3 Cheers for New Mexico Attorney General Gary King and Other Law Enforcement Agencies

The New Mexico Gamefowl Association and a group of business owners asked the State Supreme Court to review the recent ban on cock fighting, stating it violated the constitution. State law makes participation in cockfights a crime. (We waited so long for this ban - now it's only Louisiana that's left in the nation to make a law banning it.)

But Attorney General Gary King's office announced last week that the justices decided not to consider the appeal. (Yipee! Gary King has really been a staunch protecter of animal rights and getting NM's laws into shape for a civilized 21st century state. Go send him an email to thank him.)
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Every Healthy Animal has the Right to Live

More than 70 percent of cats who enter our nation's animal pounds and shelters are killed each year. That's 7 in 10 cats!

It's going on all across America. And it's got to stop. Pledge to be part of the solution! >>
Sign the petition: http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AFnLP/zJDO/AvwdH
We cannot be silent as countless cats are killed every day. It is time for the nation's cat lovers and advocates to stand and be counted. Just a few ways you can help are to:

• Promote feline-friendly practices at your local shelter.
  
• Write a letter to the editor of your local paper.
  
• Distribute literature about stray and feral cats and animal pound and shelter policies in your community.
  

Time and again, representatives of the shelter system say things like: "We kill them to alleviate future suffering; to save them from fates worse than death; because we don't have any room for them and where will they go instead?" This reasoning is wrong at the most basic - and moral - level.

Every healthy animal deserves the right to live. It is our duty as a society to find ways to make that happen >>

Sign the petition today at Care2.org: http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AFnLP/zJDO/AvwdH

Thank you for making a difference today!

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Report Cruelty to 1-877-5-HUMANE - Billboard & Leadership Scorecard

Have you seen the Attorney General’s new Cruelty Hotline Number? It premiered on I-40 Billboard in East Mountains on May 6. What a fantastic step forward!

This is a statewide hotline for reporting extreme cruelty to animals - and calls are coming in from several counties already. At least one animal has already been saved since the 14’ x 48’ billboard’s installation. Four callers to the new hotline number reported the same horse in poor condition, resulting in lifesaving help from the NM Livestock Board.

Animal Protection of New Mexico (APNM) staff take the cruelty calls and notify the appropriate authorities about animals in trouble, or people treating animals cruelly, across the state. Fortunately for the animals, many parties have contributed services, fees and space to make messaging against animal cruelty possible in this case- Clear Channel and Esparza to name a few.

Often they offer a reward for the arrest and conviction of a perpetrator - but most people have turned down the reward because they're happy that people are working together to change the way abusers treat animals.

It's now evident that New Mexico is serious about creating a humane state for animals.

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Source: apnm.org

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Buffalo Newborns - the youngest descendents of the great herds ....

On May 15, wobbly-legged newborn wild buffalo and their mothers could be cruelly chased from their birthing grounds near Yellowstone National Park by helicopters, horses and ATVs. Newborn calves could die of exhaustion during this annual hazing operation. Please send an urgent message to the Secretary of Agriculture to stop this wildlife tragedy. It only takes a few seconds -- and could save the lives of these wild buffalo newborns, the youngest descendents of the great herds that once thundered across America's plains. (Read more from the NRDC - click Read)

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Right now, newborn wild bison -- better known as buffalo -- are grazing under their mothers' watchful eyes on the lush Horse Butte peninsula near Yellowstone National Park in Montana. But on May 15, this pastoral scene could turn ugly if the government begins hazing the buffalo back into the park with helicopters, horses and ATVs, as they did last year at this time.If this operation proceeds, some buffalo could die, including young calves and pregnant cows. Please speak out immediately to stop the government's annual hazing operation. This wildlife tragedy replays almost every year on Horse Butte -- a birthing ground for the buffalo.First, a helicopter invades the stillness, circling low to scare wild buffalo out of the woods, so that government agents on ATVs and horses can chase them back to Yellowstone. With no time to rest or nurse during this relentless chase, some calves collapse and even die of exhaustion before ever reaching their grazing grounds deep within the park. The saddest part? This senseless tragedy is unnecessary. The justification for hazing and killing buffalo is that they could spread the disease brucellosis to domestic cattle. That is why buffalo are generally not welcome outside Yellowstone Park in Montana -- and why thousands have been slaughtered or hazed back into the park in recent years. But the fact is, there has never been a documented case of brucellosis transmission from buffalo to cattle in the wild. More to the point, there are no cattle at all on Horse Butte, so there is absolutely no reason to haze and endanger Yellowstone's wild buffalo.So please, help us give newborn buffalo a better chance at survival this spring. Tell the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary Tom Vilsack) to intervene right away and prevent the hazing of wild buffalo in the weeks ahead. As living links to the great herds that once thundered across America's plains, Yellowstone's buffalo are a national treasure. Please join me in urging our government to protect them -- instead of subjecting them to needless suffering.

Sincerely,

Frances Beinecke

President Natural Resources Defense Council

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The Chaining Issue

Animal Protection of NM is making a big push to educate people about the plight of chained dogs. The Humane Society is also putting the chain issue as a top priority calling it the 'most under-talked, over-used method of abuse'. Some cities, counties and/or states are now making tethering illegal.

Through years of domestication dogs have become naturally and strongly attached to their humans. They thrive on interaction with their human family counterparts. As the APNM states, keeping a dog on a chain means that the dog:
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• is deprived of social contact with other dogs and humans
• sensory deprivation becomes the norm
• and boredom, frustration, anxiety, agitation, and aggression follow in rapid succession.

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These organizations are promoting positive alternatives and information to help get dogs off chains and into the lives of family members. They need everyone's help in spreading the word. Here is a link to read a brief description about the topic from the APNM as well as the HSUS. There are also some positive video instructions on building fences and other alternatives to chaining: "Train Don't Chain". Another great website on this matter is UnchainYourDog.org {End}. . Read more!

Emergency Pet Notification Wallet Cards - by David Craig

To protect your pets in case of an unexpected emergency which keeps you from your home for an extended period of time, one idea is to make a Pet Notification card for your wallet.

I keep one in my wallet that says the following:

*** PET NOTIFICATION ***

We have a pet at our house. If anything happens to us, please take care of this pet.

*Pet Name and type*
*Address*

This card is printed on red paper, laminated, and appears as the first card in my wallet. Hopefully, if there is an emergency (e.g. a car wreck) someone from emergency services will at least notify someone in your town about your pet so they can help care for the pet while you're away.

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Important Tips: How To Set Up Your Will For Your Pet's Benefit - by Colleen Jones

When remaking my will, I always include my furry children and birds. Whether we like to think about or not, we all will pass over the rainbow bridge one of these days. This is what I do and suggest you do according to your situation:

1. Make a bio of each pet - include idiosyncrasies, age, any medical info, your veterinarian's name and phone number, food likes and dislikes. How they act around other cats/dogs, etc. Sometimes a cat/dog needs to be in a single cat/dog environment despite the fact he/she lived together with other pets previously. For instance, I have two cats who live together, but are not friends. However, my other pets need to be kept together, if at all possible.



2. Canvass your friends, children, relatives - who will take one or more of your pets and treat them in the same style in which you treat them presently. It is important that none of them go to shelters, especially shelters where the usual holding time is limited to 7-10 days. Although, most shelters do try to prioritize older pets who's owners have died, 2 weeks is often not sufficient time to properly place a frightened, withdrawn pet into a loving home. Pets get depressed too! Non-kill shelters give a better chance and more time to find a new home, but most often they are full and unable to take a new pet on the short notice. Rescue groups are usually very willing to help, but again, someone needs to foster your pet for a time while paperwork and the necessary connections are made.



3. Once you've made arrangements with your friend or relative for your pet's care in the future, list these people in your will along with pet's name(s) and designate money to each for their care. (Leona Helmsley overdid it a little!). Please be reasonable, but not stingy - we all have an idea of how much feeding and veterinary care costs on a yearly basis for each pet. You should also make a provision as to what should happen with your pet if the designated person no longer wishes or cannot keep your pet after a time. In other words – a backup.



4. Although you can, I do not use an attorney to revise my will periodically. Instead, I follow the original form and add two witnesses at the end with a notary. Please don't forget to leave a copy with the person who will be the executor after each revision. This is perfectly legal, but you can check with an attorney. You can also have the attorney prepare your will and update it time to time.
   
   

Check with a professional to make sure you are legally secure.

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