Federal Government Shutdown Affects Wildlife Rehabilitator

[patsy6]

Here's something I wouldn't have thought of regarding the federal government shutdown, from today's Democrat & Chronicle:

Volunteer keeps frozen dead eagle due to shutdown
David Riley, ROC 4:55 p.m. EDT October 1, 2013

Thanks to the partial U.S. government shutdown, a wildlife rehabilitator in Orleans County is storing a dead bald eagle in her freezer.

The shutdown, in its first day, began Tuesday and is caused by congressional gridlock over a fiscal 2014 spending bill.

However, Wendi Pencille, of Medina, Orleans County, a licensed volunteer wildlife rehabilitator who takes care of orphaned and injured birds of prey including seven eagles over the past three years, has been monitoring recent looming government gridlock.

More: How has the shutdown affected New York?

At the advice of the staff at the National Eagle Repository outside Denver, Colo., she has a dead eagle in the deep freeze.

Normally, when one of her birds dies, Pencille sends the remains to the National Eagle Repository, and staffers of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife program then ships eagle carcasses, feathers or other parts to Native Americans in federally recognized tribes for use in traditional ceremonies.

But with the threat of a federal government shutdown looming, Pencille said repository staff recently told her not to ship the eagle because no one would be available to receive and move it to their freezer.

The repository is the only place to legally obtain eagle remains.

"I said maybe I should send it to a congressman instead," she said.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife offices are now closed because of the federal shutdown.

Pencille, who volunteers with the Bless the Beasts Foundation, said she only sends one or two birds a year to the repository. For now, the eagle remains in a freezer she keeps for wildlife remains.

"I'd love to get it out of here now," she said.

[Kris G.]

I had read that-such government nonsense.  If anyone wants, you can write to John Boehner at http://Boehner.house.gov. I did!