The program for Thursday, April 24, 2008 is:
Greg Gullickson
of the
ND Game & Fish Department
Last Week's Program
Dick Schnell and Bobby Roberts, Minot Police Department's animal control officers paid us a visit. They shared with us that nearly 10% of the calls responded to by our Police Department have is concerned with or has some animal control issues related to it. Over 100 citations are issued annually foe animal control violations and about 800 animals a year are captured. Thanks to micorchipping, nearly half the trapped domestic animals are returned to their homes.
The Police Department Animal Control Unit works very closely with other animal welfare agencies in the area including the State Game and Fish, the Souris Valley Animal Shelter and the Roosevelt Park Zoo. These "partnership" manifest themselves in both day to day work such as moving the alligator from his winter home inside to his exhibit in the zoo and in relocating the wild game that stray in too close to civilization.
Quantity wise, it is wild turkeys seem to need "repatriation" most often. They seem to like to "own the moment and the stage" where ever they go, and seem to vandalize and leave "calling cards" that most citizens prefer not to share. As far as notoriety, Dick thought the moose that had visited the acreage behind KMOT may have been the star.
While we haven't had any confirmed sightings of big cats in the city limits, their have been reports and all reports are taken very seriously. One of the more recent cat sightings did actually produce results. Citizens recently reported a couple of sightings of a suspected bob cat out by the Sertona softball diamonds. A live trap was set and later, a nine pound house cat matching the description was captured. While this incident may well be mundane, it does exemplify the report – response relationship that will get the human population and the animal population separated.
- Dist 5580 Conference - Apr 30 - May 1, 2008
- Service Project and Family of Rotary get together,
May 8, 2008 5:30 pm, Roatry Shelter, South Hill. - Board of Director's meeting; Minot Daily News, Noon, May 12, 2008
Open to the membership.
World Health Day April 22, 2008
In 2008, World Health Day focuses on the need to protect health from the adverse effects of climate change. WHO selected this theme in recognition that climate change is posing ever growing threats to global public health security.
Scientists tell us that the evidence the Earth is warming is "unequivocal." Increases in global average air and sea temperature, ice melting and rising global sea levels all help us understand and prepare for the coming challenges. "The core concern is succinctly stated: climate change endangers human health," WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan said today. "The warming of the planet will be gradual, but the effects of extreme weather events -- more storms, floods, droughts and heat waves -- will be abrupt and acutely felt. Both trends can affect some of the most fundamental determinants of health: air, water, food, shelter and freedom from disease."
Rotarian's world wide respond to catastrophic events as they happen regardless of the religion or politics of the affected region. Today we are being challenged to recognize the gradual, more insidious change, the change that will occur over generations. Our call to action has already been sounded by RI President Wilfrid J. Wilkinson in establishing a Water Resource Group to support Rotary’s efforts to address this important global issue. Even today 2.6 billion people lack access to safe, clean drinking water, and basic sanitation facilities and climate change is predicted to exasperate that. Now is not too soon to start.