Opinion: Speak up for wildlife on kill policy
Denise Goldmann
December 15, 2009 7:12 AM
The dirty tricks from the Department of Fish and Game just keep on coming. Seems that after the fiasco of the botched DFG "rescue" of two orphaned mountain lion cubs in Solvang in April (Julia Di Sieno and her Animal Rescue Team had already humanely captured and sedated the cubs), DFG tried to file possession charges against Ms. Di Sieno and her veterinarian. The Solvang DA refused.
The team had saved a state-protected animal, and there was a public safety issue involved with the two cubs searching for food in a garbage Dumpster in a condo complex in Solvang.
What happened to the two cubs after DFG "rescued" them from Ms. Di Sieno's team is enough to make any animal lover weep with shame.
In the Ojai bear incident, Ms. Di Sieno's team offered its wildlife vet, its bear biologist, and a 14-foot trailer that would have transported the bear to a very private holding facility in the Santa Ynez Valley and impounded the bear for 14 days until the Telazole drug wore off. They were told the captain of DFG would not work with Ms. Di Sieno because she was being investigated (the Solvang incident).
There was no investigation and DFG knew that at the time.
With donations, the Animal Rescue Team has purchased a new facility with enclosures big enough to hold mountain lions and bear cubs, so there will be no more needless killings. Unfortunately, the permits they require to operate this facility have been held up by those same people at DFG who have worked so hard to block her efforts all along.
Do you believe it is time that the California Department of Fish and Game's antiquated 30-year kill policy should be updated for the sake of the innocent animals that have been displaced by huge wildfires and a 3-year drought? Do you believe these same officials should start working with Ms. Di Sieno and her Animal Rescue Team instead of actively trying to block their every move?
That's what letters and e-mails are for. Assemblyman Pedro Nava and state Sen. Tony Strickland would be the ones to write to. The poor animals can't speak for themselves, so why not take a minute and speak out for them?