Hello, my name is Siraj Gandhi. I am a 15-year-old of Monroe Township currently working to improve the lives of the Thompson Park animals. The enclosures are referred to as "animal havens," yet the park's blue and white peacocks, emu, chickens, and other exotic species are not living such lives of peace and comfortability. I wrote to the director of Middlesex County Parks and Recreation (Rick Lear) two years ago- along with a signed petition with 55 signatures- but I have not received a response nor seen any positive changes made to the enclosures. It is devastating to see that the enclosures have actually been made smaller since May of 2019. Here is what I propose:

• Expand the peacock enclosures to allow proper room for them to spread their feathers.
• Improve the flooring of the peacock enclosures from a run-down wooden covering to a real/fake grass flooring with small sticks. This will mimic their natural habitat and also provide them with small insects that compose of their diet in the wild.
• Expand the emu enclosure. Emu sanctuaries recommend a 20 by 100 feet enclosure to give it room to run.
• Free the caged chickens, ring necked pheasants, and turkeys into the free-roaming, fenced area or expand their enclosures to allow for adequate room for physical activity. Build small coops for them as shelter.

Many, along with myself, have seen the renovated pickleball and basketball courts in the park, yet no meaningful improvements to the "animal haven." Let us- the residents of Monroe Township, Middlesex County, and anyone who wants to help these animals- give these friends a chance at a more humane and comfortable way of life, so that we can have a true animal haven in our local community. We must remember that these animals are non-native to New Jersey and require special environmental settings to resemble their lives in the wild. I call upon Rick Lear and the Middlesex County Department of Parks and Recreation to accept it as their moral and civic responsibility to protect these animals before many more years of suffering and injustice go by. If not, the animals do not deserve Middlesex County as their home.

These animals cannot talk for themselves. Every signature speaks volumes!