Jungle George - unfair fare: Raccoon on a Stick, anyone?

The Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton closed July 8. I attended opening day on June 20, and had a grand old time (accent on the "old"). And that's part of the fair's appeal: you pretty much know what to expect from one year to the next: farmed animals, 4-H clubs, horse racing, fruit and vegetable displays, handcrafts, painting and photography, etc. And, of course, unhealthful foods of unimaginable variety, most of them deep-fried. In addition, the fair hosts music concerts and the slightly seedy attractions of the midway and its neon-lit rides with screaming kids (and adults, too), especially magical at night.

But for me, the best news was the fact that, unlike last year, exotic foods vendor "Jungle George" (based in Livermore) was not present to purvey his repugnant (and cruel) wares: "Raccoon on a Stick," "Beaver on a Stick," "Python on a Stick," bear, yak, fried crickets and scorpions, "Chocolate-covered Cockroaches," and my personal favorite, "Grilled Cheese Maggot Sandwiches." Chez Panisse's Alice Waters would have had a heart attack. Reportedly, "Jungle George" used to feature African lion meat, until PETA got on his case.

It's hard to believe that local public health authorities would approve these items for human consumption. Raccoons are notorious carriers of rabies, distemper and roundworms. Bon appetit.

But from an animal welfare point of view, I was more disturbed by the fact that wildlife was being turned into novelty items for a bunch of would-be macho types to impress their girlfriends. I called the FDA (who approved this fare) to find out the source of the raccoon and beaver meat, hoping against hope that it came from road kill. No such luck. "Nope, it's from out-of-state fur farms," I was told.

Fur farms are illegal in California, and for good reason. They are horrendously cruel, not unlike battery cages for egg-laying hens. The raccoons and beavers are confined in tiny wire cages their entire short lives, generally at the mercy of the elements, and driven either neurotic or insane by their living conditions, until their untimely demise, either by gassing, electrocution, or having their necks broken. And for what? A completely unnecessary luxury item: fur coats.

So if fur farms are illegal in California, it seems highly inappropriate that we should then be offering the by-products at our state and county fairs, no? Plus the risks to public health. (NOTE: "Jungle George" was also a vendor at last year's California State Fair in Sacramento. He is not being invited back to this year's fair for various reasons. The State Fair opened July 12 and runs through July 29)

Here's hoping that "Jungle George" will NOT be allowed to sell or give away any such products at future Alameda County Fairs or anywhere else in the state or country. The public is urged to contact the Alameda County Fairgrounds to express their concerns (see contact info below).

Animal Nursery Update - But the best news to report from the Pleasanton fair was their commendable Animal Nursery, in stark contrast to the brutal display at our State Fair in Sacramento. When I saw the exhibit on opening day, it featured a single pregnant sow in a spacious 10' x 20' pen, in deep sawdust. There was a slotted partition which fit across one corner of the pen, allowing the piglets to come and go at will, attracted by a heat lamp, and safe from being lain on by the sow... a truly humane display. I complimented the young woman in charge of the area, a former 4-H member, upon the humaneness of the exhibit. She told me that the sow was due to give birth the very next day.

Traditional Farrowing Crates - Photo: Farm Sanctuary

When I described the farrowing crates at the State Fair, she told me she believed the crates to be inhumane. Indeed, someone had suggested that the Alameda County Fair exhibit have farrowing crates on display, too. She refused, out of concern for the animals' welfare. It should also be noted that the Pleasanton fair featured a display with a cow and young calf, again in a pen in deep sawdust. Kudos for that! At the State Fair, cows and their newborn calves are separated at birth, stressing all concerned. We can/must do better by these animals.

The State Fair folks should follow Alameda County's lead. In the nursery exhibit in Sacramento, pregnant sows are imprisoned in metal-barred "farrowing" crates, barely able to move, for three straight weeks, and forced to give birth on a metal grid. Do this to a dog and go to jail. What's the difference, pray?

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP - Please contact the Alameda County and California State Fairs to express your concerns about these humane issues. Thank Mr. Pickering for Alameda County's humane Animal Nursery display. Ask that the "farrowing" crates be banned, and that exotic food vendors such as "Jungle George" not be allowed to sell such unsavory products at our State and County fairs in the future.

Write/call: Norbert Bartosik, CEO & General Manager, CalEXPO, 2600 Exposition Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95815; tel. 916/263-3010; email - calexpoboard@calexpo.com. As noted, the State Fair runs July 12-29. There'll be a "Mexican Extravaganza" on the 29th featuring six bull rides, yet another concern.

Rick Pickering, CEO, Alameda County Fairgrounds, 4501 Pleasanton Avenue, Pleasanton, CA 94566; tel. 925/426-7600; email - april@alamedacountyfair.com

Thanks for caring.

*****

Tri-City Voice article by Eric Mills, OHS Community Relations Director, Ohlone Humane Society

California Humane Societies Call for Boycott of Ringling Bros. Circus

From Sacramento to Los Angeles agencies across the state urge the public to seek entertainment venues that don’t use animal performers

(NOVATO, CALIF., July 18, 2012) — The Marin Humane Society, Bakersfield SPCA, East Bay SPCA, Humane Society Silicon Valley, Humane Society of Ventura County, Ohlone Humane Society, Palo Alto Humane Society, Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA, Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA, Sacramento SPCA, San Francisco SPCA, Santa Cruz SPCA, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles (spcaLA), Sonoma Humane Society, and SPCA for Monterey County today publicly called for a boycott of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, citing the company’s routine abuse of animals. Ringling Bros. is scheduled to perform in Anaheim, Bakersfield, Oakland, San Diego, San Jose and Stockton throughout July, August and September.

California Humane Societies agree: The use of animals as circus performers is an outdated—and inhumane—concept. Behind the scenes trainers often use whips, bullhooks, electric prods and other painful tools and methods to force animals to perform tricks. When not performing, animals are kept in small, cramped cages for days at a time with little monitoring. Exotic animals that have special husbandry needs are often kept in violation. Elephants that travel with circuses spend hours in transit and in chains. Circuses train animals through such coercive means as beating, whipping, prodding and shocking. Elephants are subject to abusive handling methods from devices known as bullhooks that can puncture and tear sensitive skin.

Ringling’s use of bullhooks, prods, and shackles are in violation of Federal Law. Shockingly, laws and regulations offer circus animals minimal protection, and they are rarely enforced. In March 2012 Ringling Brothers settled a USDA action that resulted in a fine of $270,000 for mishandling animals. This is the largest civil imposed penalty ever issued to a circus by USDA.

Circuses with performing animals send the wrong message especially to children, since wild animals are living beings and are not meant to be exploited for entertainment purposes. Animals do not naturally ride bicycles, walk on their hind legs, balance on balls, or jump through flaming hoops.

There are many wonderful circuses that do not use and/or abuse animals, such as Cirque du Soleil, and they are just as exciting and entertaining, if not more so, than those that do. The public is strongly urged to seek entertainment venues that don’t use animal performers.

###

Contact Information

Marin Humane Society

Carrie Harrington

Director of Communications

415.506.6256

charrington@marinhumanesociety.org

Bakersfield SPCA

Julie Johnson

Executive Director

661.323.8353

jjohnson@bakersfieldspca.org

East Bay SPCA

Laura Fulda

Director of Marketing and Development

510.563.4611

lfulda@eastbayspca.org

Humane Society Silicon Valley

Mark Saraceni

Vice President, Marketing

408.262.2133, X130

mark.saraceni@hssv.org

Humane Society of Ventura County

Jolene Hoffman

Shelter Director

805.646.6650

shelterdirector@humanesocietyvc.org

Ohlone Humane Society

Nancy Lyon

President

510.792.4587

nancylyon@aol.com

Palo Alto Humane Society

Carole Hyde

Director

650.424.1901

carole.hyde@paloaltohumane.org

Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA

Steve McNall

Executive Director

626.792.7151

steve@phsspca.org

Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA

Scott Delucchi

Senior Vice President, Community Relations

650.685.8510

delucchi@peninsulahumanesociety.org

Sacramento SPCA

Lesley Kirrene

Director of Public Relations and Marketing

916.504.2828

lkirrene@sspca.org

San Francisco SPCA

Cynthia Kopec

Vice President of Marketing and Communications

415.522.3506

ckopec@sfspca.org

Santa Cruz SPCA

Lisa Carter

Executive Director

831.566.8600

director@santacruzspca.org

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles (spcaLA)

Ana Bustilloz

Director of Communications and Marketing

323.730.5300 x252

abustilloz@spcala.com

Sonoma Humane Society

Kiska Icard

Executive Director

707.542.0882 x201

kIcard@sonomahumane.org

SPCA for Monterey County

Beth Brookhouser

Director of Community Outreach

831.264.5469

bbrookhouser@spcamc.org

******

Photo courtesy of: www.dreamstime.com

The hills are alive…

This year’s unpredictable and prolonged “off-again, on-again" weather had the hills and fields gloriously blooming with what must been every plant in the area.  And beautiful though it was, the tall green grasses and other plants have dried out and become a danger to the unwary hiker and in particular their four-legged trail buddies.

The lure to tramp through the open spaces will invite a lot of dog folks, and exploring the natural wonders we are so fortunate to have in our area can be a great experience to share with your dog. Unfortunately, while out there enjoying nature myself, I’ve seen dogs unthinkingly allowed by their guardians to behave in ways that put them at serious risk.

So before you hit the trail, it’s important that you look at those golden hills and fields with an educated and wary eye.  Much of the grasses covering the area are comprised of dangerous foxtails, with ticks lurking in bushes and tall grass, and that inviting cool stream often abounds with Giardia, a harmful parasite that can infect your dog and possibly you not to mention messy digestive tract results and pricey vet bills to correct the problem.

Trail Basics 101 –

Foxtails - Many people are unfamiliar with hazards to their dog from these opportunistic seeds. But if you’ve ever hiked during the dry season months, you’ve probably pulled a few of these nasty critters from your socks They are the wheat-like seeds of the drying or dried grasses that detach from the plant and stick to a person's clothes or an animal's coat. They can easily become lodged in between a dog’s toes, in his ears, and in his eyes. Since the seeds or awns are barbed like a fish hook, they can be very difficult to remove. Once embedded, they can travel through their body causing severe pain, infection and abscesses, even puncturing an eye or ear drum. ..and, again, expensive vets costs to remove them before they cause greater damage.

Depending on the location of the sharp pointed awns, symptoms can include persistent sneezing or coughing, headshaking, or compulsive licking and biting at a paw or around the groin or tail area or whining and crying with no obvious or acute injury. In addition to causing pain and localized infections, foxtail seeds can migrate and lodge in the spine, in the lungs and in other internal organs. They enter through the nose, ears, paws, eyes, and urethra or just through the skin and travel through the body. The seeds are small, making locating them difficult and the procedure expensive. Depending on where a foxtail seed has traveled to inside a dog, it can even be life threatening, requiring prompt surgical removal.

Stream water hazards - Giardia can infect a dog that drinks from a stream where feces from cattle or wild animals have come to drink. A dog becomes infected by eating or drinking the cyst form of the parasite. In the small intestine, the cyst opens and releases an active form that attaches itself to the intestinal wall and reproduces by dividing. After an unknown number of divisions, at some stage, this form develops a wall around itself (cysts) and is passed in the feces. The Giardia in the feces can contaminate the environment and water and infect other animals and people.

Often Giardia infections show no symptoms but when it does the usual sign is diarrhea. The diarrhea may be acute, intermittent, or chronic. Usually the infected animals will not lose their appetite, but they may lose weight. The feces are often abnormal, being pale, having a bad odor, and appearing greasy. In the intestine, Giardia prevents proper absorption of nutrients, damages the delicate intestinal lining, and interferes with digestion; it can be very resistant to treatment.  Basically, not a fun thing for your dog or you.

Blood sucking critters -Ticks must be one of Nature’s bad jokes. They are disease carrying parasites that hide out in grass and attach themselves to the unsuspecting passerby. Crawling up to bare skin or digging for it, if on a dog, the tick will bury its head under the skin layer and proceed to drink all the blood it can get.

We live in tick-country so during the summer season a body check after a walk is essential. Rub your hands all over your dog's body, and your fingers through his fur, applying pressure, enough that you can feel any abnormalities in the skin. If you feel a small lump, pull the fur apart to investigate it further. An embedded tick will look like a small black or brown pimple, sometimes flattish, depending on location, and sometimes legs are visible. Check with your veterinarian beforehand on the method of proper removal.  It’s good to check yourself out too; ticks carry Lyme disease, a serious health threat that can infect dogs and humans alike.

Weather dangers - Consider the temperature before you set out. A warm morning means that it will be a trek back in the hotter part of the day.  Never walk or hike with your dog mid-day when the weather is warm, keep to early morning for any kind of exercise.  Carry enough fresh water, rest frequently, and make sure there is shade along the way for a rest stop.

Remember that snub-nosed dogs like Pugs have difficulty breathing in warm weather, and older, over-weight, or heavy coated dogs are more subject to heat exhaustion. Don’t set out on a long hike if your dog isn’t physically able to handle the distance – work up to longer walks. Out of loyalty, dogs will over-extend themselves to keep up with their human so it’s up to you to give careful consideration to their well-being. Don’t be so taken with the scenery that you forget that half your journey is the trip back and it’s going to be hotter.

People don’t often give much thought to the fact that our four-legged companions can also get sun-burned. White and lightly colored animals can suffer sunburn from too much exposure to the sun and long-term sun exposure can lead to skin damage and in some cases skin cancers. There are sun blocks that are suitable for animals but check the labels carefully to be sure.

Many of our parks have cattle/wildlife grazing. For the safety of your dog and out of respect for the cattle and wildlife – leash your dog when you encounter them. You are a visitor in their home.

Safe hiking tips summary:

• Make sure your dog has a complete health check at the beginning of the year.
• Where possible avoid walking through tall dry grasses.
• Check thoroughly for ticks and foxtails immediately after your hike.
• Carry enough fresh water for you and your dog. Avoid streams.
• Prevent heat stroke by leaving and returning early
• Don’t ask your dog to overextend himself.
• Leash your dog when encountering cattle or wildlife.

Happy Hiking!

******

Tri-City Voice article (Archives) by Nancy Lyon, President, Ohlone Humane Society.

Photo's courtesy of: www.picdrome.com