by: Elizabeth White

Posted: Nov 14, 2024 / 12:45 PM EST

Updated: Nov 15, 2024 / 06:11 PM EST

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AUBURN, Ala. (WRBL) – Plans to remove a tree housing a massive nest built by two American Bald Eagles, recently named “Jim and Pam,” have devastated Auburn residents who have observed the pair and their young since 2017 in the area of North College Street near The Auburn University E.W. Shell Fisheries Center. 

“We received a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on October 30 to remove the tree and nest,” said Tyler Findley, a representative from Hughston Homes. “We have until the end of November to proceed with minimal disturbance. They’re majestic creatures, and we tried to adjust the site plan, but unfortunately, the nest has to be removed.”

Hughston Homes, the developer, is clearing the land immediately for a 46-home subdivision on the 75-acre site they purchased in March 2024 for $760,000. Findley did not confirm the date the tree and nest will be cut down.

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Jason Haynie, a resident and member of the Tivoli HOA, said the eagles are still living in the nest. He’s heard them chittering and whistling all this week. He shared photographs he’s taken of the pair, becoming emotional at the thought of losing. When WRBL asked Haynie what the eagles should be named, he suggested “Jim and Pam” after The Office.

“They’ve been here since at least 2017 when we moved in. They have a 15-by-15-foot nest that they continue adding to. They fly across North College Street to Auburn University’s fisheries to hunt. They’re smart and beautiful, and they deserve to be protected,” said Haynie.

The Auburn University E.W. Shell Fisheries Center’s mentions the eagles on its official website, “The Center provides a habitat for wildlife, including Bald Eagles, wading birds, reptiles and amphibians.”

Bald eagle pairs, like Auburn’s Jim and Pam, are known for their lifelong bonds and often return to the same nest every season. The nests, which they expand each year, are essential to their survival and are typically built in tall trees near water. A single nest can weigh hundreds of pounds and serve as the family’s territorial anchor.

Haynie says the wetlands are home to not only the eagles and their young but  herons and other wildlife.

WRBL was unable to view the nest, you can’t see it from a public road. A representative for Hughston Homes was unable to meet to take us into their property. WRBL is reaching out U.S. Fish and Wildlife on the decision to issue the permit to destroy the nest.

“We don’t want people to be upset—we want to be good neighbors. We care about wildlife and nature. We didn’t know about the nest when we purchased the property, or we wouldn’t have bought the land,” Findley added.

Haynie and other concerned neighbors say they’ll continue sharing the eagles’ story and contacting local, state, and national representatives and organizations in hopes of saving the nest. Residents hope a compromise can allow development while preserving the eagles’ nest and protecting the remaining wetland habitat.

However, they worry it may be too late for Jim and Pam. WRBL will continue to monitor the situation. 

Once critically endangered, the bald eagle population declined sharply due to hunting, habitat loss, and pesticides like DDT. Listed as endangered in 1967, bald eagles have since made a comeback due to conservation efforts. Though they were removed from the endangered species list in 2007, they remain federally protected.

Paul Shapiro

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By Paul Shapiro

Donald Trump’s broad electoral triumph will alter the path of history in many ways: immigration rules, trade, foreign policy, fossil fuels, abortion, and more. But one area that’s drawn less attention — though not none — is how might a second Trump term affect the lives of animals.

Animal protection played a nearly non-existent role in the 2024 presidential race. Aside from memorable catch phrases like “childless cat ladies” and “they’re eating the pets,” neither candidate talked much about what policies they’d espouse to address animal protection. (Kristi Noem’s dog shooting and the killing of Pnut the squirrel did admittedly briefly enter the election zeitgeist.)

It’s hard to predict how Trump 47 may differ from Trump 45, but we can look back on the first term to see how animals fared.

Trump 45: The Good

The first Trump administration supported some animal protection measures, including:

• Putting the EPA on a course to move away from animal testing.
• Signing the PACT Act, which made certain kinds of animal cruelty a federal crime and built a national anti-cruelty law for the first time.
• Signing an omnibus bill that contained the Horse Racing Integrity Act.
• Signing a farm bill containing a provision to ban dog and cat meat; the Pets and Women Safety (PAWs) Act to prevent victims of domestic violence from losing their pets to abusers, and the Parity in Animal Cruelty Enforcement (PACE) Act that banned cockfighting in the U.S. Territories, including Puerto Rico and Guam.

Trump 45: The Bad

On the other hand, the first Trump administration, mainly in the form of the political team assembled at the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior, was often hostile to animal welfare. For example, it:

• Withdrew rules protecting horses from soring, a move an appeals court rejected.
• Scuttled a rule strengthening farm animal welfare in the organic program.
• Promulgated a rule allowing pig slaughterhouses to increase line speed, which was later rejected by a court.
• Nixed an order from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to phase out the use of lead ammunition on national wildlife refuges (which is known to poison and kill more than 120 wildlife species, including bald and golden eagles).
• Took offline federal animal abuse violations.
• Pursued a methodical expansion of hunting and fishing on public lands, including wildlife refuges.
• Removed protections for gray wolves.
• Weakened the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
• Lifted a ban on importing elephant “trophies” by American safari hunters.
• Unwound a rule to end inhumane means of killing wolves, grizzly bears, and other predators on 74 million acres of national wildlife refuges in Alaska.
• Threw out rules to protect whales.
• Worked to open Alaska’s wildlife refuge to oil drilling.
• Relaxed rules on logging old growth forests, which a court deemed illegal.

Trump 47: All in the Appointees

Trump has at times personally professed support for animal protection, including calling trophy hunting a “horror show.” In 2021 he spoke at a dog rescue fundraiser. As president, he had a signing ceremony for the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act. Clearly, many of the above-mentioned setbacks for animal welfare were driven by agency appointees and perhaps never rose to the level of the president’s attention. Since personnel is policy, who Trump appoints in a second cabinet or as an adviser could have far-reaching effects on a variety of key issues affecting animal welfare. For example:

• Vivek Ramaswamy recently tweeted about how animal cruelty is becoming an increasingly important issue for conservatives.
• Lara Trump is passionate about animal welfare.
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has for decades decried the factory farming of animals, including discussing it during his presidential campaign.
• Tulsi Gabbard has been outspoken against factory farming.

Perhaps most pressing is how the incoming administration will address the EATS Act, a bill to nullify critical state animal welfare laws and more. Already many Republican members of Congress have expressed opposition to the bill as a giveway to China and an assault on states’ rights. Will Trump agree with them?

Trump can also take aim at a far-fetched plan to kill 450,000 barred owls in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, reversing a Biden initiative to open 16 National Park Service units to the hunting of range-expanding barred owls native to North America and long protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Making Animals Great Again

Many Republican presidents have taken strides to protect animals. President Grant signed the 28-Hour Law in 1873 to protect farmed animals during transport. President Eisenhower signed the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act into law in 1958, which was expanded twenty years later thanks to Sen. Bob Dole’s advocacy. President Nixon created the EPA in 1970 and signed into law landmark animal protection statutes including the Airborne Hunting Act of 1971, the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, and the Endangered Species Act of 1973. George W. Bush signed into law a wide range of national animal welfare policies, including making animal fighting a federal felony in 2007.

It’s not so clear where Trump himself stands on many of the key issues facing animals at the federal level today. It would be surprising for him not to support the FIGHT Act to crack down further on animal fighting and not to advocate for an end to live exports of horses for slaughter. An FDA under his control may be more likely to be more robust in implementing the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 and to drive forward the transition away from animal testing. As well, Project 2025 includes a plan to repeal crop subsidies (relevant to animal ag), which raises questions about how Trump 47 will address this issue. During his first term, payments to farmers ballooned to historic highs, earning rebuke from the conservative Cato Institute.

How Trump’s appointees will view animal welfare is an open question. Perhaps most pressingly, his appointees at Agriculture and Interior will have in their hands immensely important decisions that will affect the lives of animals.

by KOMO News StaffThu, November 14th 2024 at 6:40 PM

Updated Fri, November 15th 2024 at 9:48 AM

An image of a red-breasted goose at the Woodland Park Zoo, which is located in Seattle, Washington. (Courtesy: The Woodland Park Zoo)

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SEATTLE — A red-breasted goose at the Woodland Park Zoo has died from the first suspected case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), commonly referred to as the bird flu, the zoo announced Thursday.

The WPZ said the goose passed away earlier this week, and the zoo received preliminary positive HPAI test results on Nov. 14.

“Health and safety precautions had already been enacted at the zoo in response to increased HPAI cases being reported across the state and region,” wrote the WPZ in a media release. “For the wellbeing of our animals, staff, and guests, additional and increased measures will be implemented immediately.”

About HPAI

The WPZ said HPAI is a viral infection that is carried by wild birds, especially mallards, and other waterfowl, and is spread primarily through respiratory secretions and bird-to-bird contact.

“In addition to posing a threat to birds, HPAI can also pose a lesser risk to mammals,” wrote the Woodland Park Zoo in a media release. “Risk to humans is low, but direct exposure to infected birds can increase this risk, so protective personal equipment (PPE) is recommended.”

The WPZ also noted that a recent uptick in suspected or documented HPAI infections in both domestic and wild birds has recently been reported in western Washington.

The WPZ said they’ve proactively implemented several precautions to protect the animals and their caregivers, including draining pools in open-topped bird exhibits to decrease the presence of wild waterfowl; moving free-roaming peacocks inside; and increasing staff protective measures including masks, gloves, and shoe/foot baths around bird species.

ALSO SEE: 4 agricultural workers test ‘presumptively positive’ for avian flu, first cases in WA

The WPZ said it received an initial positive PCR test for HPAI on Thursday from the aforementioned red-breasted goose. Pending confirmatory testing, this would mark the first HPAI case at the WPZ.

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The zoo said the following health and safety measures will be enacted effective immediately:

• Access to birds will be strictly limited to their care providers, including designated animal keepers and veterinary staff. All volunteer activities, private tours, and special experiences are canceled.
• All open-air walk-through aviaries will be closed. This includes Savanna Aviary, Temperate Wetlands (marsh), and Conservation Aviary. The Tropical Rainforest will remain open at this time.
• Penguin feeding experiences are canceled. During the last HPAI threat in 2022, penguins were temporarily moved indoors, but as that indoor move was associated with an increase in medical problems, they will remain outdoors.
• Ambassador animal birds will not participate in public programming or guest experiences.
• For the safety of our staff, those who have critical care roles with birds will continue to wear increased PPE.

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Updated: 11:26 PM EST Nov 14, 2024Infinite Scroll Enabled

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HORRY COUNTY, S.C. —

First, monkeys escape a research facility; now, emus are on the run in South Carolina.

On Wednesday, Horry County officials announced that two emus escaped from their owner after social media posts started circulating.

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Wednesday’s announcement comes a week after 43 monkeys escaped a research facility in Beaufort County, South Carolina.

The Horry County Police Department said officers are aware of the reported emus and they have made contact with the owner. Officers are working to help the owner recapture the animals.

The emus are roaming freely in the Green Sea area of Horry County, officers said.

Officials stated the animals pose no risk to the community at this time.

No additional information has been released.