May
2006May
2006Welcome to the second online edition of the NEFHS newsletter. In order to direct more of our resources toward our Annual Conference, and to be more responsive and timely in sharing news and information, we will be using this new format to replace our print newsletter. Please help us spread the word about this new resource by forwarding it to other animal welfare advocates you think may be interested in signing up. We hope you enjoy it!
If you're not already subscribed and would like to receive future NEFHS e-newsletters, click this link (or go to the NEFHS website) to subscribe. If you'd like to be removed from our mailing list, click the link at the bottom of this newsletter.
In This Issue:
The
New England Federation of Humane Societies' (NEFHS) 20th annual training
conference was held last month in New Haven, CT, and was another great success.
More than 200 attendees from all over the country were treated to the wisdom of
such well-known animal advocates as
Both Pacelle and Rollins challenged us to embrace the human-animal bond and to examine our ethical obligations regarding our relationships with all animals - farm, wild and companion.
Of course, it would not have been such a successful conference without the financial support of our many sponsors. Thanks to all of our conference sponsors:
These supporters generated more than $15,000 to help defray the cost of the conference!
Keep an eye on our website and future newsletters for more details on the 2007 conference, which will be held in Rhode Island.
Don't
let a dwindling (or non-existent) training budget stop you from dreaming of
attending the next NEFHS annual training conference. The Federation offers
scholarships to enable animal care and control professionals to attend this
important event. This year, we offered financial assistance to 16 people who
otherwise could not have joined us in New Haven. We'll be in Rhode Island in
2007, and will once again offer assistance.
To raise money for scholarships, the NEFHS raffles donated items at our conference. We also offer sponsorship opportunities to organizations and businesses that would like to help. For more information about
GRANTS & AWARDS
Adopt-a-Classroom
Program Grants of up to $5,000 are available from the National Association
for Humane and Environmental Education (NAHEE). The purpose of the grants is to
help humane agencies to initiate or expand a program that provides KIND News
subscriptions to elementary school classes. KIND News is an award-winning
monthly newspaper featuring articles, activities, and project ideas that teach
children to treat animals responsibly and humanely.
Any registered 501(c)(3) animal protection organization can be considered for a grant, including those already participating in the Adopt-a-Classroom program. For more information, or to request an application, email Dorothy Weller at weller@nahee.org. (Source: NAHEE website)
The ASPCA is currently accepting nominations for its Humane Awards Program. Do you know any extraordinary animals and/or animal lovers who have furthered animal welfare in the U.S.? Categories include Dog of the Year, Cat of the Year, Horse of the Year, Lifetime Achievement, and Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. Winners will be honored at an awards luncheon in New York City this coming fall. For more information, visit www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=hal. (Source: ASPCA website)
PRINT & VIDEO
American
Humane’s Animal Catalog 2006 is your one-stop shop for the
materials and merchandise you need to inform the public, counsel your customers,
build your own knowledge-base, and improve your shelter’s operations.
Check out everything from training videos to t-shirts, operational
guides, brochures, posters, and MORE—all designed to help you do your
job even better and spread the humane message.
Compassion Fatigue in the Animal-Care Community is a new book that
examines the causes of compassion fatigue and offers help to those who suffer
from it. Compassion fatigue—the
exhaustion caused by the demands of being empathic and helpful to those who are
suffering—is found at every level among the underserved, underappreciated, and
uncomplaining caregivers in animal-related fields.
Written by Charles R. Figley, Ph.D. and Robert G. Roop, Ph.D., the book
sells for $19.95 plus $3.00 shipping and handling.
For ordering information, go to www.humanesocietyu.org/resources/cfmanual.pdf. For additional ordering information and for wholesale and retail orders, contact Deborah Salem at dsalem@hsus.org. (Source: HSUS website)
Your Allergies and Your Pet
is a new brochure from the HSUS’s Pets
for Life Campaign. Allergies is
one of the most common reasons given when owners relinquish their pets to
shelters. However, studies show that
only one in five people with allergies actually gave up their pet when advised
to do so by their physician. This
glossy, tri-fold brochure details the benefits of pet companionship, the facts
about allergies, and sensible solutions for helping people keep their pets.
The brochure is available online at www.hsus.org/allergybrochure
or by sending a SASE to: HSUS,
Allergy Brochure PR,
TRAINING & EDUCATION
The Community Animal
train volunteers for UAN’s Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS),
educate communities about animal disaster preparedness,
assist animal shelters and their communities with their disaster planning efforts, and
coordinate related community service events.
The
3rd Annual National Feral Cat Summit is scheduled to take place in San
Francisco on Saturday, September 9, 2006. Daniel Crain, President of the San Francisco
SPCA will present the Keynote Address. Workshops include "Advanced Feral
Cat Colony Care," "Funding TNR," "How to Perform a Mass
Trapping (Film & Workshop)" and "Feral Cats, TNR & the Law,"
among others. Speakers include Paul Jolly of the PETCO Foundation, Esther
Mechler of SPAY USA, Bryan Kortis of Neighborhood Cats, Sandra Monterose and Debora
Bresch of the ASPCA, Nancy Peterson of The Humane Society of the United States and Valerie
Sicignano of Neighborhood Cats & In Defense of Animals.
Admission is $40 per person & includes a vegan lunch. Ticket price goes up to $50 on Aug. 2. To view the complete event program & order tickets, go to neighborhoodcats.org.
WEBSITES
CritterCrusaders.com
is a social networking site designed by
animal people, for animal people.
Make new friends and new industry contacts, or even find that special
someone who shares your passion for helping animals.
The site is open to all animal care workers, from ACOs to shelter workers to rehabilitators. You can plan social gatherings with new friends, share photos, create discussion groups and post classified ads for jobs or items you have available.
To join the site, click on the following link: www.crittercrusaders.com/index.php?page=join&inv_id=8d7f8ebe2c44f2292408090042b0e721. (Source:NEWS
Who's Afraid of the Big
Bird Flu? The history of
avian influenza is both frightening and fascinating.
While the majority of the U.S. population is focused on the worst-case
scenario—that the virus will mutate in a way that allows it to spread easily
from human to human, causing a global pandemic—those involved in animal
protection have reason for concern about an outbreak that only affects animals.
CONNECTICUT
The 2006 Connecticut legislative session ended at midnight, May 3, and two
animal bills are now awaiting the Governor's signature. HB 5795 requires a group of specific stakeholders to
meet and make legislative recommendations regarding the expansion of the
Animal Population Control Program to include spaying or neutering cats and
dogs owned by low-income individuals, and feral cats cared for by nonprofit
organizations. SB 4111 allows for exemptions from the rabies
vaccination law for animals who would have a negative reaction.
Thanks to grassroots efforts, one anti-animal bill was defeated! SB 605 would have allowed bow hunting on Sundays on private property.
MAINE
Animal advocates have long recognized the connection between animal cruelty and
human violence, and this spring the issue was vaulted into the national
spotlight by a first-in-the-nation
MASSACHUSETTS
An
Uxbridge animal cruelty case came to a successful conclusion with the conviction
and sentencing of Allan Bessette and his 15-year-old son, who intentionally set
an orange tabby on fire. The
Bessettes were among the first to be prosecuted under the improved anti-cruelty
statute in
More
importantly,
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Lessons in the incredible strength of the human-animal bond were never more
evident than in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The
RHODE
ISLAND
Are you looking to adopt a pet? Do
you wish to report a case of suspected animal cruelty?
Would you like your dog to come when called? A
new website is now available to help pet owners, animal care and control
professionals, and the general public quickly locate information on a variety of
topics.
VERMONT
Beginning this spring, two new spay/neuter initiatives
will likely be making a huge dent in pet overpopulation in the