WiT members are a group of
people with wide-ranging interests. Some of those pertinent to WiT's
chosen role in the community:
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Improved rescue and
rehabilitation capabilities: New York State has well under 1,500
licensed rehabilitators, and not all of those are active. Even
adding those who leap into the breach to help when needed, there is
a shortage of people in the network.
There is a facilities problem: New York may boast of being the
Capital of The World, but its facilities for the care of urban
wildlife fall well behind more modest — but more compassionate?
— cities.
Care of those animals with whom we share our habitat, not as
pets but as free companions, requires a central clinic for acute
care, staffed by volunteers and supervised by trained professionals
— the kind of facility many other places already have.
Care needs to extend to longer term shelter for animals on the
mend and perhaps those who cannot return to their usual haunts, but
can still have a good life.
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Local refuges: The Humane Society of
the United States has a great Urban Wildlife Sanctuary Program. Some
WiT members believe this would work well in some of the smaller
parks and squares around — for example, Duane Park and Bogardus
Triangle would benefit from such a designation.
We'd like to see well-maintained bird-baths — birds love a
cool drink and a dabble in clean water.
We'd like to see dovecotes and bird houses and squirrel nesting
areas fostered. These cost little, insure that the animals have a
place to go, and that they get a modicum of care — while
separating them from those who would rather not encounter them.
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Education: Most children are
fascinated with little animals; most are really quite well behaved
with them. This is good and something to foster; there is excellent
evidence that when children learn kindliness to animals early on, it
translates into kindliness generally in adult life. Fostering this
in children means educating their parents, quite often — what
is OK; what is not. For example, squirrels are basically rather
nice, but they are not gifted with the best sight; they can mistake
a little finger for a peanut. The bite hurts and is scary, though it
is rarely dangerous. There is a challenge here. Pigeons are actually
pretty clean little birds — but good handwashing is prudent
generally, the more so when dealing with wild animals. |
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Research: We need to know more, both
in general and about the wildlife in our part of town. There are
good studies; we need to be engaged with the organizations that
conduct them. With good research, we can expand both our advocacy
and our education efforts. |
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We need to educate authorities: It is
amazing that urban wildlife, subject to quite stringent legal
protection by the state, is generally ignored by local authorities,
both elected and appointed. Police — city and Parks Dept. —
and county SPCA enforcement officers have proven generally useless
in enforcing laws. In many cases, they don't even know what the law
is; they seem to be adept at making it up as they go along. This is
plainly not acceptable. |
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