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MORE THAN 6,000 PROTEST KILLING OF 9 TAME DEER
Thousands join campaign on Change.org demanding investigation into North Carolina’s authorized killing of nine penned deer on Randolph County rehabilitation farm
RALEIGH, NC – Thousands of people have joined a popular campaign on Change.org demanding the North Carolina Wildlife Commission investigate the shooting of nine tame deer on a rehabilitation farm in North Carolina.
Millie Bowling, a concerned North Carolina resident, created the online petition after armed wildlife agents stormed a Randolph County rehabilitation farm on September 20 and shot and killed nine penned dear, including one fawn and a deer blinded in one eye.
“I’m a great supporter of the wildlife commission,” said Bowling, who started the petition on Change.org, the world’s fastest-growing platform for social change. “But they are out of control shooting these animals.”
Locals claim that the commission, game warden, and wildlife agents abused their power in the deer killing incident. While the wildlife agents who stormed the property claimed to have a warrant, residents counter that the warrant did not authorize agents to kill the animals, only to seize them.
“Where were our fourth amendment rights in all this?” asked Jo Henderson, a neighbor who initially raised one of the slain deer before placing it on the rehabilitation farm. “It just breaks my heart. There was no reason to kill those animals, and our rights are being trampled. We’re not going to stand for it.”
Attorney Matthew Altamura is representing rehabilitation farm owner Wayne Kindley. He released a statement saying, “The search warrant obtained by the WRC officers did not authorize any form of killing. The warrant was strictly limited to the seizing and holding of the deer until further order of the court. Acting without court order, the officers simply decided to shoot first and make excuses later.”
News of the campaign’s success is likely to increase pressure on the wildlife commission. Henderson has been collecting petition signatures both online and offline and plans to deliver them at a wildlife commission meeting on Thursday.
“People across the country have been moved by this campaign,” said Corinne Ball, Director of Organizing at Change.org. “This may have happened in a small community in North Carolina, but now folks from all over are paying attention. Change.org is about empowering anyone, anywhere to take action on issues that matter to them, and it’s been really incredible watching Millie Bowling’s campaign take off.”
County resident Jo Henderson will deliver more than 6,000 signatures at the North Carolina Wildlife Commission meeting at 9:00AM on Thursday, October 13, in the NCWRC Conference Room at 1751 Varsity Drive.
Live signature totals from Millie Bowling’s campaign:
http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-north-carolina-wildlife-commission-from-killing-tame-deer-and-fawnsAssociated Press coverage of the campaign:
http://www.wyff4.com/r/29440597/detail.htmlWGHP coverage of the campaign:
http://www.myfox8.com/news/wghp-wildlife-officials-shoot-kill-more-deer-for-disease-testing-20110926,0,6663445.story - Bird Houses, Blue Bird Houses, Bluebird Houses, Decorative Bird Houses, Uncategorized, Unique Birdhouses, Wood Birdhouse
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VICTORY! CALIFORNIA SHARK FIN BAN BECOMES LAW
After more than 27,000 sign online petition, Gov. Brown allows AB 376 to become law
SACRAMENTO, CA – Governor Jerry Brown signed the California shark fin ban, AB 376, into law on Friday, making California the the fourth state to pass a ban on the sale of shark fins.Shark finning is a process by which fishermen catch sharks, slice off their fins and tails, then throw the fish back into the water to die. Up to 73 million sharks are killed through finning every year, pushing some shark populations to decline by as much as 90 percent in recent years. About 85 percent of U.S. shark fin consumption occurs in California.
The bill’s passage marks a huge win for the Asian Pacific American Ocean Harmony Alliance (APA Alliance), an organization that formed to give voice to Asian Americans who support the ban on the sale of shark fins. Bill Wong, a member of the APA Alliance, recruited more than 25,000 people to join a campaign on Change.org calling for passage of the ban. The APA Alliance was one of the bill’s sponsors, organized call-in days, and was instrumental in pushing Gov. Brown to support AB 376..
“We applaud Governor Brown for signing AB 376,” said Bill Wong, creator of the petition on Change.org and member of the Asian Pacific American Ocean Harmony Alliance. “It puts California at the forefront of the global effort to save sharks led by a broad coalition of Asian Pacific Americans, conservationists, animal rights activists, commercial fishermen, business leaders and artists. The passage of this bill may just be the tipping point that will preserve the shark species and the ocean ecosystem.”
AB 376 passed in the state senate in early September, giving Governor Brown until October 9th to either veto the legislation or sign it into law. Despite lobbyists for fin importers and the restaurant industry pressuring Gov. Brown to veto AB 376, he signed the bill into law on October 7th.
“The APA Alliance started a petition on Change.org in support of AB 376 even before the bill was put up for legislative proposal,” said Sarah Parsons, Senior Organizer at Change.org. “The organization has worked to build momentum for this legislation for months, successfully getting many members of the Asian American community to support AB 376. It has been encouraging to watch people from across the state come together to express their support for a shark fin ban.”
The ban goes into effect on January 1, 2012, but businesses and individuals can sell shark fins obtained before the ban went into effect until July 1, 2013. California is now the fourth U.S. state to enact a ban on the sale of shark fins, joining Hawaii, Washington, and Oregon.
To view the APA Alliance’s petition on Change.org:
http://www.change.org/petitions/join-the-apa-alliance-to-ban-shark-fin-in-californiaTo learn more about the Asian Pacific American Ocean Harmony Alliance:
http://www.apaoha.org/For more information on Change.org, please visit:
http://www.change.org/about
Change.org is the world’s fastest-growing platform for social change — growing by more than 400,000 new members a month, and empowering millions of people to start, join, and win campaigns for social change in their community, city and country.
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