"Officials break up alleged bird-fighting ring; Authorities raid Ashland house" by Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent | February 15, 2010
Authorities raided a house in Ashland Saturday night where they said a bird-fighting ring was being run, seizing about two dozen finches that were caged in a basement littered with feathers.
“It started out with dog fighting, rooster fighting, and now it’s finch fighting,’’ said Ashland animal control officer Cheryl Rudolph. “It’s easier to hide and now more commonly done.’’
The birds are about 6 inches tall and yellow. Alan Borgal, head of law enforcement for the Animal Rescue League of Boston, said he believed all the birds were saffron finches, native to South America and known for their bright plumage and for being aggressive to other birds.
To make the birds fight, organizers put two male finches in a cage with a female finch suspended above in a small box. It was unclear if the beaks of the finches in Ashland were altered for fighting.
“Once they get aroused, they fight until they can’t fight anymore,’’ Rudolph said. “Sometimes, they sharpen the beak on the males or there’s a blade they can attach to the beak.’’
They must hang out with George W. Bush.
The raid was triggered by town firefighters, who conducted an inspection of the West Union Street house recently and stumbled on the bird setup in the basement and alerted police, Rudolph said. Ashland police, as well as officials from the Animal Rescue League and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, were involved in the raid.
Several residents were detained, but none was taken into custody, police said. There have been no arrests, and police declined to identify who lives there and who was in the charge of the bird-fighting ring.
WTF?
Last July, police in Shelton, Conn., raided a house and seized about 150 finches and arrested 19 people, all Brazilian nationals.
In other words, ILLEGALS!!
Rudolph said there may be a connection between the two rings.
“There were Framingham and Marlborough residents in Shelton when they busted that ring,’’ she said.
Also see: Mass. Migration: What's the Difference Between a Brazilian and Dominican?
Borgal said that despite the harsh living conditions, all the birds should survive. “The cages were so filthy, we were switching birds into new cages’’ at the scene, he said. “All are alive today.’’
Let them fly, fly, fly away, little birdie!!!!
Neighbor Gordon Spencer was surprised to hear of a bird-fighting ring across the street.
“I saw a lot of traffic, but I didn’t see any birds shuttled in and out, any tomfoolery,’’ he said. “It just looked like a bunch of guys.’’
--more--"Do you hear a howling, readers?
I don't see how you can NOT NOTICE this:
"Zoo, elephants trumpet new arrival" by Associated Press | February 17, 2010
The San Diego Zoo’s newest elephant was born Sunday. (Ken Bohn/San Diego Zoo via Associated Press)
Yeah, so do I!
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego Zoo got a big gift for Valentine’s Day - a baby elephant.
The zoo’s Wild Animal Park says the male African elephant was born around 2 a.m. Sunday.
Park spokeswoman Yadira Galindo said visitors camping at the zoo were awakened by elephants trumpeting - a common behavior when a calf is born. The females of the herd circled the 224-pound calf to protect it.
What WONDERFUL and MAJESTIC CREATURES!!!!
Oooh, water in the eyes.
Galindo said the calf was doing well yesterday.
The calf hasn’t been named yet. His mother is a 20-year-old called Ndlulamitsi, which means “taller than trees.’’ His father is Mabhulane.
The calf is the sixth born into a herd that was imported from Swaziland in 2003.Pump out as many as you can!!!
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Why am I so affected by a "dumb beast," readers?
Related: ORIGINAL Elephant Painting
I watched an Animal Planet show on them, and they remember where their herd mates die.
In fact, one died during their journey on the show, and the other elephants had a devil of a time getting the mother to move along.
It was heart-breaking to see the mother elephant wailing, not want to leave her dead calf!
The narrator even pointed out that the elephants were SHOWING EMOTIONS!!!!
And now they are SELF-AWARE ENOUGH to PAINT!!!!
LIFE is PRECIOUS, world!!!
Can't we all SHARE THIS PLANET in PEACE??!!!!!!!!!
Not when we are capturing and caging them:
"Escaped zebra caught on Atlanta highway" by Associated Press | February 19, 2010
Workers tried to contain a circus zebra after it escaped and was captured yesterday on an Atlanta highway ramp. (Ben Gray/ Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
ATLANTA - Rush-hour traffic in Atlanta came to a standstill yesterday afternoon when an escaped circus Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus zebra galloped along a busy section of highway....
:-)
I'm glad it wasn't hit.
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