Mary Cummins Wildlife Rehabilitation Animal Advocates News Los Angeles California

Sunday, August 25, 2024

60 Fighting Cocks Killed After Rescue Offer by Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates

This photo is from 2010 cockfighting raid in San Luis Obispo, California. I'm on the left back facing camera. That's Rowdy Shaw and Eric Sakach from HSUS. Michelle is on the right. heartwood haven,cockfighting,animal advocates,rooster,sanctuary,mary cummins,hsus,california,cockfight,los angeles,fighting cocks,rescue,

I read the Mercy for Animals story about 64 former cockfighting birds being euthanized after rescue groups offered to take them. As someone who was involved in a cockfighting raid with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) National Disaster Animal Rescue Team (NDART) this is a complex issue. Below is from Mercy for Animals an organization which I generally support.

"A plan to move former cockfighting roosters to animal sanctuaries was foiled when deputies in Yakima County, Washington, shot 64 birds awaiting rescue. Authorities reportedly feared that the birds might be moved without authorization if they were left on the property.

Before this horrific killing, Heartwood Haven animal sanctuary co-founder Kate Tsyrklevich and her team worked tirelessly to find the roosters suitable homes. They managed to save more than 40 of the birds and were clearing space on their property for the remaining ones. While waiting for a call from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to proceed with their plans, they were informed that the roosters had been shot and killed."

https://mercyforanimals.org/blog/cockfighting-roosters-shot/

I don't know the full issue but I know cockfighting birds a little. When I was involved in a raid of over 600 birds then told us they would euthanize them all after the owner relinquished them. All of us volunteers were animal lovers.We all said "can't we rescue them, take them to bird sanctuaries?" They said okay but told us sanctuaries probably would not want them because they will fight for life. In fact while we were logging in the evidence birds one of the sheriff officers accidentally let one go. We started to run after it and HSUS guy said "don't bother. He's not going anywhere." Instantly the bird flew back around and started trying to fight other birds in their enclosures. We easily grabbed him and put him back in his enclosure. Here this bird had a chance to escape to freedom and instead it chose to stay and fight. That's how strong the desire to fight is in these birds. Below is photo of the birds in their enclosures.

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They told us when they would euth them which gave us two days to find homes. We all called all the bird and farm rescues in California for 24 hours. They all said they didn't want them because cockfighting birds are very different than regular farm chickens due to years of selective breeding for the fighting trait. They are selectively bred to be perpetually combative. That's all they want to do besides eat. The males will fight for life unless they are in their own separate enclosure. That's why the fighters house them separately, see photos of raid linked above. The females are also more aggressive and have to be separated from regular chickens. Regular chickens are frightened of them. The babies would have to be separated when they come of age.

Two day time limit was up and no one could find a home for a single bird. We're talking experienced rescuers with contacts. I actually had one woman who agreed to take some but she called back and said no after talking to other chicken experts. I'm amazed anyone offered to take the birds. In fact Heartwood Haven who did take 40 birds in this recent situation is now offering them up for adoption. They don't want to keep them because they learned how difficult it is to house them separately. They even stated what I just stated "Heartwood Haven says there is a misconception that fighting roosters might be aggressive, but that is not true. The only caveat being that they can’t be placed with each other or other roosters." This is true. All the cockfighting birds were fine with humans. They just can't be with other birds. That's a big issue on a farm where chickens are generally all housed together. Heartwood Haven's statement proves my point. They said they'd keep the birds in sanctuary and instead are trying to get rid of them. I personally feel they shared this story with the media to get donations and media attention for their nonprofit. I understand as raising funds for nonprofits is difficult but still. I doubt they knew the true nature of fighting cocks when they agreed to take them originally.

Is it humane to house a cockfighting bird for life by itself? It still wants to fight all other birds it sees. It can never run free in a large enclosure. The females must be housed together and not with regular chickens. Regular chickens are frightened of the female cockfighting bred birds. The babies grow up and males will have to be housed alone.

Obviously after the two days we were given to find homes they euthanized all the cockfighting birds. They didn't shoot them which is dangerous for people. The Sheriff officers broke their necks instantly and painlessly. The birds may have had drugs in their systems so they couldn't even be given away for food. I saw the officers afterwards and they all looked pretty sad. No one wants to do that. They actually said we could do it if we wanted to and all the rescuers said NO. Maybe they thought we wanted to make sure it was instant and painless? It wasn't a cruel offer on their part. The Sheriff Officers were nice to us and grateful for our help.

Cockfighting is horribly cruel for so many reasons. It's a difficult situation for officers who have to deal with the birds after the raids. The birds can't be given back to the fighters. They can't go to a regular farm sanctuary and live free. They must be kept for life in solitary confinement while still wanting to fight and kill other birds every day. I personally feel euthanasia is the best option for cockfighting birds unless someone just wants one pet chicken which will be by itself in a huge locked enclosure.

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

Friday, June 28, 2024

Recognizing and Understanding Bias for Animal Welfare Professionals , Mary Cummins, Animal Advocates

Recognizing and Understanding Bias for the Animal Welfare Professional was a great class. I learned about the different types of human conscious and unconscious biases. Humans in order to survive have basic instincts and biases. We are fearful and distrusting of things which are new or different from ourselves. The us versus them is a survival mechanism. Our perceptions can change over time based on our experiences. All these things affect how we view the world, others and how we react. The class went into the different types of biases. It then went into how to control our biases in our reactions and behavior so we can treat people and the situation fairly and properly.

There was an interesting class experiment. Instructor told us to close our eyes and imagine we're going on a plane trip to a seminar we're really interested in. We go to the hotel and see a couple in love at the restaurant. We go to the seminar and listen to the presenters speak. Then the instructor told us to open our eyes. He asked us "what did the pilot of the plane look like in your mind? Were they a white man? What color and orientation was the couple? What did the presenters look like?" He showed photos of a female pilot in hijab, a same sex couple and black and disabled speakers. He asked if that was what we imagined? He said these biases are formed based on our experiences in real life, in movies, books...

From the class description, "Our brains are amazing at making connections, doing work, and making decisions without us ever realizing it. Like when you drive home and realize as you're parking that you don't really remember the drive - yup - your unconscious brain played navigator so you could zone out a bit. However, these unconscious connections and processes can have a lasting effect on how you do your job.

Join us as we discuss different types of bias and how they unconsciously invade your decisions and actions on and off the job.

- Learn to identify 5-8 different bias types

- Understand how bias and cynicism can play off of each other;

- That bias, while often thought of as a negative, is actually an evolutionary necessity that we can earn to identify and work on

- And how to create a shared language around bias so your entire team can work on being more aware of these unconscious traps."

https://www.justiceclearinghouse.com/resource/recognizing-and-understanding-bias-for-the-animal-welfare-professional/

Jace Huggins with San Diego Humane Society was the host. I took my two week Humane Officer training at San Diego Humane Society in 2005.

Below are a few slides. I suggest taking the class because the instructor shares a lot of stories, examples, tests and polls.

Mary Cummins

Thursday, June 27, 2024

IWRC - A Big Problem with Little Animals, How Insect Declines Affect Wildlife - Mary Cummins, Animal Advocates

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IWRC International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council Coffee & Tea: A big problem with little animals: how insect declines may affect wildlife webinar.

"A growing pile of research papers document insect declines across the globe. What does this mean for wildlife, as well as humans? We'll look at how deeply embedded insects are in ecosystems, and how declines in insects may harm birds and other wildlife.

Gwen Pearson serves as a Volunteer Ambassador for the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, a non-profit organization focused on conserving invertebrates and their habitat. She has a PhD in entomology, and has worked in zoo and bird sanctuary settings."

Great presentation by entomologist, educator and speaker Dr Gwen Pearson with Xerces Society. Learned a lot about the importance of insects for wildlife, humans and our environment. Dr. Gwen Pearson is a wonderful speaker. You really need to watch her presentation. IWRC recorded it.

In summary insect populations are down for many reasons. Birds and mammals feed on insects. This causes bird, mammal populations to also be reduced. We must take steps to help the insects. Some of those steps are not using pesticide, getting rid of some of your lawn, planting native plants, don't rake leaves and leave stems on the ground.

Below are a few quick things I learned from the presentation.

General consensus is that one should not don't release captive reared monarchs because of bacteria contamination which ends up spreading into the wild population.

We should plant organic milkweed.organic. Make sure it's never treated with Neonicotinoid pesticides which stay in the plant forever.

Keeping non-native honey bees is a business. It's not conservation. Honey bees now have diseases which they pass on to native bees.

Most native bees are solitary. 3/4 bees nest in the ground. They only have 12 eggs in their lifetime whereas honey bees can have 1,000.

Lawns are the number one irrigated crop in the US. They're almost all treated with dangerous pesticides.

Bees come out after a few days of a certain temperature. Plants bloom based on daylight hours. They don't always align together so bees may not get enough food especially bees which only feed on certain flowers.

Feeder insects should be treated humanely. They should not be crowded. Must have good healthy varied food with calcium. The insects need calcium for their exoskeleton and other functions. Animals that eat insects also need calcium. @bug_gwen @theiwrc @animaladvocatesusa @mary_cummins #IWRC #internationalwildliferehabilitationcouncil #marycummins #AnimalAdvocates #animaladvocate #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #wildliferehabber #wildlife #wildliferescue

Below are just a few slides from her presentation. You must see her full presentation with all the slides.

Mary Cummins

Thursday, June 13, 2024

National Pigeon Appreciation Day by Mary Cummins, Animal Advocates

National Pigeon Appreciation Day is celebrated on June 13th to honor pigeons that served in World War I and World War II as messengers and spies, and to challenge the misconception that pigeons are pests and disease-ridden. We've rescued many non-native pigeons including racing, wedding, homing and fancy pigeons. The pigeon sitting on an unfertile egg is Patty Pigeon rescued by Patty Shenker at then Animal Acres which is now Farm Sanctuary in Acton, California. #nationalpigeonappreciationday #pigeon #pigeonlove #pigeonrescue #marycummins #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferhabilitator #wildliferescue #losangeles #california #rockdove #homingpigeon #weddingpigeon #racingpigeon

Mary Cummins

Sunday, June 9, 2024

2024 Bat Roost Count Natural History Museum of Los Angeles by Mary Cummins Animal Advocates

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Counting bats for the 2024 bat roost count in Los Angeles with Miguel Ordenana, Amy Jaecker-Jones, Jill Carpenter, Rachel Blakey, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, North American Bat Monitoring Program, NABat. The roosts are under freeways generally over the Los Angeles River. We count before and after they have their pups. These are obviously crevice bats. There were lots of swifts, bunnies, toads, rats and some homeless people. It was a quiet meditative experience staring quietly at the sky while sitting in the lotus position under the freeway as cars and semis drove above us. #bats #marycummins #mexicnfreetailedbats #californiamyotisbats #losangeles #california #lariver #losangelesriver #freeway #overpass #underpass #maternityroost #batroostcount

A great article about a previous count. I've been counting for the last 12 years with different organizations.

Mary Cummins

Friday, May 31, 2024

Fish & Wildlife Agreed to Give P22 Remains to Natural History Museum Year Before He Died for Taxidermy by Mary Cummins Animal Advocates

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Los Angeles, California mountain lion P22 was euthanized December 17, 2022 at the San Diego Zoo by order of Chuck Bonham of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife. P22's remains were sent to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles in Exposition Park to eventually be put on display as a taxidermy which caused an uproar. People had bonded to P22 over the years so it was akin to stuffing a dearly departed relative and putting them on public display. Immediately afterward California Native Americans and others demanded his remains be buried in a Native American ceremony because he was collectively owned by the people of California including the indigenous people. P22 was buried in an undisclosed location in the Santa Monica mountains.

Below is a timeline of what actually happened. I'm still receiving State Information Act Request documents over a year after P22 died. I haven't received any documents about P22's final remains or burial.

July 21, 2017 the Natural History Museum NHM debuted The Story of P-22, L.A.’s Most Famous Feline in an exhibit at the museum.

November 12, 2021 Miguel Ordenana of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles requested the remains of P22 when he died. The request was made to best preserve his body for use in taxidermy and study at the museum. Miguel Ordenana is the biologist who first discovered P22 in Griffith Park.

December 6, 2021 over a year before P22 died the California Department of Fish & Wildlife gave the Natural History Museum Research and Collections Department permission and permits to take P22's remains when he dies to be used for display. (see top letter)

December 7, 2022 The California Department of Fish & Game sent an advisory saying they will capture P22 to assess his condition.

December 12, 2022 P22 was captured alive and ultimately taken to the San Diego Zoo for assessment and possible treatment.

December 17, 2022 was euthanized, killed at the San Diego Zoo. CDFW stated they'd give the remains to the museum. "The CDFW confirmed this morning that P-22’s final resting place will be at the Natural History Museum in Exposition Park in order to further research efforts on mountain lion biology and conservation."

December 19, 2022 an amended permit was given to the Natural History Museum about P22's remains. The remains were given to the museum. P22's radio collar is on display in the P22 exhibit in the museum. Another mountain lion is taxidermied near P22's display.

December 24, 2022 the museum stated they will not taxidermy and display P22. They had taken scientific samples and performed another necropsy. They were just holding P22 and conferring with others about his final disposition.

March 4, 2023 whatever remains were left of P22 were allegedly buried in a Native American ceremony in an undisclosed location in the Santa Monica mountains. Over three months had passed. By then the museum had done another necropsy, taken samples, xrays, photos, scans and probably took molds of his skull and skeleton.

Mary Cummins

Mary Cummins Animal Advocates Los Angeles California Wildlife Rehabilitation Real Estate

Sunday, August 25, 2024

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Friday, May 31, 2024