Archive for September, 2009

I had closed my Optical Store and started working for an optical management company, which sent me to Towson Maryland for 6 weeks to open a new store location. 

I was home only on Sundays and had absolutely no contact with Jay Beale.  I had volunteers check the birds and continue the work while I was away.  Volunteers were suspicious that Jay was not caring for the birds as he agreed.  The water was old and food was low.  Volunteers had to keep up and continually replace water and food.  Booby traps such as raking or string were draped over doors and feeding bins to see if it had been disturbed by Jay. 

The fact was Jay was only doing his promised job every 2-3 days.  When I finished from Towson I contacted Jay from my cell phone on the way to the bird property.  I told him the findings and I was on my way to pick up the key and any supplies he had and to leave them on the front step of the house.  ETA was 10 minutes.  I had done this quickly so that the key could not be duplicated and have any possibility of intentionally injuring any birds.  I suspected him not of just being irresponsible but having a bad temper as I had witnessed him screaming at his outside dogs on the property constantly.  This is why I had volunteers double check the caging area while I was away.

Other problems developed such as Jay continually turning off the water to the caging area.  It was an ongoing battle.  I constantly had to go to the house’s outside faucet and turn it back on until one day he turned it off from inside the house.  I phoned the landlord and he had Jay turn it on again.  Jay’s excuse was that it was cold outside, and the water could freeze.  It was 75 degrees outside, no need to turn off the water due to cold.

I continued not having contact with Jay, and only noticed his vehicle at the house so I would know when he was home to avoid him.  Later on I learned Jay had been helping Beacon Animal Rescue care for some animals.  Once in particular was a cat.  Jay deliberately avoiding allowing one of the girls from the rescue to collect this cat.  He would leave the house when she was to come get the cat, and leave doors locked when he said he would leave them open for her to retrieve the cat.  I later learned that he starved the cat to death by locking it in a room and not giving it food and water.  SPCA brought him up on animal cruelty charges as he admitted to the SPCA that he starved it, and that he called NJ State Fish & Game on myself and the landlord about the birds.

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Continuing on ….

I started this project to build the caging area in 2001.  I still had my State permit to rehabilitate wild birds.  The construction lead into the following year on which I had a Federal Permit that the State of NJ signed off on which was food thru 12/31/02.  The permit was to rehabilitate wild injured birds.

The State of NJ would not renew the State permit which expired 12/31/01.  Their excuse was I never trained under their program to receive it, and then the excuses changed as time went on.  The person which denied my State Permit was Steve Toth.  (Head Biologist).  Steve had 2 exterminating companies in North Jersey.  He would provide a service in which towns phone him and ask him to exterminate geese, deer, etc.  pretty much anything.  Since he was one of the heads in NJ Fish & Game he could approve the destruction of the animals.  He would send one of his companies out to do the job.  It cost the towns thousands of dollars.  If the town insisted on another company for the job, Steve’s company was to receive a percentage as a “finder’s fee”. 

One of the jobs called for the destruction of about 30 Canadian Geese.  The animal rehabilitators up north heard of the problem and went to the area where the geese were captured and moved them to a new location.  Their hard efforts paid off.  Steve lost over $10,000.00 on that job, since there were no more geese to kill on that contract.  He never did like animal rehabilitators.  Since that time he has been investigated by the SCI (NJ State Commission of Investigation).  He switched the ownership of the companies to his wife’s name.  He was never charged with anything but interestingly enough he was forced to retire, and is now collecting his complete pension.

It took approximately 6 months to build the caging area after work weekends and evenings.  It cost approximately $4,000.00.  The renter of the house in front of the 9 acre property wanted to help with the birds because part of what was offered to him by the landlord was reduced rent for his efforts in helping care for the birds.  Half the caging was used for pigeons, the other half was used for any birds which needed to be transferred to a rehabilitation facility.

The law states any good Samaritan has “a reasonable amount of time to get the birds out of their possession.”  Birds came in from all over and were constantly moved in and out.  Calls from local Law Enforcement, Veterinarians, Animal Control, the public, etc. kept me very busy.  The caging was completed Easter Sunday of 2002.  Work was very demanding and took too much of my time.  So at this time, although my Federal Permit was in effect, I chose to transfer injured wild birds to other rehabilitation facilities; there was one in Newark Delaware, and Raptor Trust in Millington NJ.

I’ll continue on with the story shortly so check back in a few days!

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Are you interested in helping to save wildlife?

Are you interested in learning more about it?

Then plan on attending the Saving Widlife Seminar on Septemeber 16th in Red Bank, NJ!

To register for the event please email: janet.mcconnell@rbvh.net

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My neighbor next door heard I was taking care of injured birds and didn’t like it, so he constantly phoned, e-mailed, wrote the State of NJ, and the township of Egg Harbor Township complaining about it. If driving by my house, you would never suspect I took care of injured birds, my house looking like everyone else’s. The State of NJ immediately started searching my home. My home was searched 6 times during the year I was permitted.

The conservation officers would come into my home, search my entire home including my bedroom and personal items. They told me if I did not cooperate they would pull my permit. It seemed like extortion to me, and I had no choice. When I suggested they were only allowed to look at the room with the birds in it, Mike Massey the conversation officer which lead the investigations told me I had to let them look wherever they wanted. He said they were above the law and could do whatever they wanted. I told them that I spoke to my lawyer and that the lawyer said that my personal items were off limits and required a search warrant. He disagreed and continued to search through my personal items.

Each time NJ Fish & Game came to my home they told me I was required to change something. They told me to make changes that had nothing to do with rehabilitating birds, but I did them anyway to keep my permit. I soon came to understand that the state had absolutely no knowledge of rehabilitating wildlife. They claimed to be biologists, and conservationists, but no one person I spoke to had any experience on rehabilitating. For them to claim they are biologists only means they have knowledge of bacteria, or other organisms, or maybe trees, or animal types. What does any of that have to do with rehabilitation?

The 6th time my house was searched I was sick of it. Not only did I have the State Fish & Game to contend with, but the neighbor had the police continually at my house for complaints of noise, or anything that came to mind. Police officers brought noise meters to my home, and could find no violation. The Health Department was called and could find no violation, the SPCA was called to investigate and could find no violation.

The Egg Harbor Township Deputy Administrator Dale E. Goodreau would leave nasty notes on my front door and threatening messages on my answering machine. My neighbor on the other side told me this Dale asked permission to go on her property and look over stockade fence into my back yard (my yard is not clearly visible by looking over the gate). She told me that there was nothing in my yard, even my ducks were lying under the bushes unseen. Mr. Goodreau’s messages said that there were hundreds of birds from all over the state attracted to my yard. He said I’m responsible for all hawk attacks of birds in other people’s yards, and responsible for them passing through the State of NJ. I had better contact him or there would be severe penalties to face. I didn’t call.

At this point I couldn’t see the importance of his position in relation with my rehabilitation of birds, and I still don’t see it today. I only see an unreasonable, threatening, individuals. All I wanted to do was help God’s creatures which couldn’t help themselves. I was a volunteer, I didn’t get paid for this, and it was my own time and money with very little donation money to help. But I found every donation precious, and respected each individual who helped me give back to the earth and help make it better for all of us. There are still many good people on this earth which try to do their part. During this time frame a friend let me build a caging area on their 9 acre property in the middle of the woods in Egg Harbor Township. I hoped this would stop all of the harassment.

Watch for the next installment of our story …

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Approximately 10 years ago I was on my way to a wedding and found an injured pigeon on the road.  I took the pigeon to the wedding with me, and kept it in the car.  During the reception I would go to the car to give it water until I could get home and find it help.  When home, I was on the phone for hours calling lead after lead.  There was no one knowledgeable to take care of injured wild birds anywhere in the area.  I lived in Atlantic County, and at this time the Avian Rehab in South Seaville had been closed for a few years.  Somehow I was able to track a woman named Tonya which used to run the rehab in Seaville.  She had experience taking care of injured birds for over 20 years.  Tonya agreed to take the bird.  The next day on my way to her house the radiator in my car broke, so I had to turn around and go home.  Unable to bring her the bird my husband brought us to a veterinarian after he was done work.  “Tweety” was treated with antibiotics, and was on his way to recovery.

Tweety would stand on a chair in the kitchen and allow me to give him his medicine every day until it was finished.  He was very smart.  Tweety had freedom of the house.  He would stay on my screened in porch all day, and in the evening I would open the door and tell him it was sleepy time.  Tweety would then fly through the house maneuvering himself sideways to fly through door ways to finally find his way into the bedroom.  There he would sleep on a clothes basket.  I set it up for him with his food and water in it.  (It was Tonya’s suggestion).  Tweety would sleep all night, but at 5:30am his routine called for him to go into the living room and sit in front of the glass door for about an hour before he went on the porch.  If I was not awake to let him out of the room he would fly up and land on my husband’s chest while he was sleeping and stare at him.  My husband would then wake me and tell me my bird wanted to get up, and I would let him out of the room.  Tweety stayed for about a year, and one spring day decided to fly off.  I never saw him again.  What a wonderful bird.  Later the neighborhood children brought me an orphaned Blue Jay, and I phoned Tonya.  She gave me specific instructions on how to raise the bird.  I followed the instructions to the T and raised the bird until it left on his own when he was ready.  It was extremely successful and rewarding.  I had named the bird Baby Blue.

Word of mouth had spread that I took care of injured birds.  I received birds from as far south as Cape May and north to Mystic Island.  I would get calls all times of the day and evening.  I started a non-profit organization called the St. Francis Avian Rehabilitation Center.   I was raised a Catholic and thought the name appropriate.  I learned that I need a State and Federal license to care for injured regulated birds, so I applied to the State of NJ to get my certification.  I had to undergo almost a complete year of training in Tabernacle NJ.  It took me an hour and 20 minutes to get there on my only day off from my full time job to do their required training.  The woman there was more raccoon oriented, and was hardly knowledgeable on birds.  I had more knowledge from hands on with Tonya.
Tonya helped me to identify the birds coming in, and she showed me how to identify broken wings, and wrap them.  I learned to care for and treat broken legs, spinal injuries, illness, head trauma, internal bleeding etc.  Since I was a NJ Licensed Optician, and had my own Optical Store, I worked with an Ophthalmologist which treated all eye injuries.  I can say that treating eye injuries is my forte.

I completed the state’s training program for the required time, and I received my certificate of completion.  My Federal and State permits were issued once all the ordinances for the area in which I lived had been checked.

Stay tuned for my next post and I’ll continue the story!

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