« Keeping quality shows on air a job for us all | Main | 'West Wing' Re-Elected; 'Watch' Cloudy »
March 16, 2005
WEST WING STAR SENDS PLEA TO INTERIOR SECRETARY FOLLOWING DEATHS OF DOGS TRAPPED AT BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK
PETA Media Center
http://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp?id=6034
On behalf of PETA, Actor Martin Sheen has fired off a letter to Gale Norton, secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, imploring her to immediately ban the use of snares and steel-jaw traps in our national parks. Sheen, who won a Golden Globe Award for his role as U.S. President Josiah Bartlet in the acclaimed NBC TV series The West Wing, was prompted to send the letter after learning that several dogs—who had most likely been abandoned there—were left to suffer for more than two days in steel-jaw traps set by National Park Service employees at Badlands National Park in Scenic, S.D.
"The pain and agony that these animals must have endured is unthinkable," writes Sheen. "No animal deserves to suffer what these dogs did: dehydration, near-starvation, bone-deep injuries, and sheer terror—one dog chewed her own foot down to the bone in a frantic effort to escape."
Sheen goes on to request that Norton adopt more humane methods to deal with dogs, cats, and other "nuisance" animals in national parks around the country that are currently using these traps to capture and kill domestic animals and wildlife.
All but one of the dogs found at Badlands National Park had to be put out of their misery. They suffered from swollen, bloody paws, their teeth had been worn down in the struggle to free themselves, and two dogs suffered from gangrenous skin and exposed bones. The surviving dog’s injuries were so severe that her leg had to be amputated.
For more information, please visit PETA’s Web site HelpingWildlife.com.
Martin Sheen’s letter to Interior Secretary Gale Norton follows.
March 3, 2005
The Honorable Gale Norton
Secretary of the Interior
Department of the Interior
1849 C St. N.W. Washington, DC 20240
Dear Madam Secretary:
I was shocked and saddened to hear from my friends at PETA that our national parks are routinely using leghold traps to capture both domestic and wild animals. I understand that information and photographs have recently been made public of dogs who have been maimed by these traps at Badlands National Park. With one exception, all of these dogs were so severely injured that they had to be put out of their misery.
The pain and agony that these animals must have endured is unthinkable. I can’t understand how our nation can condone the use of these cruel traps, especially in our national parks. No animal deserves to suffer what these dogs did: dehydration, near starvation, bone-deep injuries, and sheer terror—one dog chewed her own foot down to the bone in a frantic effort to escape.
While I understand that there is an obligation to protect native species from some predators, there are alternatives to these barbaric devices. Please put an end to the use of these hideous traps in our national parks and implement humane capture and treatment of animals who are left there by irresponsible individuals. PETA stands ready to help.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Martin Sheen
Posted by Jo at March 16, 2005 09:12 AM