On behalf of the animals, Thank You!!

Just before "kitten season" begins, we just want to say a BIG THANKS to all our supporters, from everyone at Animal Alliance and Project Jessie. There are so many animals in need, and we wouldn't be able to help them without you. From volunteer drivers, to caring foster homes, to donations of pet food, and wonderful success stories -- thank you, thank you, thank you!

Recently, we've even been sponsored, by NuCelle Inc., an ethical, cruelty-free skin care company. Twenty percent of all retail sales will be donated to Project Jessie! Visit www.nucelle.com/AAC/ for more information.

With all the badness we encounter, we are continually reminded that there are caring and compassionate people out there. And for that, we are eternally grateful.

With gratitude,
Lia and the AAC crew

Hamilton Deer Need Your Voice

Deer in the City of Hamilton's Iroquoia Heights Conservation Area need our help. Like other municipalities fortunate enough to share urban space with wildlife, Hamilton is having difficulty solving human / wildlife conflicts. But, like other municipalities have learned, there are several progressive, humane methods that can be employed.

We first learned of Hamilton's situation through Paul Glendenning, who approached Liz after her presentation to Hamilton on their companion animal by-laws. Paul and other local activists took us on a tour through Iroquoia Heights, a big beautiful green space in the heart of the City. He had a great article in the Hamilton Spectator, which summarizes the issue perfectly. Click on the following link for Paul's article http://www.thespec.com/Opinions/article/739434

He recently e-mailed Liz:

The article at the link below was printed in today's paper. Though I will endeavor to respond, it would be appreciated if others would write something in support of the deer to back up the idea that there is more than just my 'opinion' involved. http://www.thespec.com/Opinions/article/744295
Sincerely,
Paul

Hamilton's mayor and council members need to be flooded with phone calls, e-mails and letters from people who oppose the killing of the deer.

Local animal and environmental protection groups are rallying to convince Council that humane methods can be used successfully.

We need to make sure that the City implements a non-lethal approach to the deer. Please copy, paste and print the letter below to send to the Mayor and Members of Council urging them to implement a non-lethal prevention programme for the deer in Iroquoia Heights and throughout the City of Hamilton.

THANK YOU all again, for being a voice for the animals.

Lia and the AAC crew

****

Mayor Mayor Fred Eisenberger and Members of Council
Hamilton City Centre
77 James St. North
P.O.Box 2040, LCD1
Hamilton, ON L8R 2K3

Telephone: 905.546.4200
Fax: 905.546.2340
Email: mayorfred@hamilton.ca

Dear Mayor and Members of Hamilton City Council,

I am writing to ask you not to implement a cull of the deer in Iroquoia Heights Conservation Area. I urge you to implement an integrated human-deer conflict prevention and non-lethal intervention programme for the City of Hamilton. Please consider some of the following suggestions:

Comprehensive prevention and non-lethal intervention programme for Iroquoia Heights deer:

1. Stopping feeding the deer: Visitors to the area bring food for the deer. This encourages the congregation of larger numbers of deer than would occur if food was not provided. The City should educate residents and visitors why feeding deer at Iroquoia Heights may increase conflicts and result in a proposal to kill many of them.

2. Excluding the deer from conflict areas and from specific plants and bushes through fencing: Fencing provides a longer term solution to the impact of deer on landscaping, backyard gardens and bog plants.

3. Using repellents to make plants less palatable and less desirable to deer and deterrents to deter the deer: Repellents and deterrents are options to be used as part of an integrated non-lethal plan.

4. Planting less palatable landscape plants: City staff should consider using native plants that are rarely or seldom damaged when rehabilitating degraded areas of the conservation area. Residents whose yards back on or are close to the area should consider plants that are largely unattractive to deer.

Sincerely,

Signature _____________________________________________

Name _______________________________________________

Address ______________________________________________

Prov. and Postal Code ____________________________________

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Great News!

The City of London, ON, will not be killing any deer in 2010!

After we presented alternatives to council last year on how to help the city's sensitive Sifton Bog, councillors still thought killing deer with bows and arrows was the only solution. A report for council by city ecologist Bonnie Bergsma notes that it is humans and the invasive buckthorn, not the deer, that threatens the health of the bog.

For the most recent article on the issue, visit http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2010/03/01/13064661.html

Thanks to everyone who spoke up on behalf of the deer!

If you have a moment, please send "Thanks!" to London's Mayor and Members of Council:

Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best and Members of Council
c/o City Hall
214- 300 Dufferin Avenue
London, Ontario N6B 1Z2

Mayor DeCicco-Best:
City Hall: 519 661-2500 Ext. 4920
City Hall Fax: 519 661-5308
adecicco@london.ca

Unfortunately, our work to protect deer is not over. Now the City of Hamilton's Conservation Authority is considering killing deer in the city's Iroquoia Heights Conservation Area. Much like London's Sifton Bog, Iroquoia Heights is a magnificent green space, surrounded by a highway on two sides and homes and major road on the other two sides. Not completely cut off from other green spaces, the deer in Iroquoia Heights are able to move in and out of the conservation area. The Conservation Authority is arguing the deer carry disease, are negatively impacting the Conservation area, are causing car accidents - all the same arguments as other pro-culling municipalities.

Please send a message to Hamilton's City Council - Council needs to consider humane, non-lethal alternatives and promote programs and policies that enourage tolerance of wildlife in the urban area.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger and Members of Council
Hamilton City Centre
77 James St. North
PO Box 2040, LCD 1
Hamilton, ON L8R 2K3

Mayor Eisenberger:
City Hall: 905-546-4200
City Hall Fax: 905-546-2340
mayorfred@hamilton.ca

With gratitude for your help,
Lia and the AAC crew

Happy New Year!

Happy 2010!

It's a new beginning, and we're going to do all we can to make this a good year for the animals. This month alone Liz has five meetings on various issues. I'm crossing my fingers for good discussions at at least two!

One meeting is in Halifax on the grey seal issue...judging from the province's democratic process on the issue late last year, I'm not going to get my hopes up. The following link summarizes the issue quite well.

http://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/ndp-deliver-protected-wilderness-to-seal-hunters/Content?oid=1393142

On a happy note, Little Miss Muffet, the poodle I've been fostering for the past couple months (seen here with Shiloh) is going to her new home soon! Yay! She is, quite possibly, the BEST and sweetest dog I've ever met - and I've met A LOT of dogs. Someone called the office and said she found Muffet on the street. The poor thing is 8 - 12 years old, was never spayed, and had two mammary lumps, one about an inch wide. So we got her all fixed up and throughout the whole process, she was a little angel. She wore her Elizabethan collar with no problem and acted like nothing unual had happend. She didn't even bat an eye when we left her at the vet. I've been fostering animals for a couple years now but this little girl is going to be hard to let go. She's going to wonderful people, so I don't have to worry THAT much = )

Let's hope the rest of the year is filled with more happy endings!

Tail wags,
Lia and the AAC Crew

It's December Already!

It's hard to believe that it's already nearing the end of 2009. This has been another hectic year, filled with all kinds of ups and downs. Horrible things are still happening to animals all over the world, with progress inching forward at a glacial pace. We remain hopeful that the animal movement will one day become trendy, like the green movement.

In the interim, we're reminded that there are good humans in the world. Alice is triving in her new home with her wonderful people - yay! We received a Christmas card from a woman who adopted a Project Jessie dog in 2003 and they're both doing very well - yay again! We are receiving e-mails of encouragement and thanks for speaking out on behalf of those with no voice. And everyday we come to the office, we are greeted by four happy, bounding, purring little kittens. That's Morris and his helper, Little Morris, in the pic = ) Little Morris follows Morris everywhere he goes, even up ladders! It's hard to be down when you're surrounded by kitties who don't have a care in the world!

We still have our fingers crossed that some kind humans will open their hearts and homes to these four babies - they have FIV which makes things slightly more difficult in terms of adoptions because of the stigma surrounding feline aids. We're always touched when we are proven wrong, when someone realizes that these kittens would make a great addition to their family, no matter what may happen down the road.

Adoptions have been slow, however, and not just for us. This has been a terrible year for cats. I just hope things are better in 2010. We'll be doing our part, that's for sure!

That's it for now. Thanks for reading!

Lia and the AAC office crew

Meet the Rugrats!

That's Hannah, asking me to play. Her brothers (Shiloh, Isaac and Morris - named after our wonderful volunteer, Morris) were busy elsewhere in the office, causing trouble no doubt!

They have been settling in great, as is Alice in her new home with her new and fantastic family. We're so happy for her, the sweet girl.

We have high hopes for finding homes for these new members of the Animal Alliance family - but finding a place for kittens can be hard, especially these kittens who have tested positive for FIV.

They are perfectly happy and healthy but are carriers for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus. Like human HIV, FIV is not likely transmissible through casual contact with other cats. Still the stigma of FIV makes people hesitant to care for these special little guys. We're going to try our darnedest to find them the loving homes they deserve, but if these kittens end up staying with us forever, we won't complain = )

Project Jessie has been busy with some pretty tough cases - visit the Project Jessie blog for the stories.

We are awaiting a decision regarding the Environmental Assessment of Presqu'ile Provincial Park, which we began in order to protect deer, cormorants and restoration projects.

We continue to help out TRACS with the Kelowna bunny situation. TRACS has been doing a fantastic job, providing a humane model which can be used in other cities with similar issues.

And we continue to try to mitigate human / wildlife conflict issues in Ontario, working with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to provide advice about progressive and humane resolutions.

Finally, we're gearing up for our annual open house, during which we reconnect with supporters and local community activists. This is a busy time of year for us, to say the least!

Thanks to all who have called and written in support of our campaign to protect bears in Quebec - we will keep you up to date as the issue unfolds.

And a big thank you to everyone for allowing us to continue to protect ALL animals and the environment - our work can be really difficult at times, but we are comforted when we remember that the world DOES have caring people like you, making a difference and speaking out for non-human animals.

Thank you SO much,
lia and the office crew