This has been a tough week, wondering which animals were still in San Antonio and which animals left. I’ve learned the five tigers (some from Nevada) moved to Indiana this week. As mentioned before in SA Current, William McNamara tried to work a deal with the WAO in filming the tigers relocation to Indiana. Here is his account of what transpired:
First of all, I tried working with you guys. I was contacted by Skip Trimble and Richard Gilbreth about helping WAO-which I was willing to do, but the first contact I had from WAO was hearing from some friends that the Cryer lady was saying the most terrible things about me, spreading lies and gossip.End.
Then when I did pick up the phone and call Suzanne Straw, she put me on speakerphone and I had a bunch of people in the background demanding money from me and my partners.
I tried talking with Suzanne Straw at a later date but I was told that I couldn't film. I then informed her that my partners had already set up a rescue in which we were going to embed with Joe Taft and document the rescue- both Alison Eastwood and I were going to be on camera and document the journey to and from WAO. And while this was for our pilot, we were going to make the footage available to Alison's publicist/connections in the national media to disseminate it!
So we were going to embed with Taft and his crew and not get in anyone's way. We were also going to pay the transport costs and Alison would have been willing to do a Hollywood fundraiser for WAO, in Austin and possibly LA.
But the day I was FLYING to Indiana to meet Alison and our crew I ALREADY hired, we received an email from Taft's assistant calling off the filming. Taft and Straw at WAO would NOT get on the phone with me or Maissa, Alison's partner.
WAO has cost me a lot of money already. And I am grateful for the REXANO web page. And I just bet the national press picks this story up and I hope the new and old (minus Kristina and Nicole) board members pay for this incredible inhumane treatment of the animals at their own personal gain.
Meanwhile, I’ve been in contact with a woman who was the whistle blower for the Vilas Zoo stumptail monkeys’ case. There is no doubt in my mind she knows these animals like the back of her hand--it was obvious these were her little "babies" and she loved them very, very much. I don’t know what these university people did to her, but she still appears to exhibit the signs of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Her e-mails show that she is extremely paranoid and is convinced there is a plot to kill the surviving primates that were sent to the WAO over 10 years ago. I am not sure how to proceed, especially since she thinks my (or her) phone may be bugged. This case keeps getting stranger by the day. The former macaque caretaker was able to find my contact information on the web. I believe she may have called me in response to this blog article:
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2010
UW Abandoned Threatened Monkeys Nearly Two-Thirds Dead
Alliance for Animals
P.O. Box 1632, Madison, Wisconsin 53701
Phone: 608-257-6333
E-mail: alliance@allanimals.org
www.allanimals.org
September 8, 2010
UW Abandoned Threatened Monkeys
Nearly Two-Thirds Dead
Madison, Wisc.... The United States Department of Agriculture is scrambling to find homes for approximately 204 primates and an additional 114 other large animals after years of serious violations of the US Animal Welfare Act including inadequate and improper food. Twenty-two of those monkeys are the survivors of the large colony sent there by the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1998.
In 1998, the UW-Madison acknowledged that it had violated multiple written agreements with Dane County not to use monkeys from the Henry Vilas Zoo in harmful experiments. They violated the agreements one final time by sending 143 of the monkeys into terminal research at Tulane University.
The university sent 55 additional monkeys from the zoo – unwanted by any lab because they were members of the threatened species Macaca arctoides, also called the stump-tailed or bear macaque – to the Wild Animal Orphanage in San Antonio along with $40,000.
In a May 6, 1998 news release, the Director Kemnitz stated that the sanctuary met university expectations for housing the stumptails. Then Grad School Dean Virginia Hinshaw said: “The Wild Animal Orphanage is well-equipped to deal with small primate colonies of this nature. The sanctuary is a particularly appropriate choice because stumptailed macaques are a threatened species.”
Senior staff at the university-hosted Wisconsin National Primate Research Center – Director Joseph Kemnitz, head veterinarian Christine O'Rourke, and colony manager, Kirk Boehm – became members of the Wild Animal Orphanage’s Animal Welfare Advisory Committee.
But by 2006, the university had quietly severed its relationship with the sanctuary.
Now, because of the chronic severe problems at the Wild Animals Orphanage, a USDA-created census of the remaining Vilas Zoo monkeys has become available.
“In light of the nature of the repeated problems found at the sanctuary, it is likely that many of the missing 33 Vilas monkeys died of malnutrition, lack of medical care, exposure, or some combination of those problems,” said Rick Bogle, Co-Director of the Madison-based Alliance for Animals, the organization responsible for originally exposing the university’s violations in 1997.
“The university made a big deal about caring for the monkeys after if couldn’t find a lab that wanted them. They seem to have turned their back on them. The monkeys deserve to be cared for; it is the university’s responsibility to make sure that funds are available to comfortably house and adequately feed the remaining animals. They owe it to the citizens who were told that the monkeys would be well cared for, and they owe it to the monkeys,” said Bogle.
Background files and info available at:
http://www.allanimals.org/vilas-stumps-info.html
1 comments:
Former Texas Animal Caretaker said...
For historical data pertaining to the WAO Investigation, you may wish to visit this link:
http://www.sacurrent.com/search/Default.asp?cx=005017927232739102306%3A9bytl7vewr0&cof=FORID%3A11&q=wild+animal+orphanage#1415
The SA Current and the San Antonio Lightning covered this story extensively.
4 1/2 years ago, I went to the USDA, OAG, TCEQ, HSUS, PETA, Voices for Animals, ASPCA, and so forth, begging for assistance to save the WAO animals.
Sadly, everyone turned a blind eye to the conditions at the WAO for four years and refused to help me. It wasn't until the WAO collapsed under the weight of all its debts, that finally the USDA and OAG took notice of the situation.
Now suddenly everyone wants to help the WAO animals.
While I am pleased the animals are finally getting the attention they deserve, I just can't help but think of all the lives that could have been saved during the 4 year investigation into alleged misappropriation of funds and violations of the AWA at the WAO.
What is worse is now everyone is pointing fingers and everyone else and not the ones responsible for the current conditions at the WAO—the past and current board of directors and all the individuals and agencies that refused to help the animals.
This was a horrible tragedy that could have been avoided if only there were a cooperative effort between the government and animal protection agencies.
September 9, 2010 6:29 AM
Sent: Fri, September 17, 2010 6:39:45 PM
Subject: Urgent intervention needed to save lives of last remaining stumptailed macaques in U.S.A., including the Vilas Zoo stumptails
Kristine, I'd like to offer Enrique a chance to print this before I take it to another paper. Will he, can he do it? Or. is there a larger San Antonio paper where you have some pull to get this printed in full?
I just transmitted similar letters to the Jane Goodall Foundation, and the IPPL (pro forma).
Please tell me if the last paragraph is OKAY. You have my okay to get it to Enrique. Just let me know what he's going to do asap.
I have to rest now. Get this printed if you can in a Texas newspaper. Otherwise I'll try USA Today, then 60 minutes, then President Obama.
___________________________________________
Dear San Antonio residents, all U.S. citizens, and all concerned persons internationally,
I write to you on the matter on the urgent need for protection of the last remaining stumptailed macaques in the United States, who were promised life-long protection by the University of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Primate Center, in 1991, after serving for decades in behavioral studies, including those of Abraham Maslow, Frans DeWaal, and others. These rare and endangered stumptailed macaques were a robust and healthy group of 54 on public display at our local Vilas Zoo in Madison, Wisconsin, and were the centerpiece of a Conservation Biology project in 1996 when the changing winds of scientific funding and academic politics jeopardized them at that time.
They were whisked away from generations who loved them in our community, in 1998, after a struggle to keep them here, due to false propaganda.
Now the very lives of the few that remain are in jeopardy, after years of neglect amounting to psychological torture that has just recently come to my attention.
Only 18 remain of the original 54, and 4 younger ones born there. The entire remaining gene pool of stumptails in this country is the hands of the Wild Animal Orphanage, whose owners, Board, and the place are in extreme disarray, and the stumptails are in immediate grave jeopardy.
It will take time and effort to discover how such a situation was ever allowed to arise, but the urgent need is to protect the lives of the remaining stumptails, which are the remnant of the Vilas Zoo group from Madison. There are also some formerly single-housed stumps from UW-Madison, a very small group from Yerkes Primate Center, and small group from Wake Forest University. Apparently the various Primate Centers dumped them there without proper funding and failed in any subsequent oversight. It is a black mark on this country's Primate Center System, and an enormous black mark on our laws, which this case proves have been inadequate and must be changed.
Animals are not merely property, and Primates are not merely Animals.
This is our chance to change the laws in this country, forever. But now, the need to save these live is urgent. Please help.
These rare, precious and fascinating primates represent the Wildlife Heritage of Another Nation, and the U.S.A. has a responsibility to treat them well and preserve their society. These rare and endangered primates do not belong to Wild Animal Orphanage: they are the World's wildlife heritage, and it will be to this country's eternal shame if they are now euthanized as a matter of expediency.
Help is needed to contact the Attorney General of the State of Texas, the U.S.D.A., the C.D.C., and any other authorities who have a decision making role in the fate of these stumptailed macaque groups. They are at risk of euthanasia if they cannot be protected, and cruel propaganda and unreasonable proofs -- that they are free of any viruses -- is being used as an excuse to engineer the deaths of dozens of the last representatives of their species in this country.
I tell you that the stumptailed macaque is the closest thing to a chimpanzee, in Southeast Asia, an ecological and evolutionary parallel in many ways to chimps, and should be protected under the Great Ape Protection act. The stumptails now at W.A.O. were the last viable breeding group in the United States, were protected and their social behavior and society intensively studied for 20 years.
They were A SACRED TRUST when they were -- unwillingly, by our community - let go to Carol Asvestas at W.A.O. in 1998. Even the former Governor's wife, Sue Thompson, appealed for them to stay here in Madison, Wisconsin, where three generations of zoo visitors and students and their caretakers loved them. Propaganda was used to send them away, and we were lied to, having been falsely told that they would be protected there.
Apparently, at Wild Animal Orphanage, which was NEVER a suitable destination, they were housed and neglected so as to cause most of their deaths -- only 18 of the 54 remain, plus 4 young that were born after. These few that remain must be saved. The remaining stumptails from the Vilas Zoo group, and probably also the Yerkes group if they were socially housed, if they have any social experience at all, can be saved and rehabilitated, and should be viewed as the National Treasure they are.
They are part of the World's wildlife heritage, and should be housed and people allowed to see them at any time from a distance, in a 4 to 10 acre green outdoor setting fitted with rock cairns and pools and swings and play devices so as to give them their due, and support their tremendous potential for being used to educate children about Primate Conservation, to train students of primatology and child development.
Autism research is huge now, and students have to learn how to take behavioral data from fast moving children in groups, without affecting their behavior, to input behavior data to a computer and to analyze it. These stumptails, kept in a large proper enclosure so designed as to draw out the natural behavior and the joyful demeanors of the young ones, WOULD be a National Treasure.
Please help me to save them. None of the Vilas Zoo stumptailed macaques was EVER experimentally infected with viruses.
They should be kept, housed, fed and handled so that staff is never bitten or scratched. That is quite doable.
If any have hepatitis, they can be treated for it, and if they do have it, they only contracted after 1998 it because of the HORRIBLE UNSANITARY conditions they were kept in at WAO, where they were criminally neglected. People get hepatitis from eating unsanitary food, and must receive medicine: They are not euthanized because they got it.
The Vilas Zoo stumptails were NEVER experimentally infected with any virus, including any strain of hepatitis. Monkeys do not have HIV, and none of the Vilas Zoo stumptails was ever experimentally infected with SIV or HIV or any other virus.
Because of the "no breeding" rules of sanctuaries, special arrangements must be made for the ENDANGERED stumptailed macaque.
CITIES has not caught up with their perilous predicament in rapidly growing Southeast Asia, where a large scale holocaust of all primates has been occurring for the past 8-10 years. The stumps are so slow to reproduce themselves, there will never be a problem of excess individuals for this group in our lifetimes, if they are given a enclosure that meets their needs for movement and space in the first place.
Please help to request of the various authorities that ALL THE STUMPTAILS at W.A.O. be immediately protected from "euthanasia", and ensure they not split up their society, wrench them from their relatives, and scatter them to the winds, or murder them, as a matter of expediency.
Macaque monkeys are far more like children than they are like dogs or cats. One should think about that, long and hard.
For the preservation of the species, for their importance in conservation-related studies, please help protect ALL the stumptails at W.A.O. and ask the State of Texas, the U.S.D.A., the Fish and Wildlife authorities, and the N.I.H., to STOP the pending massacre that is about to unfold at W.A.O.
I am more than willing to help advise and consult on proper enclosure design, proper diet, handling, and husbandry for these magnificent animals.
Please do not allow them to perish, or be wrenched away from their families and their society. There are so few remain. Are we not big enough as a society to rise to this occasion? They do things "Big" in Texas? Now is the time to show the nation what good intentions and big hearts can do.
Cruel and irresponsible propaganda is being used, even as I write this, to engineer the demise and brutal extermination of these intelligent, child-like, wonderful lives of our human kin.
I beg for your help with this, and the help of all concerned persons internationally, having devoted much of my life as primatologist to observing the societies of the Stumptailed or Bear Macaque.
With Loving and Abiding Concern for the Stumptails,
Kim Bauers, Ph.D.
I did not know of the conditions at W.A.O., and I was misled in such sporadic reports as I could get in previous years. It is the cause of deepest grief to learn of this in the past few days.
But I will record the history of the series of events that led to this sad day, and it is my fervent hope that a leader will emerge from among the authorities making decisions now, who will guide and help us in the preservation of all those stumptails that remain, who are now at Wild Animal Orphanage.
These rare and endangered primates do not belong to Wild Animal Orphanage: they are the World's wildlife heritage, and it will be to this country's eternal shame if they are now euthanized as a matter of expediency.
_______________________________________________________
Later:
And now, I am receiving emails from Dr. Pannill, USDA/APHIS, the WAO is in need of meat, monkey biscuits, and fruits/vegetables. I have a gentleman working the meat angle and I am working the fruits/vegetables angle. Unfortunately, I do not know anyone who can help me buy the monkey chow.
Earlier this week, emails were passed back and forth between the Rexano.org group and Suzanne Straw, current WAO board member. Here is the exchange:
-----Original Message-----
From: William McNamara
Sent: Thursday, September 16, 2010 10:20 AM
Subject: Re: Open Letter/Response to Rexano Re: WAO
She hasn't answered my email.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
-----Original Message-----
From: "Z"
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2010 08:07:11
Subject: FW: Open Letter/Response to Rexano Re: WAO
Kris, she is open to communication with you, lot of stuff happened before she arrived, and she is still brainwashed by them.I will introduce you after my coffee. Her answers are with ***, scroll down.
I will answer the other stuff, including the wal mart meat, seem like cryers and their puppets were too lazy to sort it. We have the same meat wal mart program for our cats, yes, little work to pick it up sort it, do paperwork, so what, animals are worth it,...
I will try to update REX/WAO page with the article from yesterday and Susan's email.
-----Original Message-----
From: S Straw
Sent: Thursday, September 16, 2010 6:14 AM
Subject: Open Letter/Response to Rexano Re: WAO
Thank you for your thoughtful response to my email.
It appears that we agree fundamentally on many matters relating to WAO.
As an American, I strongly believe that everyone has a right to include animals of their choosing in their home. Naturally, this is contingent on community permits and licensing for those animals, and most importantly on appropriate and safe housing, care, and feeding of these animals throughout their lives.
As you stated, the world is not perfect. Far too many children and domestic animals are neglected and/or abused – as is the case for many exotic pets. Sadly, the need for shelters and sanctuaries will probably not end during my lifetime.
The more I learn about the history of WAO’s miss-management and inconsistent care of the animals, the more appalled I am that government authorities did not step in sooner to rectify these wrongs.
It appears that prior employees and volunteers attempted to document and report unacceptable animals conditions to the AG’s office, but as to why seemingly no (successful) investigations ensued, you would have to ask the folks up in Austin.
Thank you for this opportunity; below are my responses.
Sincerely,
Suzanne L. Straw
***************************************************
Dear Suzanne,
Thanks for emailing.
<<, it is clear that Rexano is not a fan of the sanctuary>>
Let me correct you, rephrase: I am not fan of the WAO's management (other than Kristina and Nicole). Animals/sanctuary are innocent victims in this.
Nothing in life is perfect, and even though the majority of human kids and domestic&exotic animals are loved, small minority are not. Just like we need shelters for domestic animals, and orphanages for human kids, we need exotic shelters too for the few unfortunate exotic animals.
WAO's management failed to provide good environment/sanctuary for the animals; seems like the animals went from one bad situation to another worse (often deadly) situation. If WAO had better management, I would be a BIG fan of WAO sanctuary. I had high hopes when Kristina and Nicole took over, we helped them sign for basically free wal mart program, raw and processed meats, so cats, bears and primates would have Christmas everyday.
Cryers dumped this awesome food programL
Do you have contact on Kristina? If not, would you like me to give you her email? She can help you sort this out.
*** I have never met nor had any contact with either Kristina or Nicole. I am open to communications, as I believe there are two sides to every story, and the truth typically lies somewhere in the middle.
*** As to the Wal-Mart matter, the discontinuation of that program pre-dated my arrival. I have been informed by the Animal Caretakers that the raw meat was mixed together with pre-cooked meat (some with BBQ sauces), as well as with pork products not appropriate for some of the animals. This would all arrive mixed together in a big frozen clump, and they were unable to differentiate what was usable and safe for the carnivores to eat.
*** We are currently pursuing food donations from other sources. Any references you could share will be greatly appreciated!
<< Additionally, when we are approached by "Hollywood producers," we may not be able to honor their request to develop a show or segment about WAO, due to time, labor and cost constraints.>>
What time, labor and cost constraints? According to news, some even offered to pay for transport, how is few extra people with cameras on their shoulders going to affect anything??? I mean, I am sure there is always more 'rescue' staff than camera staff, can you be please more specific? If they come and leave with another sanctuary rescue crew, what is the issue here???
*** Yes, the film crew did cover the transport costs, which was wonderful. However, during the week prior to the transport, the crew needed to be escorted around for many hours (by the caretakers), to evaluate the site and build their story outline. Then one and half days before the actual loading of the animals, they required additional tours and footage. And the evening after the animals had left, even more ‘final shots’ needed to be completed.
*** So, ALL of those hours that the Caretakers are escorting the whole film crew, they are NOT doing their primary job of caring for animals. Additionally, with so many necessary staff and volunteers actually working to load up the animals, the last thing we need to contend with is an entire film crew. All those “non-essential to the transport” folks created additional stress for the animals.
*** In summary, in order to justify allowing another film crew, the pros (donations, public awareness) need to outweigh the cons (lost time and labor, added animal stress).
*** And in a side note, a film crew does not get to dictate where our animals will be placed. WAO must first have researched and approved of every facility our beautiful animals may be transported to.
*** Producers’ contacts will be thoroughly vetted, but that is no guarantee that they will be found acceptable. We can not have film-makers dictate to us where our animals go, just because the producer has a pre-existing relationship with a facility.
<< So, if Rexano and its readers truly care at all for these precious animals, we would very much appreciate your assistance in reaching our goal. >>
Do I have your permission to post your email to REXANO on REXANO/WAO page?
We try to be fair and not censor, but if somebody decides to write a rebuttal to your email, we would post it too. Let me know please.
*** Yes, I meant for my letter to Rexano to be “open” to all your readers. I appreciate the feed-back, and recognize that not everyone is going to agree with our closure plans. Please post my entire letter and complete responses; editing my words will not provide fair reporting. My intention was to inform Rexano readers of what we are doing, so that our progress can be followed, and hopefully supported.
<< Continuing to "bash" WAO (and its former management and board) is counter-productive to helping the animals, so kindly keep that in mind when deciding whether to publish derogatory statements.>>
Could you be please more specific about what bashing and derogatory comments on REXANO website are you writing about?
*** As I said earlier, there are two sides to every story, and it would appear that there is more “negative” coverage of WAO than “positive” posted on Rexano. It would be refreshing to read more supportive acknowledgements of the successful animal rescue stories.
*** Many of the animals came from horrendous conditions, and have since thrived at WAO. Are all the enclosures ideal? No, but in most cases, they are a significant improvement from their prior circumstances.
*** Isn’t it the same way for people? Most strive to improve one’s living conditions through increased education, experience, and life skills. Few have everything they want, but most have access to everything they need.
<< We need all the supportive, animal-loving aid we can get!>>
I agree ,but that means deciding on new home for the animals based on the animal welfare standards in the new facility, be it another sanctuary, pet home or good zoo, new homes decision should NOT based on the political correctness and leanings, and which group hates which groups criteria. That is like being back in the 3rd grade.
*** I am not sure what you are referring to by “which group hates which group criteria.”
Our animal placement mandates are that the facility be USDA licensed and in good standing and/or meet or exceed the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act. We have been quite clear on that from the beginning of our resolution.
<< So, if Rexano and its readers truly care at all for these precious animals, we would very much appreciate your assistance in reaching our goal.>>
My advice is the one you will not like, but would be best for the animals.
Ask Cryers to resign, let Nicole and Kristina back on BOD.
WAO would have a chance to be saved with good BOD like that. If u r in it truly for the animals, this is the solution. And it would be less money (since cages are there and no transport needed) , than place all the animals in new surroundings, which is stressful especially on old animals in winter. These animals do not like change. Circus animals are fine with travel as that is what they have been doing since babies, they are conditioned to that lifestyle and enjoy the change. Most sanctuary animals are different, they are homebodies, and to re-home them is not necessarily the best option, especially considering many would be kep in holding cages over the winter, or take space of other animals in new home that are already there waiting for their permanent enclosures beign buil, like safe haven in Nevada wants to postpone moving tigers from quarantine, so WAO lions can take the new cage with Discovery filming. Is that about animals or media whoring? These tigers waited long enough.
*** I am one member of the board, and am not the sole decision-maker. The current board must be in agreement about all matters, including increasing or decreasing our members, staff and volunteers.
*** Any applicants to the board will be thoroughly appraised and voted upon.
*** I agree with you whole-heartedly that relocating any animal is not ideal, especially our geriatric residents. The WAO financial situation is dire. I am sorry to say we do not have any other options.
*** I am unfamiliar with the Nevada situation you are referring to; I will investigate further.
Thank you again.
Sincerely,
Suzanne L. Straw
***************************************************
-----Original Message-----
From: S Straw
Sent: Wednesday, September 15, 2010 11:41 AM
To: contact@REXANO.org
Subject: WAO
To Whom It May Concern -
Rexano has been a large source of information (for my reference) about the
history of WAO.
While the majority of the information pre-dates my involvement with them, it
is clear that Rexano is not a fan of the sanctuary - and it would appear - for very good reasons.
My very first visit to the Wild Animal Orphanage in San Antonio was on May 23, 2010.
A friend was one of the Animal Caretakers, and invited me out for a tour of
the Leslie Road property.
Apparently WAO had recently undergone yet another change in management and board leadership, so they were looking to build a new board.
Because of both my animal husbandry background (paid and volunteer), as well as my past experience as a professional fund raiser, I was invited to submit my resume for the new board to consider.
I recognized that WAO needed leadership, and that the financial challenges they faced did not accumulate overnight. Being an optimist, I also knew that these challenges would not be remedied overnight either, so I wanted to offer my help.
So on May 28, 2010, I officially became a volunteer WAO board member.
During the next two months, as the new board became increasingly aware of the gravity of the situation, steps to relocate some of the animals to other facilities began. This was to both find more suitable sanctuary enclosures, as well as to reduce the costs associated with the care and feeding of so many exotic animals.
The process was slow and arduous. With just a skeleton crew on hand to care for the animals, it was difficult to do the research, make the calls, and send out emails inquiring about space in other sanctuaries.
Finally, after discussing the matter with the USDA and the Texas State Attorney General's office, the current WAO Board of Directors unanimously voted on August 31, 2010 to dissolve the orphanage and find homes for all the animals.
This is NOT a gimmick for attention or just to raise money - we are actively transporting animals to other facilities because we are over-populated, severely under-funded (and under-staffed), and we have some enclosures that are not sufficient for our beautiful animals.
While you may think what you will about our current situation, we desperately need help and funds to continue feeding the animals, and to keep the lights on, until they are placed in their new home. Some of our Animal Caretakers' paychecks have bounced - that's how upside down we are financially.
Additionally, when we are approached by "Hollywood producers," we may not be able to honor their request to develop a show or segment about WAO, due to time, labor and cost constraints.
Just last week, a film crew documented the transport of animals leaving WAO for a better home. The agreement to allow filming was made weeks prior to our August 31, 2010 resolution to close.
Unbeknownst to us, the film crew required several cumulative days of filming and hand-holding by our already over-stretched Animal Caretakers. We can not afford to have our Caretakers spending their already limited amount of time with film crews. We can only justify filming again in the future if a substantial donation to WAO can off-set the lost-labor costs.
Local news reporters may be granted brief access for filming and reporting to the local San Antonio market, since (1) I will be volunteering my time for the interview, and (2) the immediate nature of news reporting to the local community is justifiable -- versus for a television production that may or may not air months later.
So, if Rexano and its readers truly care at all for these precious animals, we would very much appreciate your assistance in reaching our goal.
Based on the questionable history, I can totally understand your (and the public's) skepticism, but I wanted to explain our situation, and now you can decide how you would like to proceed.
Continuing to "bash" WAO (and its former management and board) is counter-productive to helping the animals, so kindly keep that in mind when deciding whether to publish derogatory statements. We need all the supportive, animal-loving aid we can get!
Thank you for your kind attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Suzanne L. Straw
__________________________________________________
From: ZThat evening, since I had not heard from Suzanne, I thought I'd take the first step and send Suzanne Straw an email hoping she would call me right away so we could discuss the situation:
Sent: Thursday, September 16, 2010 11:21 AM
To: slstraw@yahoo.com; 'Kristina Brunner'
Subject: Introduction
Hi Kristina, Suzanne,
Please meet each other so Suzanne can hear the rest of the story, just like divorce, there is his and hers side of the story, and then there is the truth;-)
Z
lstraw@yahoo.com
kbrunner@...
From: Kristina Brunner
Sent: Thursday, September 16, 2010 5:55 PM
To: slstraw@yahoo.com
Subject: WAO Issues
Dear Ms. Straw:
It is my understanding you may have some questions regarding the WAO and its current predicament. I am open to a telephone conversation between just you and me at this time. I can be reached at 210.647.1789 until 8:00pm tonight.
Regards,
Kristina
Not surprisingly, I never received a response from Suzanne regarding my offer of communication--not by phone, email, or snail mail--nothing. This entire email exchange posted above smacks of deceitfulness, as Suzanne wanted the Rexano site to "stop bashing the WAO" and instead post some good stuff about the failed facilty on the website.
You know, this reminds me of a time when Sumner Matthes wanted Linda Howard to remove all the "bad WAO stuff" from the Internet! What a hoot! As if one person had the power to make all the "bad stuff" disappear from the Internet overnight!
You know, this reminds me of a time when Sumner Matthes wanted Linda Howard to remove all the "bad WAO stuff" from the Internet! What a hoot! As if one person had the power to make all the "bad stuff" disappear from the Internet overnight!
What Suzanne does not understand is that you never join a board of directors without doing a complete background check into the organization first. Too often people join boards because they want to "enhance" their resumes. Then when these misguided people discover that the place they serving as a board director has a terrible reputation or may have serious legal problems, well....suddenly they scream "I didn't know!!! and "No one told me!" Shameful. And what's worse is she really didn't want to know the truth about the organization as she completely blew me off. She just wanted the Rexano. org post only "good stuff" on the Internet. Well, Suzanne, you have to take the good with the bad. You made a terrible mistake, just like I did several years ago, and now you have to suffer the consequences. Good luck.
___________________________________________________________On the behest of Dr. Pannill, I tried contacting Suzanne Straw via email last night, but she refused to call me. I had hoped we could come up with a plan to bring more money into the WAO so they could continue to buy food for the animals. Maybe she’ll call tonight or tomorrow.
So I conclude this post with the latest SA Current article posted this week:
http://www.sacurrent.com/news/story.asp?id=71552
BY CURRENT NEWS TEAM
Bears bounce
Observing the meltdown down the road at Wild Animal Orphanage, Lynn Cuny, founder and director at Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation, one of the few wildlife groups remaining untainted by major scandal, is openly critical of WAO’s operations. “There have been problems there as long as I can remember,” she said. “They didn’t seem to me [as though] the genuine concern for the animals was the chief motivation.” When the WAO board voted two weeks ago to close shop and start looking for homes to relocate their several hundred animals, Cuny was one of the first brought in to consult. WRR will be taking in six female macaques from WAO to join an existing macaque troop in a one-acre enclosure.
The national scene is what concerns her.
“Legitimate sanctuaries around the country … all of those are pretty much at capacity. If legitimate sanctuaries can’t take these animals, then where are they going to go?” Cuny asked. “No one wants to see these animals go out of the frying pan and into the fire.”
Another issue is how an organization that has seen so much bad publicity for failing to meet the needs of their animals raises funds. “Would you donate to WAO? I wouldn’t,” Cuny said. “If there was some other legitimate organization … saying ‘We’re controlling the purse strings,’ that would be one thing. But right now, to my knowledge, that is not what’s going on.”
Though they continue to solicit funds for animal food and transportation costs, Suzanne Straw, board secretary at the WAO, concedes Cuny’s points.
“We do know with the history of the Wild Animal Orphanage it will be difficult to do fundraising,” Straw said. “What we’re trying to do now is not putting any money in anybody’s pockets. It’s strictly to feed the animals.”
She told the QueQue, representatives of the International Fund for Animal Welfare will tour the sanctuary this week. One agenda item will be possibly setting up an account at IFAW for would-be donors to wary of WAO’s past performance to give directly.
Funded by the Discovery Channel, 22 bears were transferred from WAO to the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado last week. Still, 300 animals remain. And everyone must go, Straw said. While they’d prefer the animals went to accredited animal sanctuaries, they will also consider locations that agree to at least abide by terms of the Animal Welfare Act.
For her part, Cuny said she would be more comfortable if the transfers were subject to levels of oversight above and beyond that of the WAO. “You could sit there and check off roadside attraction after roadside attraction after private owner and say, ‘This one will take six of these and this one will take six of these,’ but let me tell you that would just add to the tragedy. We’re hoping that is not what happens.”
So far, WAO still holds the reins.To: Kristina Brunner
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