That's some good art - I like it. Suits the article perfectly.

The artwork is amazing! Very talented. Would love to see more from her.

Please sign the following petition if you agree that what the state is doing is wrong. Thank you!
http://www.change.org/petitions/oregon-department-of-fish-wildlife-stop-killing-non-native-wildlife-brought-into-rehabilitation-centers

You should see the Sacramento paper investigative report into Wildlife Services and all they kill when trapping for predators, birds of prey, protected species, people's pets (on which the policy is to remove the collar, shut up and shovel. Wildlife Services is part of the problem.

Hypocritical libs playing god. Destroy timber industry forcing 66,000 out of jobs and into poverty to "save" the spotted northern owl. Stronger barn owl from east was real cause of spotted owl deaths, not timber industry.

I have two eastern tree squirrels as pets because of this policy. And I'm not the only one. There are many others who have pet opossums, squirrels, etc. Those "big-hearted adults" and “would-be do-gooders” do know the difference between what is morally right and what is legal. We live in fear that the ODFW will seize and euthanize our beloved pets. I understand how damaging invasive exotics can be to our ecosystem. But "setting an invasive species policy for the whole state" is a poor reason for demanding that we, as individuals, turn our back on orphaned and injured animals. There is no real action being taken to mitigate the damage done by well-established invasives like eastern squirrels and virginia opossums. If there was any chance of repairing the damage - if the ODFW had something constructive, a plan, to eradicate these species and bolster the recovery of our ecosystem - then I would be behind enforcement of a "policy" to accomplish that. But setting a "policy" just for the ideology...is incredibly callous, senseless, high-handed bullshit. I made inquiries about getting a permit to keep my squirrels - who are very affectionate, kept indoors, neutered and so tame that they would be unable to survive on their own. The woman at ODFW who answered the phone threatened to send someone out to seize my pets, kill them and issue me a citation. Then she demanded my name. After they were injured by a cat, I raised these animals from tiny, helpless babies - waking up every three hours to feed them formula out of a tiny dropper. WTF is wrong with these people?! How many of the animals "rehabbed" by private individuals are improperly released or relocated to areas where they are not already well established? How many people misidentify a native squirrel (it's hard to tell the difference when they're very young) and fail to get the animal to a competent rehabber? You can't just make laws and expect people to go against their basic sense or morality because you told them to. You need to think through the actual, real-world consequences of your "policies".

Seems kind of cowardly to go after rehabbers while letting big-money developers and related interests destroy habitat with virtually no sanction. If we saw these state agencies at more zoning meetings, then perhaps the kill-policy would have some merit. But until Big Money has some opposition, we should let the rehabbers let ALL the critters live. Excellent article and reporting.