February
2007February
2007Welcome to the 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 are using this 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:
By
Lisa LaFontaine, CEO & Executive Director, Monadnock Humane Society, Keene,
NH
As we say in our mission, the major focus of the Fed is to provide animal professionals throughout New England with great opportunities for training and networking. In the next several months, we've planned three forums for learning and relationship building that we hope will both enrich the lives of our members and enhance the lives of the animals we all care about. I'd like to personally give you a warm invitation to be a part of each and every event.
The first is a Town Meeting, which will be held Friday, March 30th, from 12:30-4:00 at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH. We chose this location because it is easily accessible for people throughout the region to attend.
The topic of the Town Meeting is Mandatory Spay/Neuter, and we'll be hosting animal professionals throughout the region to discuss the pros, cons and potential alternatives of mandating the sterilization of shelter animals. There are some states in our region that have introduced (or are in the process of introducing) legislation to enforce sterilization. Six panelists representing states throughout New England will share a variety of views, and there will be plenty of opportunity for audience participation and a larger discussion.
Be sure to mark the date in your calendars, and for specifics on how to register please visit our web site at www.newenglandfed.org. Town Meetings were first conceived by the Fed in 2004 as a way to bring people together around topics that are important to our field. Our hope has always been that people attend the Town meetings who bring a diversity of perspectives, an open mind and a desire to have a respectful, vigorous dialogue.
The next activity is the NEFHS Annual Training Conference. This is the 62nd anniversary of our signature event, which attracts animal people from New England and beyond. Our programming is consistently noted for its high quality, and this year is no exception. The Conference will be held from April 23 through April 25 at the Hotel Viking in beautiful Newport, Rhode Island.
As always, we have excellent topics and speakers, with sessions on humane education and youth programs; canine behavior, evaluations, and training programs; animal health; development and philanthropy; a variety of outreach topics; and building organizational coping mechanisms to address compassion fatigue--just to pique your interest!
Our keynote speaker will be Ed Sayres, President of the ASPCA; he will be talking about the ASPCA Mission: Orange initiative to use the Asilomar Accords, with their focus upon measurement, assessment and collaboration, to bring people together to end the unnecessary euthanasia of homeless animals in targeted cities.
One of the subtle strengths of the Conference is the opportunity you have to meet people who can empathize with you and your work, and to build relationships that can sustain you and provide inspiration throughout the year. I strongly encourage you to attend; as a matter of fact, if you can only attend one training event this year, you should give this your strongest consideration! For detailed program information and to register, visit our web site at www.newenglandfed.org.
Finally, we will hold our next New England Federation Congress in June (check our web site frequently for Congress dates). The Congress is comprised of board members of the individual state federations and coalitions, as well as the lead animal control organizations in each state.
We have seen that there is a world of benefit to be enjoyed from working on the issues we face in all of our states; also, there are many challenges which we share that can be addressed much more effectively if we work together regionally, across state boundaries. The Congress meets several times a year to allow us to collaborate, share ideas and tackle issues from a regional perspective.
It bears repeating that the New England Federation of Humane Societies is you, and although we can plan wonderful forums, they only become alive (and help us to help animals) if they are broadly attended. I know I represent our entire board and advisory council in extending a hand and asking you to be a part of each of these sessions. We are committed to having a first-rate training conference, but also expanding opportunities for dialogue and conversation throughout the year. With your participation we can continually renew our community of professionals and create a stronger safety net for animals in New England-causes that unite us all. I'm looking forward to seeing you over the next several months!
Our conference this year is at a favorite location, the Hotel Viking in Newport, RI. Visit the NEFHS web site, or click here for the conference program and registration information.
PRINT, VIDEO & DVD
Bearing Witness: Canada's 2005 Seal Hunt
recently won the Wild Screen Film Festival's Panda award. This international
wildlife and environmental film festival attracts entries from filmmakers
worldwide. The HSUS produced the film, which follows Rebecca Aldworth, their
director of Canadian wildlife issues, as she observes the annual commercial
slaughter of young seals. With more than one million seals killed in the past
three years, Canada's commercial seal hunt is the world's largest slaughter of
marine mammals. The winning video may be viewed online at http://stream.realimpact.net/?file=realimpact/hsus/seal-hunt/bearing-witness.wmv&type=wmv.
The Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium's (HARC) 2006
edition of "Animal Hoarding: Structuring Interdisciplinary Responses to
Help People, Animals, and Communities at Risk" is now available for
purchase. Edited by Gary Patronek, Lynn Loar and Jane Nathanson, it is an
invaluable resource for the shelter and its community. Orders of 1-5
copies are $15 each, and orders of 6-15 copies are $10 each. Orders of more than 15
copies are eligible for volume discounts on a sliding scale. For more
information contact Jan Holmquist at jholmquist@mspca.org
or 617-522-7400. (Source: Association of Shelter Veterinarians newsletter,
Volume 5, Number 3, 2006)
PROGRAMS & SERVICES
Do you know young people who want to help animals? Looking
for resources for leading a youth club? Mission: Humane, a new
program of the HSUS/NAHEE, offers projects and fun rewards for kids who make a
difference. Visit www.nahee.org
to see how you can get kids in your area involved. (Source: NAHEE)
The ASPCA recently announced the launch of Mission:
Orange, a focused, measurable effort to create a country of humane
communities, one community at a time. The ultimate goal is a nation where animals receive the compassion and
respect due to them as sentient beings, and where there is no more unnecessary
euthanasia of adoptable animals simply because of a lack of resources or
awareness. The partner communities for 2007 are Austin, TX, Gulfport-Biloxi, MS,
Philadelphia, PA and Tampa, FL. For more information, go to www.aspca.org.
(Source: ASPCA)
TRAINING & EDUCATION
February 28, 2007, Lobby 101 for Animals,
10:00 - 11:30 a.m., Concord, NH. Co-sponsored by the HSUS and Grey2K USA,
this event will show participants how they can make a difference for animals in
the legislature. A Lobby Day will follow from 12:00 - 2:00 p.m., giving
participants an opportunity to put their new skills in action by meeting with
their legislators on current animal protection measures. For more information
contact Joanne Bourbeau at 802-368-2790 or jbourbeau@hsus.org.
March 1, 2007, Lobby 101 for Animals, 10:00 - 11:30 a.m., Montpelier, VT. Sponsored by the HSUS, this event will show participants how they can make a difference for animals in the legislature. A Lobby Day will follow from 12:00 - 2:00 p.m., giving participants an opportunity to put their new skills in action by meeting with their legislators on current animal protection measures. For more information contact Joanne Bourbeau at 802-368-2790 or jbourbeau@hsus.org.
March 23-25, 2007, Disaster Animal Response Training
(DART), Northfield Armory, Northfield, VT. For more information and to
register online, go to www.humanesocietyu.org/workshops_and_classes/disaster_animal_response.html.
March 30-April 1, 2007, Animal Law Conference
sponsored by the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Cambridge, MA. For more information,
go to www.cmcna.com/animal_law_conference_2007/index.htm.
The Empire State Animal Response Team is sponsoring
several County Animal Response Team (CART) trainings throughout
New York between March and May, 2007. For more information, visit www.EmpireSART.com
or email David.Chico@agmkt.state.ny.us.
To register for the CART Conference, visit tinyurl.com/y7q7te.
April 23-25, 2007, New England Federation of Humane Societies Annual Training Conference, Newport, RI. Go to www.newenglandfed.org for more information.
May 9-12, 2007, Animal Care EXPO, Hyatt
Regency Dallas at Reunion Arena, Dallas, TX. Go to www.animalsheltering.org/expo/
for more information.
May 31-June 2, 2007, National Animal Control
Association Conference, Cincinnati, OH. "Ohio--So Much to be
Discovered" is the theme for this year's event. Some of the workshops
include Building Stronger State Associations, Adoption and Rescue Liability, and
Humane Ways to Live with Urban Wildlife. For more information, go to
www.nacanet.org
July 16-20, 2007, New England Animal Control/Humane Academy (NEACHA), featuring a 3-day Disaster Animal Response Training (DART). Go to www.unh.edu/neacha for more information.
July 28-30, 2007, Taking Action for Animals Conference, Washington, D.C. This is the largest national conference of the animal protection movement. It is designed to motivate, inspire and teach skills to advocates from around the globe. This year will have a special theme of taking action for farm animals. For more information, go to www.TakingActionforAnimals.com.
WEBSITES
www.smart-mass.org
is the new website for the State of Massachusetts Animal Response Team (SMART),
a network of organizations, agencies, and individuals who are committed to
responding to the needs of the animal population in disaster situations in the
State of Massachusetts. The site features information about SMART's working
teams, how to volunteer, and news & events. (Source: Massachusetts Emergency
Management Agency)
www.friendsofanimals.org/programs/animal-disaster-plans is a great new resource for states developing disaster plans for animals. Friends of Animals (FoA) contacted each of the 50 states to request information about current state animal disaster plans and state systems which address animals in disaster. FoA provides this resource for use by state emergency planners as well as anyone interested in mitigation, preparedness, rescue and recovery of animals. (Source: Friends of Animals website)
If you use Google Calendar to manage your schedule,
scheduling and attending upcoming events has never been easier. Pet-Abuse.com
now includes a special link in their CourtWatch page that allows you to add
selected court dates with just a click of the mouse. Go to www.pet-abuse.com/pages/courtwatch.php
to begin using this new feature (Source: Pet-Abuse.com)
GRANTS & SCHOLARSHIPS
Animal Care EXPO scholarship applications are currently being accepted on-line at www.AnimalSheltering.org/expo/scholarship.html. Hill's Science Diet has once again generously donated $25,000 for scholarships, and more than $3,000 of that amount will be awarded to New England animal welfare professionals. You must be an HSUS Shelter Partner in order to apply. Deadline for submissions is Tuesday, March 20, 2007.
The New England Federation of Humane Societies
will again offer full and partial scholarships for the annual training
conference to employees or volunteers from non-profit organizations or
government agencies, or to individuals who are sponsored by those groups. Applicants from New England states will be given preference.
Recipients are
expected to share a room, as well as assist the NEFHS board with conference
activities. For more information, contact Linda Huebner at lh.coyote@juno.com.
The deadline for applications is March 16, 2007.
The New England Animal Control/Humane Academy offers two scholarships for its annual week-long training academy in July. The first scholarship is cosponsored by the New England Regional Office of the Humane Society of the United States and is open to any animal control officer or humane shelter employee with financial need. The second is the Fred Mattox Memorial Scholarship dedicated to Fred Mattox, a much-loved and respected animal control officer from York, ME who passed away in 2003. Schololarship preferences are for an animal control officer from Maine, but anyone is welcome to apply. Go to www.unh.edu/neacha for more information.
NEWS
The National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians (NASPHV) recently completed the 2007 revision of the animal rabies compendium. NASPHV provides the “Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control” for distribution to practicing veterinarians, wildlife rehabilitators, animal welfare organizations, and officials in animal control, public health, wildlife management, and agriculture in your state. For a copy, go to www.nasphv.org/documentsCompendia.html.
CONNECTICUT
Animal Vocation Resources, LLC (AVR) is a new company founded by two experienced
animal welfare professionals from Connecticut and New York, CherylAnn Fernandes
and Liz Clancy. AVR's mission is to provide information and inspiration to
individuals aspiring to, or currently involved in, animal welfare professions.
AVR provides support and resources for addressing issues commonly encountered in
humane organizations today, including enhancing job satisfaction, communicating
effectively with other agencies, employee recruitment and retention, and ethical
challenges in the workplace. For more information, go to www.animalvocations.org.
MAINE
Steven Jacobsen, Executive Director of the Animal Welfare Society in West
Kennebunk and long-time NEFHS board member, was recently appointed as a member
of the HSUS Companion Animals Advisory Council (CAAC). The CAAC was created in
1996 to bring together leaders in professional animal care and control from
across North America, to share ideas and help the HSUS develop plans and
programs to assist animal shelters nationwide in improving services to their
communities. Steve has created a new email distribution list to share
information with his fellow New England animal welfare professionals, so if you
would like to be included, email him at awsedr@animalwelfaresociety.org.
After over 10 years of planning, the Humane Society - Waterville Area in Maine is about to move into their new facility sometime in March. The process started with a bequest, and after much planning and investigation, they decided to build a new shelter on a new site. Nineteen acres of land was purchased in Waterville on the Webb Rd. and construction began in August. At 13,600 square feet the new shelter will be three times the size of the original facility and will have many features that the existing one lacks. For more information, contact executive director Paula Mitchell at 207-873-2430 or email paula@hswa.org.
MASSACHUSETTS
At the eleventh hour, outgoing Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney signed a bill
that strengthens the state’s felony animal fighting law and gives
Massachusetts law enforcement officers more leverage to crack down on the brutal
blood sports of dogfighting and cockfighting. The new law clarifies that law
enforcement officers are authorized to seize paraphernalia used or intended to
be used for animal fighting as well as animals being bred to fight. The law also
prevents abused animals from being returned to the same owners who have been
convicted of abusing them. In this new session, two more bills were filed that
would strengthen the laws against animal fighting. One would raise the penalty
for those convicted of attending animal fights to a felony level and the other
would criminalize the possession and/or sale of videos depicting animal fights
and other forms of cruelty.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Grey2K USA, a national greyhound advocacy organization, is leading an effort to
phase out dog racing in the Granite State over the next several years. According
to state records, more than 700 dogs have been injured while racing in New
Hampshire during the past two years. These incidents included dogs that suffered
broken bones, paralysis and death. Most of these injuries were serious in nature. If
successful, this would be the first state with active racing to ban this cruel
practice. For more information, go to www.voteforthedogs.org.
Project New Hampshire - Animals in Disaster, Inc. (PNH-AID) is a public/private partnership being developed to provide a coordinated effort for preparing for, preventing, responding to, and recovering from any emergencies affecting animals. PNH-AID hopes to increase the capability to respond to animal emergencies on the local, regional, state, and federal level, and to support the implementation of Regional Animal Response Teams (RARTs) across the state. For more information, contact Lora dePlante at 603- 878-3795.
RHODE
ISLAND
Rhode Island is following in the footsteps of Maine and Vermont with a bill to
include pets in protection from abuse orders. H5185 was introduced by Rep. Peter
L. Lewiss (D, Westerly) and adds language to existing state law dealing with
domestic assault. "This is a real, significant and ongoing issue,"
said Lewiss in a recent press release. "Abusers are harming animals, which
is despicable and criminal to begin with, and by doing so they are continuing to
abuse their original victim." For more information, go to dirac.rilin.state.ri.us/BillStatus/webclass1.asp.
VERMONT
Larry
Mason was convicted on January 24th of three counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty
after law enforcement authorities seized 32 German Shepherd Dogs he was
traveling with in a filthy, dilapidated school bus. He faces a maximum sentence
of three years in prison and a $3,000 fine. Last November a judge ordered Mason
to forfeit his right to all the animals, and they were signed over to the local
animal control authority for adoption. In his decision, Judge David Howard
referenced the evidence demonstrating "either a lack of periodic cleanings
or totally inadequate cleanings," referring to filth the dogs had been
living in on the bus. The dogs were in various stages of health, but the overall
unsanitary condition of their living environment was enough evidence to support
the judge's findings.