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Elizabeth Forel's avatar

Greece killed street dogs and cats prior to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Other countries have done similar. Turkey has always been on my bucket list but not anymore. This past March, I went to Egypt - the wonders of ruins going back 4-5,000 years was overshadowed by hungry stray dogs and cats wandering through the ruins - and that will always be part of my memories. Tourism is a major contributor to the Egyptian economy - and yet, there are homeless, starved animals all over.

And yet - I know it can happen here - here being the US and most specifically NYC, the wealthiest city on earth. Why? Because those in power do not care - same in Egypt and Turkey -- only if the results of their non action with animals hits them in the pocketbook, will they do something.

This Friday, there will be a hearing by the Health Committee that oversees the NYC Animal Care Center (city pound.) There are ten council members on the Health Committee and one (maybe) cares about this issue. And that's questionable. None of the others do - I know this from dealings with them.

I've decided not to go but to submit my testimony on line. Why? Because by the time the public has a chance to "testify" - the only person left is the Chair (she has to stay) And you are allowed two minutes. They can't get rid of the public quickly enough.

But I don't give up. We can't. Thanks for writing about Turkey -- In Defense of Animals was supposed to have a demonstration someplace in NYC but they did not identify the location. Badly organized.

As Laura Moretti/Animals Voice used to say - Keep Fighting the Good Fight!

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melissa forberg's avatar

Culling never works, though it is common in many countries. The vacuum left allows females to have larger litters, with more young surviving, since food is more plentiful. The rabies issue can be addressed by manual vaccination of owned animals and the use of rabies vaccine-laced bait. This has been used in Florida as bait dropped by aircraft for raccoons and fox in hot spots. The cultural beliefs are deeply rooted and will only be modified over time. This is also a fact in other areas of animal welfare concerns such as animal fighting and canned hunts.

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