ANIMAL PEOPLE is the leading independent newspaper providing original investigative coverage of animal protection worldwide. Founded in 1992, ANIMAL PEOPLE has no alignment or affiliation with any other entity.

 

This site built and maintained by: GREANVILLE ASSOCIATESand CRESCENT COMMUNICATIONS •Rev. 12.1.05 Copyright ANIMAL PEOPLE, INC. 1992--2006

 

 

 

 

 
   

 
powered by FreeFind

ESSENTIAL DESTINATIONS

MONTH: November 2006

Wildlife is taking over deserted New Orleans

 

New Orleans--Louisiana SPCA executive director Laura Maloney and Audubon Zoo staff warned in repeated media statements, beginning on January 23, 2006, that food left by dog and cat rescuers in communities hit by Hurricane Katrina could help cause an urban wildlife crisis. And it did.

"In 20 years of trapping animals here, I've never seen anything like it," nuisance wildlife trapper Greg duTreil told Associated Press in mid-October 2006.

Alligators, armadillos, coyotes, foxes, nutria, rabbits, raccoons, and especially rats are reportedly abundant as never before in the Riverbend and Uptown districts of New Orleans, still deserted more than a year after the early September 2005 flooding.

"They have more to eat than before the storm. Just look at the garbage, the stuff lying around, the empty buildings. This is a rat's paradise," Audubon Pest Control owner Erick Kinchke confirmed.
The Humane Society of the U.S. responded to the Associated Press coverage by recommending removal of food sources from locations where wild animals are problematic.