co-defendants are again asking Congress to codify a set of standards that would, in effect, provide legal cover for the very activities of which they stand accused.

“Last year very few Senators were willing to jump in the middle of an ongoing price-fixing scandal just to placate an egg industry trade association and a co-opted humane organization,” said Miller. “We expect this reluctance will continue this year.”

“Should alleged lawbreakers be allowed to dictate federal policy? We don’t think so. And we’re confident that most lawmakers will feel likewise,” said Miller.

Widespread Opposition From Animal Advocates

In addition to the Humane Farming Association, opponents of the Rotten Egg Bill include Friends of Animals, United Poultry Concerns, Last Chance for Animals, Action for Animals, PETA, Northwest Animal Rights Network, Defend Animals Coalition, Political Animals, Maple Farm Sanctuary, Georgia Animal Rights and Protection, Canadians for the Ethical Treatment of Food Animals, Vegan Society of Peace, Humane Farming Action Fund, Sunnyskies Bird and Animal Sanctuary, SAFE, Animals Unlimited, Action Volunteers for Animals, Massachusetts Animal Rights Coalition, Purpose Group International, Chicken Run Rescue, Pasado Safe Haven, Associated Humane Societies, and the vast majority of rank-and-file animal advocates.

To view HFA’s animated short A Cage Is A Cage, to take action, and to learn more about this measure, please visit: StopTheRottenEggBill.org.

About HFA: Founded in 1985 and now over 250,000 members strong, The Humane Farming Association (HFA.org) operates the nation’s largest farm animal rescue and care facility and spearheads the Stop the Rotten Egg Bill campaign.

For media inquiries, contact Jill Mountjoy at 415.485.1495.

SOURCE Humane Farming Association

WEDNESDAY APRIL 24, 2013
BY STEVE JANOSKI
STAFF WRITER — SUBURBAN TRENDS

A day after several residents and animal rights advocates voiced their opinions both for and against the proposed waterfowl hunt at PV Park, the general opinion of the Township Council remains unchanged: Although it’s willing to consider alternatives, the hunt will go on if the governing body feels it’s needed.

Some, like Edita Birnkrant, the New York director of the nonprofit animal advocacy group Friends of Animals, urged the council to abandon its plan for a culling, and said that a plethora of other factors, such as dog excrement found in the trails around the 27-acre park, could influence the high levels of fecal coliforms that have caused the lake’s occasional closure in past years.

“The testing you did on the water does not implicate waterfowl - in fact, almost never do waterfowl negatively impact coliform levels,” she said.

Read full article on NewJersey.com>

Sunday, June 2, 2013 6:30 pm

Five-course gourmet vegan dinner

G-Zen Restaurant • 2 East Main Street • Branford, CT 06405 GET DIRECTIONS

Entertainment • Festive or business attire Make your reservations here • $100 per person; sit-down dinner

Gourmet Vegan Dinner with Master Vegan Chef Mark Shadle & Raw Foods Chef Ami Beach Shadle

• G-Zen was named one of the TOP 10 Upscale Vegan Restaurants in America by SHAPE MAGAZINE.
• Chef Mark, a renowned chef for more than 20 years, won Gold Medals at the International Culinary Olympics held in Germany.
• Vegan dinner includes organic soup, salad, housemade bread, carrot-miso spread, appetizer, entrée, dessert and one glass of red wine sangria. (Non-alcoholic available.)
•  Cash wine and cocktail bar available.

MENU

SOUP: Organic Coconut-Red Pepper Bisque (gluten-free) served with organic sunflower whole grain bread and carrot-miso spread.

SALAD: Raw Thai Jicama Salad: shredded cabbage, red onion, jicama and carrot tossed in a creamy cashew-ginger dressing (glutenfree and raw).

APPETIZERS: Spanikopita triangles made from organic filo stuffed with spinach, seed cheese and fresh herbs. Bruchetta with tomato, fresh basil, olive oil, tapioca cheese, topped with cashew parmesan.

ENTRÉES: Gourmet Lasagna layered whole grain, housemade pasta, herbed tofu ricotta, marinara and vegetables.
Creole Tempeh with sautéed organic greens (gluten-free).

DESSERT: Raw German Chocolate Cheesecake (gluten-free and raw).

Organic coffee available.

MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS HERE

Pequannock Township, in Morris Country, New Jersey is planning to shoot and kill ducks and geese at 27 acre Pequannock Valley Park, a swimming lake with a beach area that is open to the public, and the adjacent 40 acre Woodland Lake, home to many species of birds, waterfowl and other wildlife.

Town officials obtained a DEP Permit that allows the town to shoot and kill Canada geese from April 1, 2013-August 31, 2013, and a permit to kill the ducks is pending approval.

Mayor Rich Phelan and Township Manager David Hollberg are blaming a few ducks and geese for elevated coliform bacteria levels in lake water after heavy rainfalls on summer days—they are absurdly insisting that all the ducks and geese be exterminated at the lake. Waterfowl are naturally attracted to lakes, and the landscaping and habitat of the public park area, in addition to the constant presence of food sold and eaten at the swimming area means the birds must be tolerated by park and town officials. Suggestions to change the areas food is eaten at the beach, in addition to educating residents about not feeding waterfowl have been made to officials.

The town’s attitude of intolerance which views bird species that belong in the landscape turned into a public swimming area—that says even one duck isn’t allowed to exist where people swim— must be challenged and overturned in this town and everywhere.

Bacteria levels in water are affected by multiple factors, and the presence of dog excrement on trails surrounding the lake was documented by Friends of Animals last week, after a meeting at the Pequannock Valley Park lake with Township Manager Hollberg. A Pequannock resident confirmed to FoA that throughout the summer, dog owners often fail to clean up droppings at sites directly around the lake—some of which could easily end up in the lake water after a rainfall, thus affecting bacteria levels being blamed on waterfowl, with no scientific proof.

In spite of this obvious factor and others, Pequannock officials are dead-set on shooting the ducks and geese—in spite of FoA explaining that killing ducks and geese merely means more ducks and geese will fill the place of those killed, creating a devastating cycle of killing of two important species important to the ecology and biodiversity of the lake.

Crucially Important Township Meeting, April 23—Your Presence Is Needed to Save the Ducks & Geese

Residents of Pequannock and surrounding areas should please attend the Tuesday, April 23rd Township Council Meeting, held at the Pequannock Township Municipal Building. You will have three minutes to speak and address the Mayor and Council and voice your opposition to the killing of the ducks and geese.

Pequannock Municipal Building
530 Newark-Pompton Turnpike, Pompton Plains, NJ 07444-1799 Directions

Calls & Emails Also Needed!

Please email and call The Mayor, Township Manager & Council Members and urge them to let geese and ducks live at the lake and cancel the killing plan:

(Copy email block of all 6 officials’ addresses): rphelan@peqtwp.org; dhollberg@peqtwp.org; mlynch@peqtwp.org; dkohle@peqtwp.org; JVcouncil@gmail.com; Cwinterfield@peqtwp.org

Mayor Rich Phelan—Email: rphelan@peqtwp.org Phone: 973.809.6318

David Hollberg, Township Manager—Email: dhollberg@peqtwp.org Phone: 973.835.5700 ×133

Melissa Florance-Lynch, Deputy Mayor & Council Mayor—Email: mlynch@peqtwp.org Phone: 973.809.4401.

Cathy Winterfield, Council Member—Email: cwinterfield@peqtwp.org Phone: 973.476.7230

Joel D. Vanderhoff, Council Member—Email: JVCouncil@gmail.com

David Kohle, Council Member—E-mail: dkohle@peqtwp.org Phone: 973.934.3111

This sea lion was rescued from Will Rogers Beach.

We continue to get a few pups coming up hypothermic and hungry. But instead of 13 rescues per day, we’re only seeing 1-3 pups stranding in our territory. We’ve also rescued a few domoic sea lions and a adult suffering from wounds caused by gill net entanglement. Here are more recent rescues on Facebook.

As published in the NY Times

An End to Horse Breeding?

To the Editor:

Commendably, “A New Destination for Status-Symbol Horses in Spain: The Abattoir” (Chapinería Journal, April 11) makes the case for an end to horse breeding, which creates a path to the slaughterhouse. Why, after all, should human beings assign other animals worth or worthlessness?

Viewed as status symbols by some and dinner by others, bred into commercial existence for racing, equestrian pursuits, carriage rides or other frivolous entertainment, horses have long been vulnerable to unchallenged greed and manipulation. But this should be challenged at every turn.

Meanwhile, policies for free-roaming horses on public lands should ensure that horses be allowed to live free. We have dominated horses long enough; it’s time to get off their backs.

EDITA BIRNKRANT
New York Director
Friends of Animals
New York, April 11, 2013