Letter to Animal Planet - Follow up to Quizno's Coyote

As promised, below is the primary content sent to Animal Planet. I am still networking in order to identify a contact at Animal Planet high enough to effectuate, or at least champion, the requisite change....please advise if you know anyone at the network.

Thanks,

Dawn

I was extremely disturbed to see the show “Weird, True and Freaky” last night, which featured the story of the coyote that wandered into a Quizno’s in downtown Chicago. Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation was directly involved in this incident. In fact, I personally examined this coyote when it returned to our Barrington facility. The depiction in the show might have been weird and freaky, but it was almost completely untrue. The show sensationalized the incident and presented an unfair depiction of the individual coyote and the species in general. Coyotes are already the subject of irrational fear and persecution – this show’s misrepresentations could only promulgate further irrational phobias.

If “Weird, True and Freaky” had any intention of accurately representing this incident, then it should have contacted those that were directly involved rather than utilizing alleged “Wildlife Experts” whose suppositions regarding this incident conveniently dramatized the show’s fictionalized account.

Until last night, I have always viewed Animal Planet to be an educational source that accurately represents wildlife and conservation issues. The experience we had taping Backyard Habitat reinforced my positive impressions of the network. Sadly, “Weird, True and Freaky” refuted prior positive beliefs. Animal Planet should be ashamed to run this type programming.

Quizno's Coyote on Animal Planet Postscript

My apologies to everyone we told about the Animal Planet show "Weird, True and Freaky" which is running a segment on the Quizno's coyote Adrian (see our blog archives for his original and accurate story). Please also note that we have deleted our original blog posting regarding the show so as not to refer further people to watch this show.

In my opinion, not only did the show fail to accurately depict Adrian, his physical state and the likely reasons why he entered the Quizno's, but in the spirit of sensational "reporting", the show also did a grave disservice to the species. Adrian was a perfectly healthy coyote who became extremely frightened and typically reticent after mistakenly wandering into Chicago's downtown loop. Further, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health website, there has not been a confirmed case of rabies in a coyote in Illinois in the last 18 years - to imply that this animal had rabies is simply irresponsible.

I will be writing to Animal Planet to voice my extreme displeasure over these inaccuracies. I will post a copy of this letter on the blog.

Dawn

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Beyond My Comprehension

Although I realize that the subject of trapping might be a polarizing issue, I feel compelled to share with you some information on trapping. We're not talking about trapping of nuisance wildlife - perhaps I'll save that topic for another time. We're talking about trapping of furbearing animals.

Traps may be set illegally or legally. In the event that traps are illegally set, it is Flint Creek Wildlife's responsibility not only to treat the injured animal, but also to report such illegal activity to the Conservation Police within the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. In the case of a legally set trap, there isn't much that we can do....

The animals that enter our doors as a result of trapping injuries present about the most horrific situations we ever encounter. If you doubt my words, go back and read my November 23, 2007 blog entry "The Perception of Pain".

Some animals caught in traps survive, like the Beaver pictured below that we removed from a snare trap, while others like the Coyote mentioned above that was caught in a land-installed double conibear trap do not. Whether they survive or not, it is my opinion that each of them experiences fear and pain unparalleled to what we see from other injuries including those that are hit by car, shot, poisoned and run over by lawnmowers.

So in a struggle against time, we work on an animal that is already scared beyond belief and try to save the life that someone else tried to take away. It is simply beyond my comprehension.

Dawn