Editor’s Note: Not a day passes that we are not bombarded with some filthy crime being committed or plotted against animals. Mind you, I’m not talking here about the industrial exploitation of animals on land and seas, which all by itself harbors some pretty infernal horrors and a victimization level sure to numb the senses. I’m talking about acts of casual villainy, such as the one depicted in this report, a “squirrel hunt” to raise some dollars. Sounds pretty innocuous, doesn’t it? In fact such notions sound banal because they hide behind the curtain of “tradition” and legality. Usually the ostensible motive is money, but much too often it is also “fun”, as a grotesquely large part of our species has yet to understand that torturing or killing animals as a form of entertainment is simply legalized depravity. The behaviour of callous morons. Where is the compassion Americans are so fond of boasting about?
What’s more, in my book, the festivity being planned in Holley, NY, this weekend is an abomination, a stain on the honor and image of firefighters everywhere. Firefighters (and police) who help animals are profoundly admired by animal defenders and society at large. When they do, they are at their best. In the case of firefighters, these are people who thousands of times a day, all over this nation, demonstrate the highest standards of selflessness and courage. By choice. Ironically, when we ponder for a moment what the Holley infamy is all about, it is precisely the firefighters who have often distinguished themselves for risking their lives to save animals—even little fellows like a cat, a puppy, or some wild critter—trapped in a desperate situation. Such rescues have justifiably earned firefighters the eternal gratitude of the community. Such behaviour defines the word exemplary.
Contrasted with such splendid record, the Holley event is shocking because the last thing I and many others would expect from a firefighter is this sort of total lack in empathy for a helpless animal. Something surely went wrong here, and we expect the Holley fire department and local authorities to urgently rethink their plans.
This incident brings up the broader question: Why do such things continue to happen? Simply put, the morally bankrupt customs that target animals (and the environment) have yet to be defeated. They are regarded by many as “business as usual.” One would expect firefighters to be well above that.
We may be in the 21st century, but the posture of our species toward most of nature is still firmly stuck in selfishness, ignorance and barbarism. We’re destroying the world and all that lives in it and it must stop. In this gigantic battle of communications to turn the tide, except for a handful or exemplary politicians who stand up for animals along with ecoanimal defenders, the rest of that crowd is frequently worse than useless. As are the churches, those self–appointed guardians of social morality that have yet to speak out about the issues that really matter, or remember that one of their first mandates is to preach compassion and justice for all, beginning with the weakest. Their absence from that struggle is disgusting. Well, such issues are not going to be fixed in a few days and the clock is ticking against the unsuspecting squirrels in the Holley area. Read the report below and take action! Stop this shame from happening.—Patrice Greanville
by Alicia Graef, care2.com/animals
February 11, 2013
The Holley Fire Department in upstate New York is currently getting ready to slaughter red and gray squirrels at its seventh annual “Hazard County Squirrel Slam” on Saturday, February 16, which will be open to both adults and children. The contest is being sponsored by the fire department to raise funds and, according to the fire chief, to “control the squirrel population.” However, no one seems to have any evidence that there actually is a problem with overpopulation in the area.
The contest has drawn criticism from several animal advocacy organizations. They have now been joined by New York Senator Tony Avella, who will be holding a press conference along with Friends of Animals (FoA) “to immediately cancel the event,” reports the Epoch Times.
Thousands of others have written letters, circulated petitions and made calls asking the mayor and the fire department to call off the contest.
“Squirrels are not shooting targets, and the NRA’s brainwashing scheme to indoctrinate children to seize guns—and then to create a spectacle of dead animals for prize money and firearms is a disastrous, convoluted idea,” said Priscilla Feral, president of FoA.
Those who kill the most squirrels will be eligible for big cash prizes, first place winners will get $200, with a special youth category being introduced this year and a $50 prize for whoever kills the biggest squirrel. In addition to cash prizes, the fire department will also be holding a drawing to give away a number of firearms, including an AR/22 semiautomatic rifle – a version of the assault weapon recovered from the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
“There is no telling how many squirrels will be killed at this event but is certain that many of these little animals will be wounded, some of them left to crawl away to suffer and die slowly. Females will likely be pregnant, and some may well have recently given birth, only to be killed and leave their young alone to starve to death,” according to In Defense of Animals.
FoA is planning a protest at the Holley Fire Department from 3-6 pm on the day of the contest and will be joined by others from local groups including Animal Advocates of Western New York and Animal Rights Advocates of Upstate New York.
“On February 16, Holley will be filled with animal advocates who believe that violent, regressive events like the ‘Squirrel Slam’ need to bite the dust,” said Edita Birnkrant, FoA’s New York Director. “There are plenty of creative, entertaining ways to raise monies that don’t involve prompting children to kill animals with guns.”
TAKE ACTION!
Please sign the petition asking the Holley Fire Department and the Mayor of Holley to cancel this horrific event.
Holley Fire Department
7 Thomas St
Holley, NY 14470
Non-Emergency: 585-638-6884
Chief Pete Hendrickson
Deputy Chief Kevin Dann
Assistant Chief Harris Reed
Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/stop-barbaric-squirrel-killing-contest-in-new-york.html#ixzz2KhepDIFE
This type of cruelty is not unusual in a judeo.christian nation, where animal compassion is based on the dreaded words of dominion: “The fear and dread of you shall rest on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the air, on everything that creeps on the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and just as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.'” genesis 9-1-3 Recently the state of florida held a python slaughterfest. Turning slaughter… Read more »