HELP!!
Los Angeles County is rounding up and killing feral and stray cats in unincorporated areas as a defense against “terrorist attack.” Next they will move on to LA Cities, as in the past, such as Santa Monica and LA
I have dealt with Mr. Ramirez in the past with his kill-oriented psychopathological thinking, numerous times, as well as other members of County Vector Control. They are insistent on killing as their primary solution to all threats of vector borne diseases. They have repeatedly successfully demanded that the ground squirrels in Palisades Park in Santa Monica be killed every three years or so despite massive opposition by the public and by the city of Santa Monica. They do this all over the county, including incorporated cities within the County, such as Santa Monica or Los Angeles.
Joe and his boss Gail Van Gordon are kill crazy and feel they are on a mission from God to cleanse the world or urban wildlife and feral cats when there is, in their minds, even the slightest potential for disease spread to humans. Ramirez bragged to me that the reason there has been no human plague in Los Angeles County is because they so thoroughly kill ground squirrels throughout the County. They don't even pretend to present reasonable arguments to support the medical/scientific necessity of their killing. Ramirez told me in the past he wanted to kill feral cats because they can spread pneumonic vs. bubonic plague. Vector has been looking for an excuse to kill ferals, now its terrorists!
Trapping has already begun at DEL AIRE COUNTY PARK where a notice has been posted, that cats will be trapped and taken to the Carson shelter where they will be “adopted” out. Next in line for trapping is PECK PARK and THE HARBOR UCLA MEDICAL CENTER. That they will adopt them is a complete lie. Feral cats are not adoptable. The County as well as LA City kills them after a 3 day hold. In fact, LA County has a kill rate of almost 80% for all cats impounded, whether feral, tame or kittens.
It will be tough to stop them. They insulate themselves from scientific evidence and medical logic, and they are backed by Dr. Fielding, head of County Health.
The email I received:
The L. A. County Public Health, spearheaded by Joe Ramirez, Environmental Health Specialist, phone (626) 430-5468, has contracted the L. A. County Carson Animal Shelter to trap and euthanize all feral and stray cats within the park area and wherever there is ‘human interaction’. I spoke with him on two occasions trying to negotiate allowing rescue groups to handle a relocation and adoption effort.
But he is against relocation of any sort unless in a cat sanctuary or adoption. He feels that feral/stray cats have become a National Security problem because of the ‘potential’ of spreading deadly diseases, plagues, and biohazards. His mission is to go from park to park or wherever there are strays and ferals and euthanize them. He told me that Carson said they would euthanize the cats right away, but try and get them adopted. So, either he was lying to me or they were lying to him. Either way, it’s a death sentence for all the feral and stray cats in L.A. County and then maybe elsewhere.
Input with regard to scientific data to the contrary, MAY help, but probably not. They have shown over and over that they base their decisions on their “37 years of combined experience” rather than any scientific evidence presented to them, and Dr. Fielding backs them 100%. He ought to know better.
Phone Numbers of People to Call:
MOST IMPORTANT: Jonathan Fielding: Head of County Health,
jfielding@ladhs.org, jfieldin@ucla.edu; Phone: County Health: Direct Line-(213) 240-8117; UCLA: (310) 206-1141
Joe Ramirez, (626) 430-5468—In Charge of Cat Killing
Ramirez’s Boss: Gail Vangordon: gvangordon@ladhs.org
Phone (626) 430-5450. She considers scientific evidence from outsiders laughable.
The actual rounding up and killing would be done by County Animal Services, headed by Marcia Mayeda.
IMPORTANT: Marcia Mayeda: Phone (562) 728-4882; She does the killing. mmayeda@animalcare.lacounty.gov
MOST IMPORTANT: The Supervisors: These are the decision makers:
Gloria Molina: Phone (213) 974-4111
Zev Yaroslavsky: Phone (213) 974-3333
Michael Antonovich: Phone: (213) 974-5555
Mark Ridley-Thomas: Phone (213) 974-2222
Don Knabe: Phone: 213-974-4444
4 comments:
Anonymous said...
I’VE DEALT WITH RAMIREZ BEFORE AS WELL. THE MAN IS NUTS AND WE MUST WORK TO GET HIM FIRED ALONG WITH HIS “WHEN IN DOUBT KILL” ATTITUDE. NEED MORE INFO IN WHICH TO PLAN A DEMO;
11 September, 2009
Anonymous said...
I have personally dealt with Joe Ramirez many times. Although I was not present at this conversation that is below, I know this is Joe's MO. He says all kinds of things that are NOT proven and he believes because he works for the county, he can say it with impunity. He has been refuted many times by medical doctors and he still takes the same stance. His belief is that IF there is perhaps a chance that something might happen one day, we should kill all wildlife and cats NOW. He does not listen to facts. He is unreasonable and I wonder about his credentials and education. He lies and says that TNR does not work when we all know it does and there is science behind it. He said that cats are a threat to national security? national security? Kittens and Osama Bin Laden. I never thought of it that way.
Sincerely,
Christi Metropole
Executive Director
Stray Cat Alliance
11 September, 2009
Ed said...
It's not just Joe. Joe's boss, Gail Vangordon is his boss and backs him. They did not make this decision without the go ahead of Dr. Fielding. Fielding backed them when they were killing squirrles in Santa Monica.
I am trying to get Alley Cat Allies involved and PETA. This may require heavy guns. PETA probably will not do anything anyway because of their attitude towards ferals, and PETA opposed County on the squirrles, but didn't slow the County at all.
Only Fielding or the Supervisors can stop this.
11 September, 2009
Anonymous said...
I will check with Cyndi Zacko to see what she has heard over at the Carson shelter.
My experience with Joe Ramirez throughout the entire Rancho ordeal is that he is a wild card who exhibits overt paranoid ideations about cats. He preaches his subversive ideology to the Knabe choir who frankly idolize him, and will act on his recommendations based on their own ignorance and fear.
I would urge that this new information be taken quite seriously for now until at least some aspects of it can be confirmed.
By the way, the enormously huge public outcry from the feral rescue community, both local and national, had little if any effect on the opinions of Mr Ramirez about the feral cats at Rancho, nor the Puluc Health employees that worked on the Rancho campus.
--Pat Meredith, MD, PhD
12 September, 2009
Anonymous said...
PETA will wholeheartedly support the plan to kill ferals. They may even offer to help trap and euthanize them.
You lunatics are are just plan pathetic. I have witnessed cats dropping feces and urinating in the same playground where my kids have been playing. This is an extreme health issue for the public. For you lunatics to sit there and dismiss the health issues is insane. Your obsession with your own pet cats has blinded you from reality and further driven your obsession to cats that are not your own and were either abandoned or born on the streets or "the wild" as it is referred to. If you love these animals so much you should all purchase a sanctuary for these feral cats. I have witnessed the local cat ladies drive up and feed these feral cats, these people are the ones that should be responsible for the animals. If you take the initiative to get out of your house and purchase food for these feral animals then you should aadopt them and feed them at your own home, this way you can pick up the shit that they leave as a result from you feeding them. If you have the time and money to form groups/ organizations that protect them and feed them, then you should have the necessary resources to build/ purchase an animal sanctuary or shelter for these animals. I have personally called the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to make these complaints against you lunatics. I will continue to do so everytime I see a cat lady feeding these feral cats (wild animals) in or around the public parks and playgrounds where our children play. I have alson been advised by local authoraties that is unlawful to feed wild animals and doing so can result in a receiving a ticket. So going further I will also call the police every time I see an individual feeding these wild animals in or around the parks/ playgrounds where our children play.
I love animals. But you've put the lives of Feral/Stray cats OVER those of humans. The health of REAL LIVE human beings are at risk.
Why does this sound personal? BECAUSE IT IS. I contracted Typhus as a result of the inactions of agencies to put a stop to the stray cats being harbored in our neighborhood.
I suggest that your perspective might change when YOU (or loved one) are laying in a hospital bed suffering from 10 days of 105 degree fever and having every test performed and having the doctors all scratching their heads with NO clue to what's going on. Myself, and my family, were preparing for the worst.
All this, because these disease-infested animals weren't caught, treated, and...if necessary...euthanized? Ridiculous!!
Human and Public HEALTH over animals. That's the correct priority!
You don't appear to be real enough or alive enough to identify yourself. You just made this up.
It depends on what type of Typhus you had, whether Scrub, Murine, or Epidemic.
"The human body louse, Pediculus humanus humanus, is the primary vector which transmits the bacterial agents
of epidemic typhus."
Murine Typhus is the rat flea, Scrub is from ticks.
Feral cats are not considered nearly as important a vector as rats, lice, opossums, bats and squirrels.
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