URGENT!!!!!!!!

[Apple Corps]

Now is the time to make a collective impact to help save hundreds of squirrels. The Asst. county ag commissioner is going to start killing ground squirrels at Lost Lake - here is the video link:

http://www.ksee24.com/news/local/12134546.html

They have NOT caused any disease nor any injuries - pure BS. Also - the San Joaquin Antelope Squirrel is an endangered species and I have already notified the U.S. Fish & Wildlife law enforcement group - there may be some of them present.

Other emails:

Susan Anderson District 2 County Supervisor cbourbon@co.fresno.ca.us 559 488 3542

Asst. Ag Commissioner - (Robert Vandergon) FresnoAg@co.fresno.ca.us 559 456 7510

County Board of Supervisors home page http://www.co.fresno.ca.us/0110a/Default.asp

EMAILS urgently needed - phone calls would also help - spread the WORD - I'll be there in the morning doing what I can.

[island rehabber]

You got it, AC. ! Thank you for bringing this to our attention!

[muffinsquirrel]

I'm with you on this, and wish you the best of luck tomorrow morning. If I was closer, I'd be there with you!

muffinsquirrel

[susanw]

Okay, I sent my e-mails! Please everyone get involved, maybe we can stop
this!:shakehead

[Apple Corps]

To date I have also contacted California Fish and Game and California Department of Pesticide Regulations and the TV Station and the Parks Department. California Fish and Game knows this to be a kit fox area - protected!!!!

I fear that the damage is already done and they are dying as I type - all sooo unnecessary with NOTHING accomplished. Horrible suffering and the population will return to normal levels rapidly.

Thanks to those who have responded - we NEED more responses ASAP though.

[NaturesGift]

sent my email

[FLUFFYTAILNUT]

I could believe..My, ears!!!!
JUST their...TONES..the way they said ,"RODENTS"..was so, offensive...like
THEY are scum..of the earth!!!
Oh..Im so, blasting them!!!
UGH...I have this sick...pit..in my belly!!!
They ..just ..say..,"put poisened oats..around their holes.".like..they're just squishing a fly..or cockroach!!!
WHAT , complete....losers!!
Im so, upset!!!:soapbox

[LynninIN]

AC, here is a copy of the email I sent to all the contacts you listed. I'm posting it in case some of the stats I found will help you. Go get'em!!!!


The plan to eradicate squirrels by poisoning at Lost Lake Park is inhumane. I urge you to stop this cruelty. Assistant Agricultural Commissioner Vandergo statement that "The fleas from the rodents could carry some sort of disease too." is vague at best. By some sort of disease, I assume he is referring to Yersenia pestis (plaque) because it's the only flea borne disease in squirrels. Only 2 cases of human plague were reported in the State of California in 2006. Other animals testing positive for plague were coyotes, black bears, bobcats, skunks, deer mice, mountain lion, raccoon, fox, mice and feral pig. Do you plan to eradicate the number of these animals in the parks as well? How about the birds, they can carry West Nile Virus, do you plan to kill them too? Compared to the 2 cases of human plague, there have been 378 human cases of West Nile Virus reported in California so far this year, 17 cases were in Fresno County. There are no reports of plaque in Fresno for 2006 or 2007.

Are you aware of the studies available on the use of lufenuron to control fleas on ground squirrels? A 2 year study conducted by Santa Barbara County showed the use of feed cubes containing lufenuron was effective in significantly reducing the number of fleas on ground squirrels. A reduction of fleas from 10 to 0.2 after the 3rd and 4th treatments. The cost comparison to traditional insecticide based control revealed a 90% cost reduction. The problems of holes could be easily resolved with the help of local conservationists and animal rehabilitators.

There are reported sightings of the San Joaquin antelope squirrel in Lost Lake Park. This type of squirrel is classified as threatened therefore they are protected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

For all the reasons listed above, I ask that you reconsider your plan to murder these innocent squirrels.

[thundersquirrel]

i sent an email to both.

hope they enjoy the storm of squirrel board fury. :soapbox

[TexanSquirrel]

Squirrel Board - Attack!

[Apple Corps]

Do any of you think we got more than 6 people sending emails?

[squiggs]

Here is what I wrote and sent:

Hello, I have just recently heard of this control on the squirrel population at lost lake, I can't believe what I am hearing, that there are to many holes in the ground and they are over flea infested.
Have you seen the fleas? Fleas are a host for tapeworms of which animals get, not humans, so lets kill for this.
You think the solution is to put poisoned oats around their holes like nothing else will eat them, has there been any actual intelligence put into these thoughts or ideas, it doesn't seem like it.
Please try to put some serious thought into this act before you do it, these are innocent creatures that are in their natural habitat, You may be able to attract them somewhere else or make a squirrel exhibit where people pay to walk through to feed the friendly squirrels, I am sure instead of killing you can turn this around and save them plus make some money off of it since I am sure this is where your motivation comes from.
Thank you
An Animal Lover

I am sorry if it doesn't sound that professional, I am mad and I tend to ramble

[Tammy]

I sent one also.

[pelohojo]

Thanks, Apple, for letting us know. I'm sorry, I just saw your post...I did send e-mails, and also alerted my activist animal-loving friends, one of whom lives in California...crossing fingers it's not too late...:frustratedx

Dear County Supervisor Anderson,

Part of the beauty and enjoyment of Lost Lake which keep people visiting, are the animals that live there - including the squirrels. If the squirrel population has grown too much, there are other methods, more humane, compassionate and honorable, by which to balance out the population. Namely, visitors to Lost Lake need to not feed the squirrels! Without an abundance of food, squirrels will only have a small number of offspring, enough to just keep the population stable - given that many die without human intervention, every year.

Dogs pose more of a health threat to children than squirrels do - their fleas, coming into contact with their waste, bites, etc. Would you consider casually and callously leaving poison around for the dogs to eat and painfully die? I would surely hope not. Leaving poison around squirrel burrows does not guarantee that no other animal - dog, bird, even children, won't come into contact with it and ingest it. I would think that leaving poison around, with no way to absolutely guarantee there will not be any residual left behind for children to come to harm with, would be a very unwise course of action.

I respectfully and strongly urge you to put a halt to this ill-conceived and cruel practice immediately. There are many knowledgeable animal experts who would gladly assist with developing a more humane and safe method of balancing the needs of nature with the enjoyment of park visitors, and I would be more than happy to put you in contact with them.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

[Apple Corps]

Thanks - the more the better - this is an area that TSB could better organize - 6 to 10 emails helps but we NEED 50 or so.

[pelohojo]

Does the TSB board have a function where members could sign up for action alerts, and then members could send an e-mail blast to everyone who has signed up when urgent action is needed, such as this situation?

[island rehabber]

Mine went this morning. I will also post to my other wildlife rehab lists to get others to write also!!

[susanw]

Come on folks we can do better than this!:)

[Apple Corps]

susanw - thanks - this is a real issue for the board and, candidly - one that has had me frustrated. Many of us (me included) have spent so much time on a single "case". Yet, here we are with 500+ squirrels being killed and we can only muster 8 replies or so. That is simply too little to have the impact the poor lil fuzzers need.

I'm going to do a new post addressing this and a few other issues as well shortly.

[susanw]

I figured I would bring this one up to the front again, since it's such an
important cause. I went through the other threads on here first to make sure
no one needed help today. I to am disappointed with the number of response!:dono

[squirrelmanxx]

IT'S good that some people take the time to care and do something to stop cruelty.

Have you notified Humane Society, SPCA , news media, city council, state senators??

I'd block and resist up to and including arrest to save them.

[atlantasquirrelgirl]

I just sent mine.

[cichlidfinder]

Next time or even now. Post an approprite letter with the email adress to send so those of us out of the area and un familiar with all the issues can copy and paste it and send.

[Sarah]

I sent my emails out yesterday. I included the websites below about Santa Monica using contraceptives to curb it's ground squirrel population.
I also sent an email to the Animal Protection Institute with all the contact info. I've gotten a few friends to write, too.

I couldn't believe that article. Worried about people stepping in holes?! Maybe they should bulldoze the tress so they don't have to worry about some one tripping over roots. :frustratedx

Santa Monica Tries Squirrel Birth Control (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/05/national/main2535679.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_2535679)

Santa Monica Wins Kudos from Animal Rights Group (http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2006/March-2006/03_21_06_Santa_Wins_Kudos.htm)

[muffinsquirrel]

I couldn't believe that article. Worried about people stepping in holes?! Maybe they should bulldoze the tress so they don't have to worry about some one tripping over roots. :frustratedx



Here is the letter I sent yesterday (I think it was yesterday???). I got the usual 'thanks for caring' form letter back from them.

I have just read the news release concerning the
extermination of ground squirrels in Lost Lake.
In this day and age when so many people are
working so hard, worldwide, to preserve
endangered animals, it is terrible to hear that
you are intending to wipe out an entire area of
squirrels. Your reasons for exterminating these
animals is ridiculous -

"It's a public safety issue. We don't want kinds
falling in the holes or tripping over," said
Fresno Co. Assistant Agricultural Commissioner
Robert Vandergon. "The fleas from the rodents
could carry some sort of disease too."

Kids are in just as much danger from tripping
over a rock, or exposed tree root as they are
from steping in a hole. And unless you have very
big ground squirrels and very very small children
there, the idea of one falling in the hole is
ridiculous! As far as the concern that "The fleas
from the rodents could carry some sort of disease
too", consider the fact that this is a lake, and
attracts many species of birds. The threat of
avain flu is a very real and present danger. So
how about getting rid of all the birds, to keep
everyone safe. While you're at it, drain that
lake, so that no kid falls in and drowns.

Your whole premise is faulty, and I urge you to
rethink the whole idea. We have seen time and
again how the eradication of one species will
undermine the whole balance of nature, and lead
to untold problems at a later date.

I am asking you to please stop the extermination
of ground squirrels, and leave the ecosystem
alone. There is room enough for all of us to live
on this earth, if people just use a little common
sense and respect nature.

[Apple Corps]

Next time or even now. Post an approprite letter with the email adress to send so those of us out of the area and un familiar with all the issues can copy and paste it and send.

The video link provided the background info. My two cents is that a "form email" sent by many would not have the same impact as original, heart felt responses.

[squirrelmanxx]

Justifiably outraged, i have replyed to Fresno county AG:

The park squirrels have been living on that ground for 10,000 years, and no politician is right to decide they have to be eliminated.

[squirrelmanxx]

I'M VERY DISAPPOINTED with our board that this emerging tragedy did not recieve more attention and outrage!!

People need to take drastic action sometimes to show idiot politicians that they can't get away with crimes against nature's creatures.

[Squerly]

I'M VERY DISAPPOINTED with our board that this emerging tragedy did not recieve more attention and outrage!!What exactly did you want to see?

[Mrs. Jack]

okay, I have to respond here. A) NOT EVERYONE WHO TAKES UP FOR A CAUSE FEELS THE NEED TO BROADCAST IT. none of you has any right to judge by "replies in a thread" who's doing what. There are people, myself included who prefer, for various reasons, to do what they do anonymously. so for lack of replies in a thread to be a determination of care and effort is ignorant at best. B) People have a right to choose what they will support and when. No one knows what any other members priorities/ abilities / are. so again to judge by replies in a thread? ignorant.

I have no doubt that almost every single member on tsb is making a difference in this world. but to turn it into a charge or guilt trip or worst of all CONTEST is awful.

If there is an issue, then by all means make it known to members, not everyone is able to be aware of everything all the time.

but don't dare turn it into some sort of spitting contest.
and don't dare judge people by who has replied and who has not.

[pamela lee]

:yeahthat

[jules]

:goodpost Mrs. Jack! :thumbsup

[Apple Corps]

Squerly - I'd like to have seen a bigger response - 30, 40 50 emails headed to the local officials.

How did a request to try and stop the mass KILLING of perhaps 500+ ground squirrels degrade into what we are seeing posted here now?

Rhetorical question for us all to think about. :bricks

[Squerly]

Squerly - I'd like to have seen a bigger response - 30, 40 50 emails headed to the local officials.Every post I read indicated that members were sending emails. Not everyone that sent an email made a post about it so there isn't anyway to know how many total emails went, but I'm not so sure that you didn't get the 30 - 50 that you wanted.

[FLUFFYTAILNUT]

My email address has to be changed again..I logged out of my Yahoo adddress..and now it's LOST for ever!!!
So, IF an email was sent to me..I cant get it..
I have to create a new one..:thumbsup

[Apple Corps]

Squerly - I'd love to have 200 sent to those people :-) One of the county supervisors called me last week and said they had gotten several emails and a phone call and would look into the concerns (not likely).

My thanks to all of you that responded - I'm going to go over to the lake again today to see if any lil ground fuzzers survived :-(

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

This is just terrible. :shakehead Don't forget we have a lot of lurkers here who don't post..hopefully they sent emails also!!

[FLUFFYTAILNUT]

I finally..got my yahoo..to work...AMAZINGLY....:thumbsup :alright.gif

[squirrelybop]

I sent my email:shakehead

[Mrs. Jack]

well this thread has a very high looksee vs post, so that very well could be, Rippie, because I know it wasn't all because Mrs. J got mad :p and I apologize if I came off overly harsh, I just want to make sure that no one is feeling bullied, or belittled. AC don't forget that (for lack of a better term) "the man" is always going to play down response they get that is alternative to what they want to do.. don't believe all of what you hear, or read. :/ SPIN.

[pelohojo]

Thanks, AC, for leading the charge on this issue, and following through with it. I'm dreading to hear what you find at the lake...but crossing my fingers you find some survivors that are okay & that you can hopefully relocate.

And thanks to everyone for taking time to do what you can to help these little guys! I'm always outraged and overwhelmed that there is always something horrible being done to someone innocent every single day...squirrels, wolves, whales, seals, horses, farm animals...the list is endless. But it is always heartening to know that there are a lot of caring hearts out there who love animals and help whenever they can, in whatever way they can. :Love_Icon

[Apple Corps]

pelohojo - I went by the Lost Lake park and saw a few foxers snarfing up acorns - no ground squirrels. However - I saw no ground squirrels on the way in so they may have been in their burrows due to the weather. I went off trail a bit but there was virtually no wildlife around - some ducks and geese in the lake was about it.

Deep down I'm certain that we lost many - lets kill the creatures so we can enjoy nature - what morons.

One fear that I have is that they may just "go quiet" next time to hide the killing - thinking about options for responding.

Thanks again to all of you that sent these killers your thoughts.

[pelohojo]

Thanks for the update, AC. I agree, people like that just outrage me no end. Maybe the ground squirrels avoided the poison and are staying in their burrows? Or maybe they aborted the massacre? I guess you'll know more when the weather improves & you know they should all be out & about.

Sadly, that is often what happens - people do things like kill animals, clearcut trees, etc. and then go "oops, sorry" when it is too late and nothing can be done. That's when having people with integrity and compassion on the inside, and our ears to the ground come in handy...

[squirrelena]

I sent e-mails to Susan Anderson and the Ass.Ag Commissioner - Vandergon. If Thundersquirrel is ever home for five minutes, I will ask her to help me post them as I don't know how. I got an idea. Are you aware of a local paper that letters might be helpful in. We know these losers names, we can point out to the residents how dangerous and irresponsible this "solution" was to the other wildlife and the environment. We should point out how uneducated the people are that are entrusted with their parks and the wildlife in them, how inhumane this act was...If you have a newspaper or two, give the addresses for letters to the editor. Let's get some resident support! I am so angry and saddened by this.:shakehead

[Sciurus1]

Quote/
It's a public safety issue. We don't want kinds
falling in the holes or tripping over," said
Fresno Co. Assistant Agricultural Commissioner
Robert Vandergon. "The fleas from the rodents
could carry some sort of disease too." /Quote

Any EDUCATED human KNOWS that fleas tend to STAY on the WARMEST HOST< not humans. who have a lower body temperature. If they want then to remove the fleas by killing the hosts, then all the RATS, and other wildlife would have to be elimated as well. That is nye to impossible fo course, and surely not acceptable in any sense.

Sadly, it is legal to poison ground squirrels in this State, farmers as well as ranchers who have CATTLE do this consistently. This is WHY the STATE has no problem with doing what they want in regards to removing these animals. Sadly they are STUPID< for the answer to this dilemma already has been found in Midwest. There is a WAY to move colonies of Ground squirrels and praire Dogs to another location. Originally a company was developed for this purpose, who altered trucks to have liners with heavy foam on all surfaces, with vacuum systems that literally suck them out of the burrows. Now there are many companies that do this. All it would take would be one of their trucks and no more problem as to have to destroy these animals. I can assure the authorities that there are plenty of place in California where these animals can be relocate. They see it as a problem though, even to do THIS! So a person who has the land has to OFFER it to them for that relocation, or they won't move them.

Case in point, not long back Fish and Game in this STATE decided to have a population of beavers exterminiated, because they wanted them out of where they lived, and said they could not find another home for them. This State is so large and yet they couldn't FIND a home! Well a young boy was so moved by the this story in the paper, he asked his mother if there wasn't something they could do to help the Beavers. The authorities refused to move them, but when a place in in Texas was offered by a man with some land they could live on, the STATE relented. That was a big thing too, for transfering animals OUT OF STATE is a big no no here, yet due to public opinion, and the grand efforts of this young boy and his mother, the Beavers now live in Texas.

So keep in mind what is NECESSARY to save them requires a way to move them, which exists already, and a new home for them, some kind person willing to have them on their land. Land is money though around here, and sadly for these animals, they are seen by MOST ranchers as vermin. Still I believe it could be done, there is SO MUCH land that the Federal authorites own that they animals could be moved too. The land around the railways alone is immense. I have seen colonies of ground squirrels that do well along the tracks on our town, where no one else comes near.