Monday, March 15, 2010

A CALL FOR HELP

Nevada Pigeon Control is the only humane society in the world dedicated to the protection and control of feral pigeons.  We built a pigeon control sanctuary to house birds involved in conflicts with humans.  We ran into problems with the City of North Las Vegas where the sanctuary was located.  They were threatening to close the sanctuary, even though the law clearly stated that we could have it.


We reached out to PETA for help.  I spoke to Jodi Minion at headquarters.  She always took my calls before. But after our initial conversation, she never answered my calls again.  After my emails, she never returned them.


As a result, we lost a critical battle with the city.  We now have to euthanize all the birds we capture within 72 hours.


This was a critical issue we reached out to PETA to help us with.  They completely turned their backs on us.  Their negligence affected the disposition of MILLIONS of birds in Las Vegas.


We weren't asking for money... We were just asking for some people to come out and support us... to make a few phone calls... write a letter.


Was that too much to ask?


Below is a copy of the letter I sent to Jodi Minion and David Salisbury:


To: David Salisbury
       Jodi Minion
On November 3 the City of North Las Vegas mandated that that no pigeons are to be taken alive from the city. If Nevada Pigeon Control is found in possession of any live birds, our staff will be arrested and charged with a crime.  They have already made good on that threat and charged me with 2 misdemeanors for having 5 pet pigeons (retired racers) at my office. As you probably already know, they tried to impound the 400 or so birds we had in our sanctuary. We are still hiding those birds from them.

On Friday November 13th at 7 AM we are organizing a peaceful protest outside of North Las Vegas Municipal Court. This is being done to draw media attention to the court hearing taking place at that time. While many people find it absolutely unbelievable, the city is seeking jail time for me for having the pet pigeons. I have retained the counsel of Matthew Callister who is going to destroy their case and argue the illegality of their closure of our sanctuary. We think we can get it re-opened that day with enough supporters showing up!

North Las Vegas Municipal Code 6.10.030 clearly states that a person can have pigeons providing 3 conditions are met:

1. They are more than 60 feet from a dwelling
2. They are enclosed at all times
3. The coop is kept clean and free of offensive odors

The law does not state how many birds may be kept, which means we can legally save as many pigeons as we want! But the city illegally closed our sanctuary, and now they are trying to force us to kill ALL pigeons in order to stay in business.

I would very much appreciate it if you could forward this information to your list of activists.  We need people to hold signs (we have some nice vinyl signs being donated) and wear bird masks (provided).  The protest will be covered by Channel 8, CityLife, the Las Vegas Sun and the Review Journal. Other news organizations are expected to commit.

When: Friday the 13th of November
Where: North Las Vegas Municipal Court (corner of Las Vegas Blvd North and Civic Center)
Time: Be there NO LATER than 7AM (timing is critical)
How long: Until around 9 AM or as soon as we come out of court

Contact: Nephi Oliva 702-279-9466
On Site Contact: Trina Foster 525-8081

Please have people RSVP.  We need to make assignments. This is a very well organized protest with a very pinpointed message.

Save the Pigeons, get rid of Mayor Buck's policy.

Please get the word out as soon as you can.  I am really looking forward to working with you on this.  I really think we can get the sanctuary opened back up that day.

Thank you so much for your anticipated cooperation.

Sincerely,

Nephi Oliva

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