Town of Taos, New Mexico: Stop the July 4th Torture of Shelter Animals - Move the Fireworks!

Town of Taos, New Mexico: Stop the July 4th Torture of Shelter Animals - Move the Fireworks!

The Issue

Stray Hearts Animal Shelter is located within a few blocks from the venue used by the Town of Taos for the yearly Fourth of July fireworks display. The explosions surround the main building, and the outside 'pods' housing dogs and cats who have already experienced severe trauma in their lifetimes. From inside the pods, especially, you feel like you are in a war zone. And for the animals, it is, literally. One dog broke his own leg in a desperate attempt flee. For the animals, staff and volunteers, it is a night in hell. It is time to end this unnecessary suffering by moving the fireworks to a location that would not affect the shelter animals, who have no choice.

http://www.taosnews.com/news/article_aca445aa-cd27-11e1-8f52-001a4bcf887a.html

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Yamuna DeviPetition Starter
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This petition had 1,388 supporters

The Issue

Stray Hearts Animal Shelter is located within a few blocks from the venue used by the Town of Taos for the yearly Fourth of July fireworks display. The explosions surround the main building, and the outside 'pods' housing dogs and cats who have already experienced severe trauma in their lifetimes. From inside the pods, especially, you feel like you are in a war zone. And for the animals, it is, literally. One dog broke his own leg in a desperate attempt flee. For the animals, staff and volunteers, it is a night in hell. It is time to end this unnecessary suffering by moving the fireworks to a location that would not affect the shelter animals, who have no choice.

http://www.taosnews.com/news/article_aca445aa-cd27-11e1-8f52-001a4bcf887a.html

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Yamuna DeviPetition Starter
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The Decision Makers

Andrew T. Gonzales
Andrew T. Gonzales
Council Member
Responded
“Yamuna, What you are doing is greatly appreciated! I as one elected official value the input of my constituency. If it is possible it may be beneficial to have those that are signing the petition be separated into two areas 1. Individuals that live within Taos city limits or at the very least Taos County. 2. The individuals that live outside. When considering issues we look to the validity of the claim, and how it impacts the individuals that reside within the community. When hearing from individuals that live far beyond the impacted limits, while they're intentions are good and every bit warranted, having them separated would only help gauge the true impact of our decisions. I am well aware that this issue is one of much larger scale than beyond just the boundaries of Taos, however there may be individuals that do not know the demographics nor the closeness of this community, and how close we live amongst each other regardless of location of site. I have always believed there is power in numbers, so a true depiction from those individuals that reside within the community vs those that do not is well appreciated. As of right now 1:30PM on 5/7/13 I have counted 66 signatures total. 42 from outside the state, 10 from what appears to be the county (Arroyo Seco, El Prado etc) and 14 generalized as Taos, so I assume those are city? As you can see where I am going with this, it may be more beneficial to get a hard count of people from within the community. I have two pups of my own, I live in the Weimer area and it effects them as well nearly 1.5mi from the area so I definitely hear and feel the concerns. On the other hand I acknowledge and it concerns me greatly that we have EXTREMELY dry weather conditions, and we use the display as a way to promote the celebration of the holiday in the safest way possible for the entire community to enjoy at the same time discouraging individuals from purchasing fireworks on their own and creating even bigger problems in our already dry forests, and residential areas populated with animals both domestic and non domesticated. As you may or may not be aware, the state legislature passed and gave ultimate discretion to municipalities to ban the "sales" of fireworks within the municipality when extreme fire danger exists, now this ONLY applies to areas within the municipality. To this point I have heard a pretty descent amount of claims at this point from both sides of the issue. So I ask that you please separate the signatures so that we have a clear straight to the point way of addressing my fellow councilors and constituents with ACTUAL and FACTUAL resident data. I would also ask and highly encourage you speak with the Stray Hearts organization as both the City and Town Fire Department over the course of the year have been actively engaged in talks with regards to suitable alternative locations if any. Again, I Thank you for the work you have done to this point as I HIGHLY value this type of input. Please do not hesitate to contact me or the Town Manager at 575-751-2000 should you have any questions. I will forward this response to my City Manager to distribute to my fellow councilors as well. With best regards I am Sincerely, Andrew T. Gonzales Town of Taos City Councilor”
Jim Fambro
Jim Fambro
Volunteer Fire Chief
Kenneth Koch
Kenneth Koch
Chief of Police
Frederick A. Peralta
Frederick A. Peralta
Council Member
Rudy Abeyta
Rudy Abeyta
Council Member

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Petition created on May 7, 2013