For the second time this week, I’m sitting here shaking my head at two news stories about the unwarranted killing of animals – one for sport, one disguised under the cloak of safety.
Both of which have no consequences.
The first comes from my home state, Florida, where two men, Keith Kelley and Kelly Sziy, captured and killed a 765 pound alligator in the St. Johns River near Jacksonville. According to the Sun Sentinel article glorifying their catch, the two were scouting for the gator they nicknamed “Lumpy” for months and finally ended up catching him with “their bare hands.”
In a WJAX TV news report, the two are seen posing with the massive reptile after bringing him to be killed and “processed for meat.” Kelley proudly proclaimed that the gator’s head will be mounted and displayed on a wall.
Now, living in Florida it’s not uncommon to see alligators in canals that border residential developments, or hearing about a rogue gator making way into someone’s backyard and making quick work out of a family pet. When something like this happens, a trapper is usually called in and the gator is simply relocated.
There is an alligator hunting season in Florida, which these two hunters took advantage of. Like deer, the population of these animals need to be kept under control so they don’t become a nuisance or a threat to humans or other species.
However, to see a creature 765 pounds and more than 13 feet in length, is pretty rare. The gator certainly was around for a long time and apparently doing nobody harm. There was no reason to kill this amazing animal, who managed to live out a long and prosperous life, other than for the thrill and notoriety associated with a trophy-worthy catch.
Kelley and Sziy could have set an example and made the same type of front-page news by capturing the animal, taking their pictures, having it weighed and measured and then released back in its environment.
The second shameful act of unnecessary animal slaughter comes from an area I used to call home – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Officials at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport ordered a mother bear and her three still-nursing cubs be shot and killed after digging their way under a perimeter fence and making their way onto airport property.
According to WBRE TV, airport officials said “having bears so close to the air traffic was a risk security just couldn’t take so they used deadly force.”
In the same news story, Pennsylvania Game Commission Northeast Region Law Enforcement Supervisor Mark Rutkowski was quoted as saying, “Under the circumstance, we have to put human life and safety ahead of the animal safety.”
The airport’s use of deadly force against these four bears is legal, as they operate under a depredation permit from the Game Commission, according to a Times Leader article.
Barry Centini, the soon-to-be-retired airport director, defended his people’s use of deadly force saying the airport lacks the capacity to tranquilize animals, such as these four bears, and have them removed. Even the Pennsylvania Game Commission Northeast Region information and education supervisor, Bill Williams, is defending the killer’s actions telling the Times Leader that “trapping and removing the bears wasn’t feasible.”
Centini admitted the bears were not on the runway, but he said they still posed a danger to air traffic, which is understandable. What is not understandable is why a facility, such as an airport, which is located in a semi-forested area is not properly equipped with tranquilizer guns.
Centini and the maintenance operation personnel who dispatched the animals chose bullets over brains.
Airport and state officials who commented on the newspaper and television news stories all defended the kill while others like myself are sitting back wondering why this was allowed to happen.
Barry Centini, even though he’s only going to be on the job for a few more weeks, as well as the individuals responsible for making the shoot-to-kill decision should be put on administrative leave while an investigation is held to determine:
- Exactly how the bears managed to make their way onto the airport property.
- Why wasn’t the area they gained access through checked throughout the day for signs of attempted entry?
- Is the perimeter adequately secured from human breaches? After all, if four bears managed to make their way close to an airport runway, humans should be able to as well.
- How much time elapsed from the time the bears were spotted until they were shot dead? Was this a sufficient amount of time where other means of removing the animals may have been more appropriate?
- Based on their location, were the bears posing an immediate threat to air traffic or could they have been scared off property and their entranceway secured?
- Could air traffic be reasonably held up while the bears were safely chased off property?
- Why isn’t the airport equipped with traps and humane methods (such as tranquilizer guns) to remove animal safety threats?
Everyone involved with this situation is making a ton of excuses, but I am seeing a number of unanswered questions, but none more important than a simple “why.”
I encourage my readers to speak out against this needless killing at the airport by sharing not only my blog post, but the numerous reports of this incident on your social media sites. Email Barry Centini at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Airport at airport@flyavp.com and politely express your concerns about this situation and ask that he being to look for ways other than needless slaughter to remove nuisance animals from the property.
Reach out to the Pennsylvania Game Commission and ask them to get involved with finding ways that the airport can deal with situations like this more humanely:
Website: www.pgc.state.pa.us
Twitter: www.twitter.com/PAGameComm
Facebook: www.facebook.com/PennsylvaniaGameCommission
Finally, since the airport is run by a commission made up of elected officials from both Lackawanna and Luzerne County, reach out to the members of the airports board which include James Wansacz, Corey D. O’Brien, Patrick M. O’Malley, Richard Williams, Robert C. Lawton, and Stephen A. Urban and ask them to look into ways this can be avoided in the future.
By calling more attention to the situation, and encouraging other animal lovers like myself to question officials, we may be able to avoid having to read stories like this in the future.
October 30, 2014:
Airport and state officials continue to condone the shooting of the bears at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport earlier this week. In an October 30, 2014 Citizens’ Voice Article, Bill Williams, Pennsylvania Game Commission Northeast Region information and education supervisor, is quoted as saying, “It’s an unfortunate situation. No one likes to see this happen, but the fact is that the bears were inside of a fence where there are runways with planes taking off and coming down,” Williams said. “There was certainly an urgency to eliminate that problem as soon as possible for public safety reasons.”
Airport director Barry Centini did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comments.
October 30, 2014:
Thanks to everyone who shared this blog piece via social media and who have taken the time to reach out to Mr. Centini and the elected officials I mentioned above. Moments ago I sent the following letter via email and fax to Mr. Centini:
Mr. Barry Centini
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport
100 Terminal Drive
Avoca, PA 18641Via email: airport@flyavp.com
Via fax: 570-602-2010Mr. Centini,
I’m writing to you today to express my outrage concerning the recent shooting of a mother bear and her three cubs at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport.
While I can certainly understand the need to keep the airport, aircraft, personnel and passengers safe from any type of animal that may wander onto the property, the way you and your staff handled the situation, in my opinion, is totally unacceptable.
After reading all the news accounts surrounding the murder of these animals, I cannot understand how the airport staff as well as the Pennsylvania Game Commission can condone the actions taken to eliminate the so-called “threat” these bears posed.
As someone who used to live in Glenmaura, a very short distance from the airport, it was common to see bears wandering around the wooded areas surrounding the development as well as right in my own backyard. These are animals who live along side us every day, and for the most part, pose no immediate threat to our person or property.
I appreciate the efforts your staff takes on maintaining an airport that is truly an asset to Northeast Pennsylvania, however, work needs to be done to improve the way wildlife is handled and removed when they pose either an imminent or non-imminent threat to the facility.
While we can all sit back and Monday morning quarterback the events that unfolded earlier this week, it is important to listen to the feedback you receive regarding the handling of this situation and work with your staff and the appropriate local, state and federal officials to come up with a plan other than “shoot-to-kill.”
Clearly, a nursing mother bear who was not in the immediate vicinity of a runway or taxiway did not pose what I would consider an “immediate” threat. There should have been time between aircraft landings and takeoffs, to formulate a plan to either scare the animals away using more humane methods, such as sound or water, incapacitating them with a tranquilizer gun, or if the situation allowed for additional time, traps.
Unfortunately, you and your staff elected to use lethal methods.
Yesterday, I wrote a blog piece on my website expressing my outrage over this situation and encouraged my nearly 1,500 followers to share the article and contact the officials I listed in it – including yourself – to express their concern in the way this situation was handled.
It is my hope that by calling attention to the inhumane manner in which you and your staff dealt with these animals, you will take the time to invest in at least a tranquilizer gun that could incapacitate wildlife such as bears long enough so they could be safely removed off property. Additionally, I would encourage you to work with the Pennsylvania Game Commission to come up with more humane methods to deal with trespassing animals, as I’m sure they can provide the airport with assistance as they do with homeowners in residential areas.
There are many unanswered questions surrounding the inhumane act committed at your facility, questions which I have laid out on my blog piece, which I encourage you to read and provide me with a statement which addresses some if not all of them. This piece can be found at:
https://www.scottsanfilippo.com/2014/10/senseless-acts-of-animal-murder-or-its-time-for-a-call-to-action/
or by simply going to https://www.scottsanfilippo.com and clicking on “blog” in the website’s top navigation bar.
Besides contacting you today, I also will be contacting each member of the Bi-County Airport Board and representatives from the Pennsylvania Game Commission and have encouraged my readers and social media followers to do the same, with the hopes that another viscous act of animal murder does not take place at the airport in the future.
Thank you for your time, consideration and understanding. I also wish to express my congratulations and best wishes as you retire later this year. Your life-long dedication to air travel in Northeastern Pennsylvania has truly been appreciated by someone who used your facility more times that I could possibly count.
Sincerely,
Scott Sanfilippo
scott@scottsanfilippo.comCC: Bi-County Airport Board members:
James Wansacz,
Corey D. O’Brien,
Patrick M. O’Malley,
Richard Williams,
Robert C. Lawton,
Stephen A. Urban
Additionally, a copy of the letter written to Mr. Centini was sent to members of the Bi-County Airport Board along with the cover letter below:
Bi-County Airport Board
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport
100 Terminal Drive
Avoca, PA 18641Lackawanna County Individual Members:
James Wansacz, Corey D. O’Brien, Patrick M. O’Malley via fax: 570-963-6812
Luzerne County Individual Members:
Richard Williams, Robert C. Lawton, Stephen A. Urban via emailGentlemen,
Please find attached a copy of a letter I sent to Mr. Barry Centini, director of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport earlier today regarding the shooting of a mother bear and her three cubs on airport property.
As members of the Airport’s Board, and the committee which advises and steers the director of the facility, it is my hope that by bringing attention to the heinous act of animal slaughter which took place at the airport earlier this week, you will work with Mr. Centini and his replacement in finding more humane ways to deal with situation like this.
Radio, television and newspapers have focused heavily on the events that unfolded at the airport and have raised the ire of many, including myself, and have us wondering why an act like this could be condoned by airport and state officials.
It is my hope that by calling attention to this act of unspeakable animal slaughter through my own blog and social media channels, that actions like this will not occur on airport property again. I would much rather see headlines praising airport staff for trapping and relocating wandering wild animals, than headlines which scream of murder.
I appreciate your time and consideration, and would appreciate a statement regarding how situations like this will be handled in the future, so I can provide an update to my blog readers.
Sincerely,
Scott Sanfilippo
scott@scottsanfilippo.comCC: Mr. Barry Centini
October 31, 2014
A bizarre twist of events unfolded yesterday (October 30, 2014) during a meeting of the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton International Airport’s regular board meeting. As expected, the killing of the bears on airport property was going to be a hot topic. Hot enough that airport brass brought in Phillip White, wildlife conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Game Commission and Officer Mark Rutkowski, Law Enforcement Supervisor for Northeast Pennsylvania, to brief officials according to a Citizens’ Voice newspaper article.
White was quoted as saying, “Everything was done the way it should be,” while Rutkowski said the airport staff does not have the ability, training, or equipment to tranquilize an animal as large as a black bear. He went on to say, “The drugs we use are controlled by the DEA,” he said, noting wildlife conservation officers go through a year of training to learn how to handle and administer tranquilizers properly.
That’s fine, but there are people who are trained to tranquilize animals so why weren’t they called in to do so? I’m sure they could have responded in a reasonable amount of time that would not cause significant disruptions to airport operations.
Airport Director Barry Centini, who has not yet responded to my letter, admitted during the meeting that this has not been the first time the airport has shot and killed bears that wander onto the property. This week’s kill brings the total number of bears killed at the airport this year to five. The fifth was shot and killed after it was seen wandering through the airport’s parking lot back in May, according to Centini. Airport staff waited until the bear climbed a tree, where they brutally shot the animal to death.
The Citizens’ Voice article also notes that, “Centini said the airport had eight bear sightings between 2009 and 2012. Bears were shot in three of those instances, in accordance with the airport’s Wildlife Hazard Management Plan, Centini said.”
Now here’s where things get bizarre.
Centini said during the meeting that news of the bears being shot should have never made it to the media and said an unknown person, possibly an airport employee, took the photo of the dead bears that has been widely circulated on the various news stations, newspapers and social media. He said the picture and its release was meant to “inflame the community,” which it certainly has done!
So instead of working on ways to humanely deal with these type of issues moving forward, Centini and Pennsylvania Game Commission continue to justify the killings and get this…. they are looking into whether or not they can take legal action against the unknown individual who took the photo of the bears and released it to the masses.
This whole story continues to make me sicker and sicker as time goes on, and now for the airport to be looking into possible legal action makes me even sicker!
As of this writing, none of the officials I contacted yesterday have responded to my letters and emails.