Poop City

Poop-O-Rama: Non-recall edition

CRACK & CLAM JUICE: Slope Street Cats has relocated the last of the feral colony endangered by the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn. The effort gained attention via coverage in the Brooklyn Paper and even the Times, but in the end it was a Meow Mix-clam juice combo what done the trick. Says SSC's Laura Brahm: "When you're working on a trapping project, sometimes nabbing that last cat is better than crack!"

RESCUE (ES)ME: In other SSC news, Esme (pictured) needs a home.

SOMEONE SAY PIZZA?: The League of Humane Voters of New York City (LOHV) will hold its spring membership meeting on Wednesday, April 11 at the LGBT Center (208 W. 13th St., Rm. 101, 6:30 p.m.). Featured speakers are to include City Council Member Rosie Mendez, state Assembly candidate Micah Kellner, and George Bliss, who brought the besieged pedicab industry to the city. Also starring: vegan pizza.

WABBIT SEASON: Easter is almost upon us, which means scores of rabbits will soon be sprung on unprepared kids and significant others, only to be surrendered to shelters or, worse, tossed outside to fend for themselves once the novelty wears off. If you find yourself the unwitting (or witting, even) guardian of a bunny this year, House Rabbit Society is a great resource for caretaking tips. To help HRS spread the word about the toll Easter takes on rabbits who are purchased on a whim and cast aside like forgotten toys, join the "Make Mine Chocolate" campaign.

Photo: Slope Street Cats

Slope Street Cats rescuing ferals from Ratner's path

One of the many reasons I left the south was the virtually unchecked devouring of forest land by commercial and residential developers. Nearly every time I ventured outside of the downtown area where I lived and worked, I would discover another patch of flattened, scorched earth - like the one above, circa 2001 - where before had been a hilly stand of trees. Many times the “discovery” was no accident, as I often reported on such practices, and received regular alerts from distressed readers.

Still, it took me a long time to realize that the impact of slash-and-burn development was far worse than the negative psychological effect it had on treehuggers like myself and my audience. Once it occurred to me that every cleared acre represented helpless fledglings bulldozed in their nests, terrestrial animals violently uprooted from their homes, and untold underground populations buried alive, these sites became almost unbearable to look at.

I expected more from the city in such situations, but it looks like the non-human animals are on their own here as well. Last week Slope Street Cats sent out an alert in search of a temporary home for a colony of ferals who have the misfortune of being in the way of Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards mega-development. SSC found a space, but as The Brooklyn Paper reports, the job is far from done.

The 11 cats - who have been named after presidents and first ladies - still must be trapped, and SSC is working against the clock to remove all of them from danger before demolition begins on a lot at Vanderbilt Ave and Dean St.

“Cats are very tied to place,” said Laura Brahm, the group’s assistant executive director. “If [Ratner] starts doing demolition, the cats will either run away and starve, or get hit by cars.”

At the time of the story, Brahm had attempted to get in touch with Ratner’s “much-heralded ‘community liaison office’,” with no response. Brahm told me that she has since been contacted, but SSC has yet to be given access to the site. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, where is the city on this? One would think that institutional displacement of domestic animals - even feral ones - would rate as a practice worthy of some sort of regulation, or at least supervision.

Felony Schmelony

When I was exec editor of an alternative weekly paper in Georgia, I wrote a couple of stories about classified ads which appeared in the local daily. The ads in question were obviously placed by pit bull breeders who were selling the dogs for fighting - a fact related to the paper by the local animal control department, whose officers had called the numbers in the ads, posing as potential buyers, to confirm their suspicions.

Despite the fact that dogfighting is, believe it or not, a felony in Georgia, the paper refused to pull the original ads, and even continued to take new ones. Not only that, the esteemed publisher testily - okay, angrily - defended the practice to me during an interview (which I tape recorded and printed verbatim). Basically, his point was that his paper had no control over how people (i.e. paying advertisers) used his paper's classified section, and if any laws were being violated, well, that was out of his paper's control and was a matter for the authorities.

Which brings us to this excellent item from NYCityPets, calling attention to the startling news that ubiquitous online retailer Amazon.com is a purveyor of videos and magazines that promote animal fighting. Due to pressure from the Humane Society of the United States - which is suing Amazon over its refusal to remove two cockfighting rags from its inventory - the bookseller has apparently pulled one title: the dog fighting vid "Unleashed."

According to Randi Bildner at The Pit Stop, "approximately 20 dogs were wounded, tortured or killed" during the filming of "Unleashed."

Cockfighting is against the law in every state except Louisiana and New Mexico. Yet Amazon is standing its ground on the cockfighting mags - which are apparently replete with advice on how to set up and maintain your very own stable of drugged up and mutilated birds - declaring itself a protector of free speech.

My publisher friend would be proud.

In other news:
- Eugene wins in 40. [NYT]
- Treating pets as luggage is unsafe and inhumane - but if you insist ... [Animal House]
- Slope Street TNR numbers higher than thought. [SSC]
- Introducing Detective Lenny Briscoe the Cat. [423smith]

Key BK council election tomorrow

On Tuesday, voters in Brooklyn's District 40 (Kensington, Prospect-Lefferts, Ditmas Park, parts of Crown Heights, Flatbush, and East Flatbush) will have the opportunity to elect a pro-companion animal candidate to City Council.

Community organizer and advocate Zenobia McNally is running for the seat vacated by Yvette Clarke, who was elected to Congress. If elected, McNally has promised to support Intro 13, the Pets in Housing Bill, which would ensure that no-pet lease clauses, once waived, can not be reinstated during a tenant's residency. She also favors the foie gras ban opposed by Governor Spitzer, as well as humane education and awareness programs.

McNally has been endorsed by the League of Humane Voters, and received a thumbs-up from SuperVegan, which has a video of a recent McNally speech. As always, vote early and often.

Related:
- Education chair signs on to humane ed. resolution. [LOHV]

In other news:
- Eyes opened to deaf dogs. [NYT]
- Slope Street Cats TNR 225 in two years. [TGL]
- BARC ponders guerrilla marketing. [BARC Blog]
- Pets preferred to potential mates. [Gothamist] 

Photo: Zenobia McNally and Savannah