"The Bill proposed by Senator Franco Orsi: an endless list of errors.
Out of the Senate, in recent days, has come one of the most serious attacks on Nature, in other words on animal, on our Parks and even on our own safety: a bill that calls for the total liberalisation of hunting. Signed by Senator Franco Orsi.
Animals used as decoys, hunting in our Parks, reduction of protected areas, the slaughter of bears, wolves and stray cats and dogs and many more vile deeds.
Law 157/1992, the only existing law that directly protects the wild fauna in our Parks, is about to be torn to shreds.

Here is the list of horrors:
- Gone are the national and international interests as regards the protection of animals. Italy has an irrefutable heritage, namely our wild animals, which he is apparently no longer interested in protecting!
- Gone is the definition of super-protected species. In Italy, animals such as the wolf, the bear, the eagles, the flamingos, the swans, the storks and many others, will no longer enjoy the special protection envisaged by the European Union and international regulations.
- Hunting season open along the migration routes, something that will undoubtedly create a major disturbance and will encourage poaching in areas that are very important in terms of the difficult voyage and essential stopovers undertaken by the migratory birds.
- Total liberalisation of rules regarding live decoys! Are you aware of precisely what live decoys are? They are live birds held “prisoner” in the tiniest of cages for the purpose of attracting other birds. This terrible practice is already permitted by the current legislation, albeit with certain restrictions. But Senator Orsi now wants to liberalise this practice totally. It will be possible to keep and use an unlimited number of these decoys. Gone will be the identification rings for live decoys. All that will be required is a certificate. One certificate for all of these decoys! Hunters will be able to use any species of birds as decoys, whether legal prey or not, even bramblings, chaffinches and redbreasts.
- 700 thousand taxidermists. The hunters themselves will automatically become taxidermists, without even having to follow any procedures. Animals killed and stuffed without any rules. How many poachers do you think are going to spring into action to illegally capture and stuff wild animals?
- Scientific research eliminated. The State’s own scientific authority (the “Istituto Nazionale per la Fauna Selvatica” or National Institute for Wild Fauna – currently known as the “ISPRA”) is at risk of being totally replaced by regional institutes. These regional institutes will thus be issuing opinions on national and European Union matters. Plus the very real possibility of not being able to carry out studies or research, or establish uniform standards valid throughout the Country.
- Open hunting season in our Parks, for currently protected species. The incredible formulation of the Orsi Bill will make it possible to get exemptions (in other words, to get permission to hunt otherwise protected species), even in our Parks and other protected areas! Regions that protect more than 30% of their regional territory will be penalised! How offensive is that ruling! Those who protect too much “Nature” will be punished. As if creating a park, where people and animals can move about freely, were a punishable crime!
- Hunting licences issued to 16-year olds. Instead of teaching our kids respect, we now give them rifles!
- Freedom to exterminate wolves, bears, deer, stray cats and dogs, etcetera! An incredible provision that gives the mayor the power to authorise the slaughter and extermination of animals, in total contradiction of even the most basic of European standards. All that is needed is that there is be “problem animal”. A veritable naturalistic “Wild West”.
- Regional legislation permitting the hunting of protected species. Apparently, four European Union infractions and two four European Union infractions Constitutional Court rulings were not enough. Senator Orsi is about to give the Veneto and Lombardy regions, or rather the Ultras of the hunting world, a gift, namely a chance to hunt protected species, and to do so using regional legislation. I suppose we will be forced to pay the European Union fines too!
- Hunting in the snow and ice. Hunting will be permitted even in the snow and ice, in other words, those times of the year when the animals have a very hard time finding food, refuge and heat.
Let me go back to the issue of using birds as decoys! How medieval is that! Owlets tied by their claws and wings and used as bait!
- Less control over hunting. Fauna and flora guards will no longer be able to carry out inspections! In a Country that has one of the highest rates of poaching in the whole of Europe, what does Senator Orsi go and do? He reduces controls over hunting!
- The “Ente Nazionale Protezione Animali” (National Animal Protection Body) chucked off the National Technical Committee. The number of environmental associations represented on the committee of 157 are reduced from four to three. “ENPA”, the historical Italian animal association, is completely excluded.
Circulate this document and register on the wild animal protection lists on the various blogs and on Facebook.
Let’s stop Italy from resorting to this type of barbarity. Nature is our life."
The text of the Franco Orsi Bill (PDL) compared with that of the current law, drawn from the LIPU
 

1. Contact the members of the Senate Territorial and Environmental Committee that will be discussing the Orsi Bill.
2. Send an-email with your comments and/or suggestions regarding the bill directly to Franco Orsi
3. Join the group on Facebook

Source

current mood: angry

x-posted so sorry if you see this more than once...

If you are in the Southeastern US, particularly Georgia/South Carolina, hopefully you can help...

The husky rescue I worked with apparently disbanded, or the head doesn't want help anymore as another foster, Heather, and I, can't reach him for love nor money. We have a desperate situation...

A woman in South Carolina has contacted us. She has had breast cancer return for the third time and is losing her home due to the medical costs, and being placed in a public housing/hospice situation by Thanksgiving. She has 2 older female huskies and they have no place to go. These girls are her only kids, and she is devastated she has to lose them. She also was going to have to euthanize her huskies because she can't stand the thought of them going into a gassing shelter in her area. They are 9 and 11 year old purebred beautiful huskies, spayed, housetrained, UTD on shots.

We desperately want to help this lady, they thought they had an adoptive family but the lady got unexpectantly pregnant and has to move in with her parents who will not let her take in the dogs anymore. The woman with the cancer is extremely stressed because she cried when her dogs left her to go on transport to the family, and now she is beside herself because now they have to come back by this weekend.

Vetting is provided, but we need a kind caring person who is willing to take in these beautiful, well behaved girls. We are out of time, they are good with other dogs, and kids. They must stay together, they've been together their whole lives. If you can foster or would like to adopt these two girls, please let me know ASAP!

Better yet, contact Heather at this email: hntucker at uga dot edu Just tell her you are a friend of Amanda (me) and want to help the husky girls in South Carolina.

Thank you!

I talk about my experiences with Rescue Farm all of the time.  It's my life and I've grown to love the work I get to do with the animals.  Every once in a while, I experience more than just a dog who was left behind at the shelter, that is one who has been mistreated.



Last Thursday, the pound that we pull animals from called and asked if we'd be willing to take in a dog with broken legs.  They knew they didn't have to ask, as we often take in dogs who have been hit by cars, need eye surgery, etc.

But this particular story is just so sad.  IACC got a call that someone had put a 6-month-old Miniature Pinscher in a dumpster.  Unfortunately it was the trash men calling, stating that they didn't know and had lifter the dumpster up over the truck and dumped it.  LUCKILY, the pup barked and they discovered her before she was compacted! 
IACC went to pick her up and it was discovered that her legs were broken.  It was initially thought that this occurred from being dropped into the truck, but upon taking her to our vet for x-rays, it was discovered that it wasn't.

Tinker's two back legs are fractured and her pelvis is SMASHED.  Our vet's guess is that she was kicked, extremely hard, in the toosh.  The worst part is that her fractures are over 2 weeks old!  So after two weeks of letting her suffer with broken legs and pelvis, they decided to toss her in the garbage.  THE CRUELTY OF SOME PEOPLE!

Although, she is unable to walk right now, Tinker is very bright and happy. She is on pain medication and is enjoying having lots of food, toys, and attention!
In the next couple of weeks Tinker will be going through several surgeries in an attempt to fix the damage done to her legs so that hopefully she will be able to walk again. If the surgery works, it will be another 3 mths before this little girl will be healed enough to find a home and family of her own.

Rescue Farm is a very small operation that receives no outside funding. We rely on donations to help pay for operation costs like Tinkers. If you have any money or even well wishes to spare, please send some our way!! You can donate through the link on Petfinder.com or go to our website at www.rescuefarm.org and select the "Make a Donation" button on the left side of the page.
Any little bit will help our little girl Tinker!!   We are 501(c)3 non-profit rescue so DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE!

And if you have nothing to give, don't worry.  Volunteers at Rescue Farm will sell our plasma, clothes, cars, and go bankrupt before we let an animal suffer!  She will get the care she needs no matter what, but anything you could give, even if it's a buck, will help--believe me!

Thanks for letting me share this story...

Cross-Posted

current mood: crushed