ACTION ALERT!

The word came last week from OUTSIDE of Montclair that this town had arranged for the roundup and slaughter of 80 geese. The township leaders are justifying this action by claiming that they tried everything to manage the population of Canada geese in Montclair's two parks, but what they failed to try was staring them in the face - a program already up and running right here in Essex County under the supervision of GeesePeace, a national leader in the management of geese.

GeesePeace, a nonprofit organization established in 1998, is dedicated to building better communities through innovative, effective and humane solutions to wildlife conflicts. GeesePeace programs have been successfully implemented across America, and there is clear evidence that communities that implement this program can effectively, economically, and efficiently resolve their geese nuisance issues and end community conflict. GeesePeace offers all its excellent training and support services for FREE, and since most of the work is done by volunteers, the program remains a low-cost item for the towns.

Essex County adopted the GeesePeace program early last year and invited Montclair to join in a cooperative effort. Montclair chose not to join in and in a May, 2006 Montclair Times article announcing the start of the Essex County program, Mr. Harnett, Montclair's township manager, stated that the township staff is very familiar with the issues and that, free services or not, the township is well ahead of anything GeesePeace or the county has to offer. Mr. Hartnett is quoted as saying " we really don't have the time to duplicate efforts, and the proof is in the pudding. I walked around the park for half an hour last week and I counted eight geese, two ducks and one heron." (Montclair Times, Thursday, May 11, 2006)

As incredible as it may be, Mr. Harnett still maintains, in a Star Ledger article published today, that Montclair was "way ahead" of GeesePeace at the same time that he states that the town's efforts failed and the roundup was taken as a "last resort". The truth is that Montclair never really had a handle on the problem, but was unwilling to even open itself up to learning what the GeesePeace program had to offer. For this reason, they failed to take effective steps to solve the geese nuisance issues in town and have let the residents down. The town has now resorted to killing geese which will not even offer a solution. The areas will soon be repopulated with more geese.

It's time now for Montclair to invite David Feld, the president of GeesePeace, to a council meeting to hear about the program and to give Montclair residents the opportunity to attend and hear about it for themselves. A number of residents, including myself, are already volunteers in the County GeesePeace program and are quite frustrated by our town's failure to investigate this option.

NO ONE wants parks full of geese poop, though there is no known health risk related to the presence of the geese or their poop. PLEASE take the time today to write to the members of the Montclair Township Council and ask them to invite David Feld to come to a public meeting in October and present the GeesePeace program. David Feld is interested in helping the County establish an effective program and there is clearly an advantage to getting as many towns as possible to join in. You can visit the website of GeesePeace for more information at: www.geesepeace.org.

Thank you,
Sandy Reynolds
HUMANEmontclair

Contact information for the Town Council members:

Mayor Remsen: edremsen@montclairnjusa.org

Deputy Mayor Michaelson: joycemichaelson@montclairnjusa.org

Councilor - at- large: Matt tedmattox@montclairnjusa.org

Councilperson Lang: sandralang@montclairnjusa.org

Councilperson Freier: jeroldfreier@montclairnjusa.org

Councilperson Tobi: geraldtobin@montclairnjusa.org

Councilperson Schlager: robinschlager@montclairnjusa.org

Winter shelters for outdoor cats available now in Montclair!!!
To order, call Humane Montclair at 973-746-3471
or email proan100@verizon.net

The shelters are made of 2" styrofoam and one shelter can keep several cats warm on the coldest nights. The minimum donation for a shelter is $60.00, though larger amounts are gratefully accepted. All profits will go to spaying and neutering Montclair's feral cat population. To see the shelters, learn about them, and even find directions for making your own, visit www.neighborhoodcats.org/HOW_TO_FERAL_CAT_WINTER_SHELTER

If you want to learn more about TNR (Trap/Neuter/Return), the humane and effective means of reducing the population of outdoor cats, you should attend one of the excellent workshops offered by Neighborhood Cats, a group based in New York City. Workshops are held at the ASPCA (424 E. 92nd St. in Manhattan) on a twice-monthly basis. Normally, workshops are scheduled one Saturday afternoon, 1 to 4 p.m. (usually the first Saturday of the month) and one Monday evening, 6 to 9 p.m. per month. For exact dates and registration procedures, go to: http://www.neighborhoodcats.org/events

You will learn how to successfully trap cats, how to care for them prior to and after surgery, how to care for a colony, and how to present the program to residents and officials of your town.

NOTE: If you want to volunteer to help with the organized Shelter Showcase/Montclair TNR program, attendance at a Neighborhood Cats workshop is required. Safety and proper treatment of the cats is a priority.

The GeesePeace training will be held at the Essex County Environmental Center. 621 Eagle Rock Avenue, Roseland

To learn full information about the Essex County GeesePeace program, click here.

Essex County, in cooperation with Geesepeace, is organizing a humane. non-lethal program to reduce the population of Canada geese on county-owned properties. Geesepeace, an educational nonprofit, has become a national leader in assisting communities to eliminate the growing human conflicts with "resident" Canada geese. (You can read more about Geesepeace at www.geesepeace.org)

This program needs volunteers to make it a success. Last spring, volunteers offered their time and did a fabulous job helping the town of West Orange to control its geese population. Volunteers are needed primarily to locate nests and treat the eggs so they do not hatch. This is actually quite a fascinating nature experience.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife agency is recommending killing thousands of geese and their goslings each year for the next ten years and is recommending a hunting season. No. We can have a permanent, humane solution with non-lethal means - without community conflict and at much less cost.

The goal is to have all the towns of Essex County join in, along with private homeowners and owners of commercial property such as golf courses, office parks, etc. The Geesepeace program has a record of success, and Senator Lautenberg has even called for the implementation of this program statewide. It's time to get serious and do it right. You can help.

Fundraiser for HUMANEmontclair: Dine at Veggie Heaven
Sunday, March 26: between pm and 10 pm
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to HUMANEmontclair

Enjoy a delicious meal at Veggie Heaven in Upper Montclair and help HUMANEmontclair continue its programs to protect animals and assist those who care for them.

Veggie Heaven, which serves 100% natural vegetarian cuisine, has generously offered to donate a portion of the evening's proceeds to HUMANEmontclair, whose volunteers are currently operating the Shelter Showcase Montclair TNR program to reduce the feral cat population and the Human Needs Food Pantry Project helping those in need to feed their companion animals.

Veggie Heaven is located at 631 Valley Road in Upper Montclair (corner of Valley Road and Lorraine Avenue). Bring the whole family. There will be crayons and animal-friendly projects for the kids. Click here to view a map.

Volunteer Training for Essex County's new
program to reduce the geese population
March 8, afternoon or evening

Essex County, in cooperation with Geesepeace, is organizing a humane. non-lethal program to reduce the population of Canada geese on county-owned properties. Geesepeace, an educational nonprofit, has become a national leader in assisting communities to eliminate the growing human conflicts with "resident" Canada geese. (You can read more about Geesepeace at www.geesepeace.org)

This program needs volunteers to make it a success. Last spring, volunteers offered their time and did a fabulous job helping the town of West Orange to control its geese population. Volunteers are needed primarily to locate nests and treat the eggs so they do not hatch. This is actually quite a fascinating nature experience.

Training sessions will be offered by Geesepeace for the Essex County program on Wednesday, March 8, 2006. You can attend either the afternoon or evening session. More information on location and times will follow. Please RSVP to Del DeMaio at ddemaio4@comcast.net before Feb. 22nd and advise if you will be attending the afternoon or evening training session. You can also email her with any questions.

If you are unable to attend either session on March 8th, please advise & arrangements will be made to train you at a later date. Remember to pass this information along to everyone you know who may be interested.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife agency is recommending killing thousands of geese and their goslings each year for the next ten years and is recommending a hunting season. No. We can have a permanent, humane solution with non-lethal means - without community conflict and at much less cost.

The goal is to have all the towns of Essex County join in, along with private homeowners and owners of commercial property such as golf courses, office parks, etc. The Geesepeace program has a record of success, and Senator Lautenberg has even called for the implementation of this program statewide. It's time to get serious and do it right. You can help.

"All Breed Eye and Microchip Clinic"
Sunday, January 29, 2006

Montclair Feed and Pet Supply at 191 Glenridge Avenue in Montclair is hosting an "All Breed Eye and Microchip Clinic" on Sunday, January 29, 2006. The eye clinic will be from 8 am to 2 pm, and the microchip clinic will run from 10 am to 12 noon. Any profits from this clinic will benefit the Eastern German Shorthaired Pointer Rescue and the GSP Rescue Program.

Registration is advance is required. You can pick up a form at Montclair feed or for more information, call Joan Tabor at 973-746-5986. Fax (973) 746-2557 or email: taborgsp@verizon.net

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HSUS Statement on Microchips
October 11, 2005

(The Humane Society of the United States has some important information about microchipping. It is worth reading. You can access the articles at http://hsus.org/search.jsp?query=microchip&x=0&y=0)

(I have pasted the recent HSUS statement on microchips below. Needless to say, the recent hurricanes have highlighted the problem of identification.)

The Humane Society of the United States is deeply concerned about the lack of availability of a global microchip scanner in the United States. The recent hurricane disasters have brought to the fore problems that emerged over the past few years, as some microchips in this country have been encrypted and their manufacturer has blocked efforts to enable them to be read by all scanners.

As a result, we have joined with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, American Humane, American Animal Hospital Association, American Veterinary Medical Association, American Society of Veterinary Medical Association Executives, Society of Animal Welfare Administrators, and others working together—as the Coalition for Reuniting Pets and Families—asking that microchip and scanner manufacturers and marketers permit the use of a scanner that can read all microchips, and that such a scanner be made readily available to shelters, animal control officers, and veterinarians throughout the country. The coalition has reached out to all of the current distributors and manufacturers of microchips sold in the United States, urging them to resolve these issues.
The HSUS was not involved in getting the microchip provision into House bill H.R. 2744. The HSUS does not endorse a particular frequency, technology, or company, but does strongly support use of scanners that can read all frequency microchips.

Using the universal International Standards Organization (ISO) system of open microchip technology—in which all scanners can read all chips, no matter the frequency—will not favor or harm any manufacturer because all manufacturers currently selling non-ISO technology in the United States (including AVID) manufacture and market ISO technology outside the United States. Pets who have an unencrypted 125 kHz microchip can be read by an ISO scanner. Those pets already implanted with an encrypted 125 kHz microchip will be detected by ISO scanners. In some cases, these scanners will not be able to read the encrypted chip. Veterinarians, shelters and others might then need to use a second scanner capable of reading encrypted 125 kHz chips, until AVID agrees to allow its encrypted chips to be read by all scanners (which it has so far refused to do). But adopting an ISO standard should not require any re-chipping of pets who already have microchips.

Again, our goal is not to promote any particular frequency or company. We only want to ensure that the United States moves in the direction that so many other countries have taken with far greater success than we've seen here—allowing scanners to read any microchip, and thereby encouraging much wider use of microchips since they will be more reliable, affordable, and effective in reuniting lost pets with their families.

Fundraiser for HUMANEmontclair at Veggie Heaven
November 20 between 5 and 10 pm.

Enjoy a delicious meal at Veggie Heaven in Upper Montclair and help HUMANEmontclair continue its programs to protect animals and assist those who care for them.
Veggie Heaven, which serves 100% natural vegetarian cuisine, has generously offered to donate a portion of the evening's proceeds to HUMANEmontclair, whose volunteers are currently operating the Shelter Showcase Montclair TNR program to reduce the feral cat population and the Human Needs Food Pantry Project helping those in need to feed their companion animals.

Veggie Heaven is located at 631 Valley Road in Upper Montclair (corner of Valley Road and Lorraine Avenue). Bring the whole family. There will be crayons and animal-friendly projects for the kids. Click here to view a map.

This one-day landmark conference features talks and workshops by feral cat experts and Trap-Neuter-Return leaders from around the country, including keynote speaker, Esther Mechler, President and Founder of SPAY USA.

The emphasis is on practical, how-to information so that attendees can more effectively advocate for and implement TNR programs in their communities. Registration is $40 before September 1, $50 after. For the complete program and registration info, click here.

The National Feral Cat Summit is produced by Neighborhood Cats and presented in partnership with The Humane Society of the United States, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), In Defense of Animals (IDA), the Alliance for Philadelphia's Animals and the Mayor's Alliance for New York City's Animals. Sponsors include PETsMART Charities and the PETCO Foundation. Hope to see you there!