Mary Cummins Wildlife Rehabilitation Animal Advocates News Los Angeles California: sell

Showing posts with label sell. Show all posts

Monday, June 19, 2017

Fox puppies offered for sale on Craigslist are now in a sanctuary thanks to Fish & Wildlife! - Mary Cummins, Animal Advocates

illegal animal sales on craigslist, fox, foxes, mary cummins, animal advocates, los angeles, california, pups, for sale, illegal, breed, dealer, seller, wildlife, rescue, animaladvocates.us, warden, fish & wildlife, fish and game, california

We generally skim the animals for sale on Craigslist checking for illegal exotic and wildlife sales. If you want to own an exotic animal or wildlife, you need special permits from Fish & Wildlife. They can only be used for educational purposes. You need at least two years of experience handling the animals under someone else's permits first. You then have to go through a long and expensive process to get your exhibiting permits. Because this is all a huge hassle and the desire to own a unique animal is high, people buy them on the black Craigslist market without permits.

Back in May 2017 I saw fox pups offered for sale on craigslist. Above is the ad. I reported it to the appropriate warden then I flagged the ad and it was removed. Two days later and the seller reposted the ad. Two women forward the ad to me. I forwarded that to the warden. These two animal loving people wanted to stop the sale and get the fox puppies to a sanctuary. Among all of us, I won't say how, we managed to drag the selling process out long enough for the warden to take the puppy/puppies from the illegal vendor. The vendor is a young guy living here in Los Angeles. We were able to track him down through identifying markers he left in communications.

The warden went on vacation so I hadn't heard what happened to the fox pups. Earlier today a volunteer with The Nature of Wildworks posted pics of herself holding the puppy on Facebook. One fox pup now named Michael J Fox aka Mikey is now at Molly Hogan's The Nature of Wildworks. I'm so happy the fox pup ended up in good hands. As for the vendor I don't know what actions Fish & Wildlife took against him. There are still penalties for selling wildlife or exotics without proper permits. Below are some pics of the fox pups the vendor sent to us.

Article continues below.

Below is a pic of the fox today. He's a little bigger.

This pet fox craze was started by a March 2011 National Geographic magazine article titled. "Designing the Perfect Pet." It was about research done by Russian scientists to find out how we domesticated wolves. They experimented on foxes. They would test the foxes for tameness. They would only breed the tamest of the foxes. The wild foxes were sold to fox fur farms. This continued for a few generations. Ultimately the foxes were as tame as dogs. They could be a house pet. They also noticed changes in the fox. Their ears drooped a little. They had different coloring.

More great follow up news! This is from The Nature of Wildworks email.

“Meet Mikey ( short for Michael J ! ), our new 9-week-old red fox pup.

The Nature of Wildworks, fox

Excuse me. Did you say Red Fox? He doesn't look red, does he? And he's not going to turn red later. Red foxes come in different colors like red, brown, black, and silver but they all have one thing in common-- a white tip on the end of their tail. Well, maybe more than one thing. As puppies, or "kits" as they are also called, they are about as cute as it gets and as adults they're absolutely beautiful.

The Nature of Wildworks, fox

And apparently a fox is a fox is a fox. When red foxes first meet, even though they weren't raised together and have never seen each other before, they literally almost die of excitement overload, fluffy white-tipped tails wagging in a blur and making their fox happiness noise, which I can't even pretend to describe. This is exactly what happened when Mikey fox met Fire fox.

The Nature of Wildworks, fox

Fire is our sweet adult female red fox and she loves everyone. Every person, every animal. I always say she has no appropriate relationships because when walked on a leash she rolls over on her back wagging her tail and whining in front of the mountain lion cage. "Come play with me, Pirate." Not a good idea, Fire. Fire loves Australian Shepherds and was raised by our Aussie dog Hopi. When Hopi passed away Fire moved on to love again with Aussie dog, Star, as her new playmate.

How did we get Mikey? Where did he come from? The foxes were in Sacramento but we met halfway in Bakersfield and there I got the whole crazy backstory. The following is from the Animal Advocates Blog, (Mary Cummings, who initially reported the ad. mmmaryinla@aol.com)

"We generally skim the animals for sale on Craigslist checking for illegal exotic and wildlife sales. If you want to own an exotic animal or wildlife, you need special permits from Fish & Wildlife. They can only be used for educational purposes. You need at least two years of experience handling the animals under someone else's permits first. You then have to go through a long and expensive process to get your exhibiting permits. Because this is all a huge hassle and the desire to own a unique animal is high, people buy them on the black Craigslist market without permits.

Back in May 2017 I saw fox pups offered for sale on craigslist. Above is the ad. I reported it to the appropriate warden then I flagged the ad and it was removed. Two days later and the seller re-posted the ad. Two women forward the ad to me. I forwarded that to the warden. These two animal loving people wanted to stop the sale and get the fox puppies to a sanctuary. Among all of us, I won't say how, we managed to drag the selling process out long enough for the warden to take the puppy/puppies from the illegal vendor. The vendor is a young guy living here in Los Angeles. We were able to track him down through identifying markers he left in communications.

The warden went on vacation so I hadn't heard what happened to the fox pups. Earlier today a volunteer with The Nature of Wildworks posted pics of herself holding the puppy on Facebook. One fox pup now named Michael J Fox aka Mikey is now at Molly Hogan's The Nature of Wildworks. I'm so happy the fox pup ended up in good hands. As for the vendor I don't know what actions Fish & Wildlife took against him. There are still penalties for selling wildlife or exotics without proper permits."

Well, it was a normal day at the wildlife center for me. Just minding my own business answering one rescue call after another, usually regarding an orphaned or injured squirrel or opossum, when a call from Fish and Wildlife came in. "We have a litter of foxes. Can you take one?" Yes! One of them was particularly friendly and I said, "Then he's the one for us. He'll be a perfect education animal for our outreach programs."

Mikey slept in his carrier the entire way home and who could blame him. But nothing like a red fox mom substitute to make you sit up in bed. Upon first sighting the tail wagging and whining began and hasn't stopped since. The first day it was pretty cute because Fire has a swing which is her favorite spot in the enclosure. In her old age she now spends much of the day napping and relaxing on her personal hammock and Mikey , uncoordinated puppy that he is, couldn't quite figure out how to get up there with her. It was making him crazy. But on the second day he had devised a plan and could walk from the shelf along the midline metal bar of the enclosure and then "jump". Fire growls a little at this invasion of her private island but she's an understanding mom and Mikey has now won his place at the top.

I was right, by the way, when I guessed he would be good at outreach. His first program was last Saturday at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles where he wowed everyone posing (and napping on stage) as a modern day dire wolf. We're happy in every way to have him with us. Right now...and for a lifetime.

If you'd like to meet Mikey up close and personal you can enjoy a private tour of the wildlife center, sign up for our on-site class "Clicker training with a fox" or schedule your own personal outreach educational program.

To sponsor Mikey please visit: Sponsor Mikey!

To learn more visit www.natureofwildworks.org

(Photo credits to Terry Matkins and Lorie Zerweck)”

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.

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Mary Cummins

Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate Services has been in real estate since 1983, over 35 years. She is licensed by the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers. Mary Cummins was an agent and broker licensed with the California Department of Real Estate selling residential income, commercial buildings, raw land and homes for Merrill Lynch Realty in Beverly Hills and Westside Properties in Los Angeles before concentrating on appraisals. Mary Cummins currently provides real estate appraisals, expert witness testimony, historical research, legal real estate research for mortgage brokers, banks, lawyers, factors, insurance companies, financial consultants and private individuals. Mary Cummins was born and raised in Southern California. Cummins attended Beverly Hills Good Shepherd Catholic School and Beverly Hills High School. Besides being on the Dean's list, Mary Cummins was a top ten national swimmer and competed on the men's water polo team. Mary Cummins began college at the age of 15 attending the University of Southern California on scholarship, majoring in Psychology/Sociology. http://www.animaladvocates.us http://www.facebook.com/AnimalAdvocatesUSA

Thursday, November 6, 2014

California Dept of Fish and Wildlife giving (selling?) healthy wildlife to zoos - Mary Cummins, Animal Advocates

Sea otter pup, Fish and Wildlife, California, wildlife rehabilitation, selling animals to zoos.

UPDATE: Even worse news! Monterey Bay Aquarium is only permitted sea otter rehabilitator in the United States. They stated in the last 30 years they've taken in 681 ill, injured and orphaned sea otters. Before 2001 they NEVER rehabbed and released pups stating they bonded too strongly with humans. They gave them to zoos. They only started using surrogates to raise pups in 2001. Since then they released 30 pups via surrogate. The rest went to zoos. They brag that 40 of the current sea otters in zoos across the US came from them as pups.

We rehab orphaned raccoons. If you don't know what you're doing and treat them like a human baby or puppy, yes, they will bond to you. That is why we only handle them while they are nursing. As soon as they can feed themselves we leave them alone. They only interact with other raccoons from then on out. We've never had a rehab failure. They all went on their way back to nature. I've posted videos of our raccoon releases where they don't even look back at us.

Monterey Bay Aquarium takes in $66 million a year. They also have over $300 million in assets. Julie Packard Director makes about $300K/yr. 12 other people have over $150K and even $200K/yr. They spend $1.2 million on animals. The aquarium turns a nice profit. They have $80 million in cash. $150M in stocks and bonds. If you look at the end of their 990, you can see their sea otter activity. They even work with SeaWorld. They give them pups.

http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2012/942/487/2012-942487469-09e0c7c0-9.pdf

ORIGINAL STORY: Many of you have seen this orphaned sea otter pup which was taken to the Monterey aquarium to be rehabbed and released. I was very happy about this and spread the news. They have rehabbed over 600 sea otters. I later found out that the California Department of Fish & Wildlife gave the pup to the Shedd aquarium in Illinois. I thought that was odd when Monterey aquarium rehabs sea otters. Why send him across the country to be rehabbed when he must be released back here? That'd be like me sending baby squirrels to be rehabbed in New York. Here is the story from Monterey Bay Aquarium. They did not habituate the baby to humans. The finders were rehabbers, not the public. There was nothing wrong with the pup. Fish & Wildlife "deterimined" the pup was unreleasable with no reason given. They ordered MBA to give it to Shedd.

I went to the Shedd Aquarium's page where they have featured this pup. They said they will raise him and teach him how to be a sea otter. I thought "good, they will release him." I read further and they said they will "provide him a home for life." They posted "read this sea otter's rescue story and why she needs your help." They are keeping this otter who legally and ethically should be released back to the wild after proper wildlife rehabilitation. They are asking for donations for the pup! If they don't have the money to raise him, why did they take him?

The Shedd aquarium may legally be a non-profit but it is definitely a for profit zoo. People pay to visit the aquarium and can pay extra to play with a beluga whale or penguin, very SeaWorld'y. They state they need donations to care for this tiny pup. They make $73,000,000 a year from their zoo/aquarium with $350,000,000 in assets, $177,000,000 in cash. They don't need money for this pup. He should have been rehabbed here for release back to the wild. He's being used to make money. They have $22,000,000 in salaries, CEO makes $3,500,000 per year! They turn a big profit every year over $20,000,000. Zoo masquerading as a non-profit sanctuary. Here is their 990 for 2012.

http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2012/362/167/2012-362167918-09783b4b-9.pdf

Nicole Carion of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife has repeatedly given (sold?) orphaned wildlife to zoos and aquariums. She gave a wild orphaned bobcat kitten to a college to use as their mascot. We rehabbers have been told we are never allowed to show wildlife in a pet like manner and here they are giving wildlife away as pets to be shown as pets! That goes completely against everything they stand for.

I once had a baby skunk that I thought had a major neurological disorder. I told the wildlife rehabilitation coordinator about the skunk. Nicole Carion responded saying she wanted to give that skunk to her local zoo where she said she once worked. That skunk had to be euthanized because it kept attacking itself. Even if it were healthy why give it to a zoo? They are supposed to buy wildlife from domestic breeders or get only unreleasable ones from rehabbers, not from the department.

Last year there were two orphaned mountain lion cubs. While rehabbers were thankful that they weren't killed we were upset to learn that they were given to yet another sanctuary/zoo called "Zoo to You." This place shows a man giving milk to an adult mountain lion out of a wine glass and people holding all types of wildlife like pets. They should have been rehabbed and released back to the wild. They say that mountain lion can't be rehabbed because they bond to humans...not if you do it properly. None of our bobcats ever bonded. They were wild as all hell.

Why is the California Department of Fish & Wildlife giving away, selling our native wildlife which is collectively owned by all the citizens of the state of California to zoos to incarcerate for life on display? This is the opposite of their purpose, i.e. "The primary responsibility of CDFW is to protect and conserve the natural resources within the State." It is not to take healthy orphaned wildlife and give/sell it to zoos to keep in a cage for life clear across the country.

It's bad enough that the Department will give a permit to SeaWorld to operate the largest non-native fish farm in the United States off our coast. It's bad enough they gave SeaWorld permits to operate when they are harming the animals and not keeping them in proper enclosures. Why is the California Department of Fish & Wildlife not protecting our natural resources? They should not be giving healthy releasable wildlife to zoos.

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.

Mary Cummins

Mary Cummins Animal Advocates Los Angeles California Wildlife Rehabilitation Real Estate

Monday, June 19, 2017

Thursday, November 6, 2014