“Kill more bears” in LA Times, Cow rescue sorrow on NY Times front page, 7/21/24

Two rough articles need our attention today. There is an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times calling for hunters to kill more bears, and a New York Times front page story about a cow rescue gone wrong, with the worst of human nature on display on every front. At least during the week the New York Times printed, on Wednesday, the gorgeous op-ed I shared last Sunday, on the pleasures of cuddling with cows, giving you another chance to respond – maybe in light of today’s sorrowful front-page story. And at least before we get to any of that, I get to thank all of you who wrote to the Los Angeles Times in response to the editorial calling for fencing and crossings to save wildlife. Your efforts supported the publishing of Beatrice Simpson’ s superb letter , as the lead, with a photo of a deceased mountain lion by the side of the highway, under the headline, “The least humans can do.”

Given today’s distasteful opinion piece printed in the Los Angeles Times, let’s cross our fingers for another animal friendly lead letter, or a page of them! The op-ed piece is by Steven Rinella, who hosts “The MeatEater Podcast,” and is on page A17, titled, “California’s bears are thriving. Let hunters kill more of them.”

It tells us:

“The Fish and Wildlife Department issued a draft black bear management plan in April that estimates California’s black bear population to be about 65,000, up from around 20,000 in 1998, when the last such plan was adopted. The dramatic growth in their numbers could justify an expansion of hunting…

” In the areas of California that are open to hunting, the annual harvest rate — the share of bears killed by hunters — is only about 3% of the population. But black bear populations can handle an annual harvest rate of at least 16% without declining. California could allow each hunter to take two bears instead of the current limit of one, double the cap on total kills to 3,400 and reverse the ban on hunting with dogs and still see no decline in overall bear numbers.”

Rinella ends with:

“It’s understandable that most Californians will never choose to be hunters. What’s less clear is why more don’t support those who do.”

Can we help clarify? If you hit a paywall at the link provided above, you can find the article at this yahoo link. And please respond to the Los Angeles Times.  Let’s give the paper lots of letters to choose from!

I send thanks, as always, to Elaine Livesey-Fassel for keeping an eye on that paper for us.

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The relevant New York Times front page story, Sunday July 21, is titled, “Taking In Stray Cattle, and Infuriating a Town.”

It opens:

“One summer day, a cow and a steer walked away from their farm. The cow was black and was named Blackee. The steer was golden brown, with two stubby horns. He was named Hornee. Nobody knows when the cows got out, or how. They crossed a field and a road and wandered onto a neighbor’s yard.

“This type of thing sometimes happens in rural western New York, where pastures and farms stretch for miles. But Hornee and Blackee had crossed not into another farm but into an animal sanctuary whose owner saves farm livestock from slaughter and encourages visitors to become vegans.

“The next morning, Tracy Murphy, the sanctuary’s owner, found the cows in her yard. She herded them into a pen, she said, and immediately notified the local animal control agency. Six days later, an investigator with the agency came to check in on the cows. He interviewed people around the area and learned that a neighbor, Scott Gregson, was missing a heifer and a steer. Clearly, the cows discovered at the sanctuary belonged to Mr. Gregson.

“But when Mr. Gregson asked that they be returned, Ms. Murphy refused….”

What follows is the tale of the battle over the cows, with awful and counterproductive conduct on both sides, leading to a sad outcome in so many ways. I share this gift link with the hope you will read the story and might be moved to respond.  As I mentioned above, the beautiful op-ed I sent out last week (here’s that gift link) , titled online “Cows Are the New Puppies,” appeared in print on Wednesday titled,  “Cattle Taught Me How to Live a Better Life.” You may let that piece influence your response to today’s front-page article, or you may prefer just to respond to that one instead — it is not too late.

I send thanks to Teresa D’Amico for keeping on eye on the New York Times.

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During the week, Californians got an alert about a strong op-ed which appeared in the Sacramento Bee, and in numerous other papers as well as on the MSN website, which I have linked to above, titled, “Reef Rescue: Go vegan for the ocean.”

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And in major media animal news posted to the DawnWatch Facebook page over the last week:

In light of the Calgary Stampede, the University of Calgary’s student-run newspaper, the Gauntlet, ran a strong piece titled, “Stampede or slaughter? The ethical dilemma of the rodeo.”

Meanwhile, also in Canada, Jessica Scott-Reid had a piece in the Winnipeg Free Press titled, “Horses face harrowing journey to Japan.”

Science Magazine reported on “Rat poison’s long reach.” The subheading of that article is, “Supertoxic rodenticides are building up inside unintended targets, including birds, mammals, and insects. Scientists want to understand the damage—and limit it.”

And finally, ending with some joy, I share that the Mutts comic strip has been featuring Sparky, who we used to know as Guard Dog, in his new home. Monday’s cartoon had him being kissed awake because he was acting afraid in a dream, while today’s cartoon has him at the beach, overcome less by the waves than by the love now in his life. And yesterday’s Mutts strip was a fun comment on the superiority of dogs over humans. Enjoy!

Yours and all animals’,
Karen Dawn of DawnWatch