Save the Rehabilitation of Wild Critters in NJ

03/01/2021

While I don’t mean to make people fearful the new variant of COVID it was first thought to be a development of its crossover back to mink & then to humans. Mink are highly susceptible to respiratory diseases. They are part of a superfamily called Musteloidea. They include; red pandas, weasels, otters, martens, badgers, raccoons, coatis, kinkajous, olingos, olinguitos, ringtails and cacomistles, skunks and stink badgers. Basically, several species we may see in the rescue world.

Because many of these may be the animals that we support in the rehabilitation world. As you receive calls for animals exhibiting symptoms which are unusual to see this time of year, consider testing them for COVID.. Some which could be misconstrued as distemper or even rabies. While I would still approach animals with possible zoonotic diseases, there may be another disease we had not considered, COVID.

Because it has been the holidays it has been difficult for me to get responses from scientists and verify where we can get test kits from. Who is testing and how help. These animals live with us as active participants in this world. We need to protect them. When I hear from investors who can help I will reach out to the group again. Until then, see a upper respiratory infection in a rescue, it may not be distemper.. or maybe it is.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03218-z

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/12/minks-pandemic/617476/

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/12/virus-mutation-catastrophe/617531/

There is much we don’t know about the new COVID-19 variant—but everything we know so far suggests a huge danger.

17/11/2020

The survey must be completed by December 4, 2020

https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/1de5aff5b5014bfcb21af707617688ca

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17/11/2020

please get everyone to put comments by 12/4 opposing proposals 3 and 4.

Please put your comments on the survey site under subject “No rehab of susceptible species in DSA”

Nj fish and game council has proposed dangerous and irresponsible amendments (3 and 4) to the game code that will give them the ultimate power to micromanage and shut down the few volunteer Wildlife Rehabilitators in NJ.

They are using “disease control” as a fear tactic. There are successful mechanisms already in place (for decades) to control disease among wildlife. Wildlife Rehabilitators who work hand-in-hand with Veterinarians, Animal Control, shelters and are the experts on how to handle wildlife and disease.

WR assess for disease , euthanize only diseased/suffering
quarantine, vaccinate and immunize wildlife before release

By micromanaging Wildlife Rehabilitators (Instead of increasing the number of WR) the issues will be:

-Public Health Risk
-An increase of people taking matters into their own hands
-Giving more business to the already unregulated inhumane pest control companies
-Shelters will be over burdened and forced to euthanize healthy wildlife
-FGC will be force WRs to euthanize healthy viable baby animals - not what we do
-increase in animal suffering
-increase unnecessary hunting and trapping of any species the council chooses.

This is a complete power grab under the calculating guise of disease control.

After you fill in your info there is a pull down list on the subject line. Put your comments under the subject “no rehab of susceptible species in DSA”

17/11/2020

We are building this site tonight to get the information out to you. In the next 24 hours we will have all relevant information so you can help us save wild critters.