Action for Animals Austin

Hello austin neighbor, I live in South Austin and we have a feral cat (male, big and orange) that is fighting with all the pets (cats) in our area as well as HOWLING all the time. Would you happen to have a cat trap I can use/borrow? I have researched and found AHS has a feral cat program free of charge; AHS will fix the cat and then it can be released back into the neighborhood. Appreciate your help!

The city's consultant, hired by the people who wanted to kill the deer, estimated that the number of deer far exceeds the carrying capacity of the land.  This means they will have to be killed.  Do you prefer sharpshooting in city limits or trap, transport and process?  TTP is one of the cruelest possible methods of destroying an animal.  DeerAustin.org needs your help.  There will be a meeting this Saturday.  Please email abbotto@msn.com for meeting details, or if you would like copies of the report or press coverage.

Hi neighbor, What do you mean by, "so far I have not been allowed to participate"? Sounds like your neighbors really don't want to hear another perspective on the deer! How frustrating! Any chance you could find someone else to join your group who feels more like you do? Hang in there! There are lots more animal lovers in Austin, if not in your immediate neighborhood!

I wonder if you could put together a hand out related to creative solutions to working around the deer in a constructive way. That is, showing how to garden with plants deer are less likely to eat. Agrilife is the new name of the Travis County Extension Service. They have free materials for deer-resistant plants and may have other materials that would help. If you call and ask, they will mail them to you. joy

Hi, Ruth, I am still keeping an eye on the deer situation in northwest Austin.  I joined the neighborhood group and volunteered for the "wildlife" committee, but so far I have not been permitted to participate.  In the meantime, they keep putting out anti-deer materials.  I met a woman at an animal law conference who lives in Kerrville, TX.  She told met that the the city there has an annual deer bow hunt in the park.  They close down the park and people come and try to kill the deer with arrows.  She would like to try to change that.

Sometimes I don't understand if people think that animals don't feel or if the people just don't care that they feel.

I have two dogs and one cat.  The two dogs are the product of a pregnant rescue, so I have had them from the moment they were born.  They are six now.  I lived on acreage near Manor for many years and had many more animals (dogs and cats) then.  I moved into town a few years ago and now am down to three through attrition.

Hi Austin neighbor! I look forward to meeting you soon!

I am sorry to read your messages regarding the anti deer sentiment in your neighborhood. There are apparently a number of pockets of woods in Austin where deer still manage to survive. Thanks for joining Action for Animals Austin! We share your compassion for the wildlife! We will continue to be a voice for the animals.

I live over east of downtown. I have three dogs and several cats and my daughter and I often trap feral and stray cats and get them neutered at Animal Trustees of Austin or Emancipet.

I have seen deer in the area around Burleson Road over in south east Austin south of Oltorf. I actually saw a sweet fawn just last night when I was way down in SW Austin off 290. Hang in there and know others share your concerns!

you can send me files at tverret@earthlink.net

What is the best way to forward you emails and Word files?  I know you are busy but I think you will be surprised by the hate in your own back yard.  I am sorry that it took this neighborhood issue to find your organization, but I am glad I found it and want to do more.

I will try a blog.  I can hardly retrieve my voicemail but I have a teenager.  Maybe she can figure it out.

I can bring it up at our next meeting and see what people have to say about...if you can just provide me with as much information as you can, that would be so helpful.  Right now, I'm pretty busy hosting the Chimp Retirement Party and helping out with Sunny Day Farms, but I can see what I can do. 

Do you know how to create a blog for this?  I think if you do that, you will find people on here who probably have some invested interest in it and/or can provide you with better backup.

If you don't know how to create the blog, it's pretty easy.  Just click on your name in the upper right-hand corner and then click on blog, and you will get a page where you can post a new blog.  Just fill out the information there and hit SUBMIT or CREATE, I believe.

Let me know if can help any further!

Thanks.

Thank you!  I am talking to neighbors.  I have also been talking to the Statesman.  I would love to come talk to your group, give them the back story and show you some of the anti-deer propaganda that is circulating.  It is loud and NWACA is powerful.  It is not just the Statesman.  For example, if you look at this week's Community Impact newspaper www.impactnews.com, the featured Neighborhood Profile is on Northwest Hills and the first news item is an anti-deer item.  I know that protecting the deer in Austin might not seem like a very big issue, but it is here and it is happening now.  I cannot do this Saturday but please let me know when I can talk to you. 

Hey Robin:

One of the most powerful things you can do now is write a letter to the STATESMAN about the article they ran.  The reason I say that is because many people read letters to editors and it is an effective tool to make your voice heard and for the deers who have no voice.  If you have never written a letter to the editor before, the thing you want to do is keep the letter short and to the point and have a humane solution at the heart of the letter and why the trap-and-kill program doesn't work.

As far as the other information you mentioned, there are many routes to go in this campaign and I feel you are in the right direction for tackling this.  Try to find other people who feel the way you do.  Talk to your neighbors and create a petition and get as many signatures as you can.  Petitions are great but unfortunately require many signatures to be an effective measure.

You are welcome to attend our core group meeting which I believe is this Saturday to voice this issue and get feedback.  You can also blog about it here by just pasting your message to meet and setting it up as a blog for comments.

If you need any information on any of the above, please do not hesitate to contact me!!!

Thanks,

Timothy

PS:  I also live in North Austin near Mopac and 183.  I think I know the Greenbelt area you are talking about but not sure.  I think you will find many who support your concerns on this one ;)