Friday, May 21, 2010

Pete the Moose


Alas, Facebook has done it again. Not only did it help get Betty White on SNL, it has most recently played a major part in saving the life of Pete, a moose from Vermont.

In case you haven't heard of the story, Pete was found by a guy named David Lawrence when he was only a few days old. Pete's Mother and sibling were attacked by dogs, so David took Pete in and nursed him back to health. Pete has been living on a game preserve owned by Doug Nelson. Unfortunately the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife did not want Pete mixing with farm raised elk because diseases could be spread between the animals... so their solution- have Pete removed, in other words have him killed. Brilliant, especially since none of the animals were carrying any diseases. Luckily for Pete, people on Facebook signed a petition and it changed the minds of Vermont lawmakers. They designated Pete as a "special purpose herd," which means he can no longer be overseen by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Thank you lawmakers for actually listening to the people.

"The quicker we humans learn that saving open space and wildlife is critical to our welfare and quality of life, maybe we'll start thinking of doing something about it." -Jim Fowler

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