Everybody Please. Your Help Is Needed!

[raynjudy]

California Kings County Prison (also known as Corcoran) will commence to poisoning pigeons with and unknown toxin tomorrow morning, May 29, 2001.

They evidently don't know or don't care that there are humane pigeon deterrents available to them. This is nesting season, for heaven's sake!

What can you do? You can call them. There is precious little time, as the paper saw fit to report this three days before the extermination of the pigeons begins. With the holiday weekend, there is only one recourse we can take--deluge them with phone calls!

I spoke with Dave Roth of the Urban Wildlife Society last night. Dave's solutions for one Nevada prison can be seen at:
http://www.goodnet.com/~animals/UWS/

Please note the 9th item listed...

There ARE humane alternatives, and they're safer and cheaper in the long run!

We are seeing the work of a chemical sales rep. and a buyer whose budget is likely based on the previous year's spending...

Help stop this!

Won't you call and let them know that this is unacceptable? Time is so short. Don't worry about getting an answering machine--flood their messaging system! Be polite. An irate or crank call will do more harm than good. Identify yourself and let them know what that you believe that this is wrong!

Here are the two numbers to call:

Joseph Wenzel: 559-992-8800 ext. 7706
Sylvia Gonzalez: 559-992-8800 ext. 6104

Call today, tonight, or tomorrow morning, it doesn't matter, just make these calls ASAP!
Call in favors from friends and make these calls! If we turn this around, we can add Corcoran to a list facilities deterring pigeons humanely. The next place may be your home town!

No, we may not stop this one instance, but we've learned that this is an annual event!
And we have people working on it locally. If we raise awareness now, we can break the cycle before next year. I repeat, this is nesting season...

Your comments are welcome but your phone calls to Corcoran can make a difference.

Why not do it right now?

--Ray

[constantin]

Hi Ray,

I forward your message to PETA and hope they'll help.

constantin

[TAWhatley]

Hi Ray,

I also forwarded the message to two additional lists:

wildlife-rehab-discussion

and

wlrehabplus

I suspect the rehabbers will jump on the band wagon as any poisoned pigeons that escape and
are eaten by a wild bird or animal may result in the death of the wild predator .. poison doesn't discriminate in what it kills.

Terry Whatley

[TAWhatley]

Ray,

Any news about these pigeons today? I left messages on both the #'s you posted.

Terry Whatley

[bigbird]

I think that Terry may have something here. Have the secondary death possibilities been explored by the prison? What if some hawlks died as a result. Or cats, or ????

[raynjudy]

Our very own Terri is leading this charge. I await her report with the rest of you.

--Ray

PS. I can tell you this. From Florida to Hawaii, emails have streamed in, and the word is, No Way We're Going To Allow This!
I suspect the messaging at the prison was pretty jammed up this morning

[ludus54]

Ray,

Anything new in this matter? Is there anything else we can do to help?

ludus

[raynjudy]

Terri hand delivered a large amount of information on humane deterrents to the prison and to the local media. The warden's assistant confirmed delivery of the package to the right person within the prison's hierarchy.

The bulk of the information was provided by Dave Roth, of Arizona's Urban Wildlife Society. I'm going to suggest to Carl, that we incorporate Dave's research under "Humane Pigeon Deterrents" in the new site.

You can see Dave's input at:
http://www.birdcontrol.cjb.net

For a complete list of the materials Dave provided, email Terri or me.

At present, the prison has the ball. If they don't toss it back, we will have to flush them with more phone calls and media pressure. We planned to give them 48-hours to analyze the material and consider their response.

So stand by.

--Ray

[This message has been edited by raynjudy (edited June 01, 2001).]

[constantin]

Dear Terri,

Congratulation for your effort!
And God Bless You!

constantin

[critterlover2]

Pigeon talk friends,

Ray has told we are in for a long hard battle here and I am afraid he is soooo very right.

For everyone that made the phone calls to Corcoran, I want to take this time to thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time and having the heart to do so.

I want so much for all of our efforts to make a difference in the treatment of these beautiful creatures. If only they knew what we all know, how truly amazing all pigeons are

Terri

[TAWhatley]

Hi Everyone,

I saw the following post on the Wildlife Rehab list and thought it might be of interest since it supports the theory that any pigeons that ingest the poison and are subquently eaten by other birds or animals can cause the death of the predator bird or animal.

Terry Whatley
---------------------------------------------

Subject: [WLREHAB] TALK: West Nile effort uncovers rising deaths of birds from toxins

To: WLREHAB@LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU

One of our DNR Wildlife Biologists sent me this article today and after reading it I thought that the rehab world also ought to know about it. It certainly makes an even greater case for full necropsies - including
full chemical analysis.

BTW - for those interested in finding out more on this subject, there's
a great book out called "Our Stolen Future" by Theo Colborn, Dianne Dumanoski and John Peterson Myers. There's also a great website: www.ourstolenfuture.org that has a ton of information on it, updated regularly.

-Wendy Perrone, Executive Director
Three Rivers Avian Center
Brooks, WV 259512
304.466.4683 www.tracwv.org
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ http://www.syracuse.com/

West Nile effort uncovers rising deaths of birds from toxins

By MICHAEL GORMLEY
The Associated Press

6/2/01 2:43 PM

DELMAR, N.Y. (AP) -- In the fever to test for the West Nile Virus, post-mortems on up to 250 birds a day have uncovered a surprise: More birds are dying of pesticides, herbicides and lead.

"There are all kinds of side benefits to the West Nile look," said state wildlife pathologist Ward Stone. "West Nile isn't going to be growing in numbers, but these other numbers will continue to grow."

In the state fiscal year ended March 31, the basement laboratory in the Five Rivers Environmental Center outside Albany identified 1,263 birds carrying West Nile Virus.

During the same time, 1,953 birds were identified as dying of toxins from pesticides like Dursban, a chemical banned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and Diazinon, which the EPA ordered taken off the
market in two years. Lead poisoning is often from the birds eating prey that ingested fishing sinkers or carrion killed by lead shot or pellets.

Stone said some are cases in which chemicals were overused on lawns and in buildings, some are intentional poisonings, but many are the result of birds eating smaller prey with high levels of the material.

"I was rocked," said Audubon New York's William Cooke of Stone's findings. "I had no idea. I don't think anyone did."

Audubon New York, with 52,000 members, plans radio public service announcements and a public education program this summer as a result of the data. Cooke urges people to continue to report all dead birds through
a toll-free state number (866-537-2473) to keep tracking West Nile incidents as well as deaths from toxins.

"If they're whacking birds, I think it's reasonable to assume they're doing a job on butterflies and others," Cooke said. "What is it doing to our kids?"

Allen James, president of the national chemical association Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment, said his group is "sad to hear some applications are improperly used."

"There are certain pesticide products if improperly used could cause the death of a bird," he said.

But James added that the producers of chemicals targeting pests, weeds and rodents use labels with instructions on the safe application of safe doses. In addition, the industry in recent years has developed products of certain color, size and texture that make them unattractive to birds. Indoors,products are being made that can be applied away from people and animals without becoming airborne.

James also warned that science can detect small amounts of chemicals now, and that detection doesn't necessarily mean the product was lethal.

"The technology of pesticides is improving dramatically," he said. "And there are extreme limits to how these products are used now."

In New York, the rising trend in toxic deaths is taking ecologically important species like crows, pigeons and vultures, as well as
protected and popular birds such as starlings, great horned owls, red-tailed hawks and loons, as well as the bald eagle that recently made Stone's metal table.

It was found near death in the Dutchess County town of Pine Plains at a hunt club. The large adult male vomited everything rehabilitators fed it. The eagle, part of an extraordinary Hudson Valley comeback of the nation's symbol, died extremely dehydrated with feces and bile staining its plumage. The liver had 31 parts per million of lead, more than four times the lethal level, according to the May 30 report.

The report was one of 10 final determinations made at the lab in three days of death by toxins. They included a great horned owl found in the Ulster County town of Bearsville with high levels of chemicals used to kill
rodents.

West Nile testing also led to the May 7 determination that a blue jay found dead on a North Hempstead lawn on Long Island died from poisoning by Chlordane. That pesticide used against termites and lawn insects was also blamed for the death of a Cooper's hawk in Syracuse in August. West Nile testing also identified a new form of botulism that killed hundreds of birds from Lake Erie.

"It's more than ever, and it's increasing," Stone said. "The problem is statewide."

--
Ed Rajotte
Penn State IPM Coordinator
Associate Professor of Entomology

501 ASI
Penn State University
University Park, PA 16802

email: egrajotte@psu.edu
Voice: (814) 863-4641
Fax: (814) 865-3048
IPM website: http://paipm.cas.psu.eduToll-free IPM information 1-800-PENNIPM (814 863-9393 out of state)