I finished a book on tape called the Happiness Advantage

I was so enthralled with it that I bought a dozen copies for our staff, and need to buy more, as it turned out not to be enough for all who were interested in it.

Part of the exercise is to write down three things that I’m grateful for each day. I do it mentally, because I’m so busy, but I’m going to try and make a habit of daily posts here for things that I am grateful for.

I am grateful to Nest.com for creating Internet based camera feeds. We have used them for a couple of years, back when they were called DropCam.com for keeping an eye on our cats in the recovery hospital, etc. Last night I put one on The Great Pretender, a 24 year old bobcat who had to have 8 rotten molars removed. I was able to go home, eat dinner and watch him on my iPhone 6 + which has a huge screen. Pulling up the camera on my computer will be the very next thing I do.

The company is donating a bunch of cameras. They think we are interesting and want to use us as an example of ways to use their products.

I am grateful for mapping technology. I’m trying to install a 3000 square foot 48 x 72 modular building adjacent to our current gift shop to expand the shopping space. I will be able to save tens of thousands of dollars, thanks to google maps, Kinko’s Printers and my ability to draw and measure a straight line. Before, I’d have to hire a surveyor to meet the county’s demands.

I am grateful for being surrounded by the best and brightest. I’ve said this before, in my head and in Facebook posts, but it’s such an over arching part of what makes me happy. Of our 14 staff, 80 volunteers and 26 interns, only two of them give me any real pause, and yesterday both of them brought something good into my life by sharing their experiences about health and the benefits of a healthy vegan diet. One is a new vegan and the healthiest she’s ever been and the other is about the most unhealthy meat eater, who thinks she’s dying.

Here is the good news, I guess, from today. We petitioned USDA in 2012 to stop cub petting schemes. They got about 15,000 letters in support of our position, but seemed to think that AZA zoos didn’t have enough time to object, so they opened the comment period back up again in 2013. Now, 4 years later, they still haven’t taken action, but rather seem to want to get more of the bad guys to object, so they are opening up the comment period again through August of this year.

We will continue to rally animal lovers to let USDA know that cub handling is cruel, dangerous and downright evil.

Here is USDA’s letter:

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 06/24/2016 and available online at http://federalregister.gov/a/2016-14976, and on FDsys.gov

BILLING CODE: 3410-34-P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

9 CFR Parts 2 and 3

[Docket No. APHIS-2012-0107]

Petition to Amend Animal Welfare Act Regulations to Prohibit Public Contact with Big Cats, Bears, and Nonhuman Primates

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; reopening of comment period.

SUMMARY: We are reopening the comment period for a petition requesting amendments to the Animal Welfare Act regulations and standards pertaining to physical contact with dangerous animals. We are especially interested in receiving public comments on the additional questions included in this notice. We are providing information about upcoming virtual stakeholder listening sessions and other efforts intended to gather additional public comment. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments and further inform our thinking on the handling of dangerous animals.

DATES: The comment period for the notice published on August 5, 2013 (78 FR 47215) and reopened on October 24, 2013 (78 FR 63408) is reopened. We will consider all comments that we receive on or before August 31, 2016. The virtual listening sessions described in this notice will be held on Wednesday, June 29, 2016, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. eastern time (ET); Wednesday, July 6, 2016, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET; and Thursday, August 4, 2016, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET. 2 Registration is required to participate in the listening sessions. Links for registering to participate in the virtual listening sessions are included in the Web site in footnote below.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0107.

Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2012-

0107, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.

Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0107 or in our reading room, which is located in room 1141 of the USDA South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you, please call (202) 799-7039 before coming.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Barbara Kohn, Senior Staff Veterinarian, Animal Care, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 84, Riverdale, MD 20737-1234; (301) 851-3751.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On August 5, 2013, we published in the Federal Register (78 FR 47215-47217, Docket No. APHIS-2012-0107) a notice making available for comment a petition requesting amendments to the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) regulations and standards, including amendments to prohibit licensees from allowing individuals, with certain exceptions, from coming into direct or physical contact with big cats, bears, or nonhuman primates of any age, to define the term “sufficient distance,” and to prohibit the public handling of young or immature big cats, bears, and nonhuman primates.

Comments were required to be received on or before October 4, 2013. In a subsequent notice published October 24, 2013 (78 FR 63408), we reopened the comment period for an additional 45 days to November 18, 2013. We received 15,379 comments.

We are again reopening the comment period and will accept all comments we receive on or before August 31, 2016. We are especially interested in receiving public comments on the questions presented below. Responses to these questions will help further inform our thinking on the handling of dangerous animals:

1. What factors and characteristics should determine if a type of animal is suitable for public contact? When the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) describes an animal as dangerous, there are certain characteristics we use to classify the animals, such as the size, strength, and instinctual behavior of an animal, risk of disease transmission between animals and humans (i.e., zoonoses such as Herpes B), and ability to safely and humanely handle (or control) the animal in all situations.

2. What animals should APHIS consider including under the definition of dangerous animals? For example, are all nonhuman primates dangerous? We currently identify some animals as dangerous, including, but not limited to, nondomestic felids (such as lions, tigers, jaguars, mountain lions, cheetahs, and any hybrids thereof), wolves, bears, certain nonhuman primates (such as gorillas, chimps, and macaques), elephants, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, moose, bison, camels, and common animals known to carry rabies.

3. What animals may pose a public health risk and why? What risks does public contact with dangerous animals present to the individual animal and the species and why?

4. What are the best methods of permanent, usable animal identification for dangerous animals?

5. What are the most humane training techniques to use with dangerous animals?

6. What scientific information (peer-reviewed journals preferred) is available that identifies the appropriate weaning ages for nondomestic felids, bears, elephants, wolves, nonhuman primates, and other dangerous animals?

7. What industry, organizational, or governmental standards have been published for the handling and care of dangerous animals?

8. What constitutes sufficient barriers for enclosures around dangerous animals to keep members of the public away from the animals? What methods (structures, distance, attendants, etc.) are needed to prevent entry of the public into an enclosure and keep the animal safe while still allowing for meaningful viewing? In addition to inviting the public to comment on these questions, we are making available for the public a Web site containing background information on the topics explained in this notice. We also plan to convene three virtual listening sessions during the summer, allowing stakeholders to participate regardless of their location before the close of the public comment period. The dates of each virtual listening session are as follows:

June 29, 2016, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. eastern time (ET);

July 6, 2016, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET; and

August 4, 2016, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET.

Persons wishing to participate in the virtual listening sessions are required to register prior to the session. Links for registering to participate in each listening session are included in the Web site in footnote 2. Upon registration, participants will be provided with a call-in number and access code. The virtual listening sessions will provide the public with opportunities to share their views on the handling of dangerous animals and provide us with additional material to inform our thinking on this topic.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 2131-2159; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.7.

Done in Washington, DC, this 21st day of June 2016.

William H. Clay, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 2016-14976 Filed: 6/23/2016 8:45 am; Publication Date: 6/24/2016]

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and I’ve been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views. If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story. The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story. My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org

Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion. Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk

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