OPINION: Christmas–A Time for Animal Suffering?

Christmas—a time of peace, good will—and animal suffering?

Scotch Plains’ Live Nativity Spectacle--suffering animals on display for human amusement--would be more at home in ancient Rome’s Colosseum than in 21st Century America. Is this really the best that Scotch Plains can do to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace?

For over 2 years, a group of us from the humane community have been trying to get a meeting with Scotch Plains’ Mayor (first Mayor Marks, and then his successor, Mayor Malool), to discuss the live nativity. It would have been easier to get a meeting with J.D. Salinger.

We provided the following to Mayor Malool: letters from retired Reverend Frank Hoffman, stating that such cruelty is not in keeping with Jesus’ teachings, and Debbie Kowalski, a nurse who runs the For the Animals Sanctuary (in Blairstown), who stated that the conditions for the animals were sub-par. She detailed the care that the sanctuary animals receive, and what can result from the sub-standard care provided at the live nativity. Ms.Kowalski was willing to provide a home for the calf, at her sanctuary (and the remaining animals could have been placed at other sanctuaries), which would have given positive publicity to Scotch Plains, but Mayor Malool chose to be a meanie.

Note that we are not seeking an improvement, from sub-standard care to minimal care standards. We are seeking an end to displays that use animals. They are inherently cruel, mock the spiritual message of Christmas, and teach children that it is acceptable to exploit animals.

The Mayor steadfastly refused to acknowledge this message, and (when she could be bothered with us at all) focused only on the care of the animals, which (evidence to the contrary) she maintained was satisfactory. She said (in a dismissive e-mail) that a business that makes money from animals would not allow them to be mistreated. That stale canard--that businesses that profit from using human or animal labor treat their “property” well, as it is a financial investment--has been spouted since slave days. Even on the rare (if, at all) occasions that the animals are well-cared for, while at such events, live nativity scenes (and petting zoos) should be banned. The frightened animals, rented or loaned out for such events, are generally trucked from locality to locality, during the heat of summer and the cold of winter, to be manhandled and gawked at, only to end their days in slaughter-houses or auctions. What was the fate of the animals from the past 50 live nativities (a tradition of which Mayor Malool is proud and wants to continue)?

Is “tradition” justification for continuing a cruel event that should be consigned to the unenlightened past? What will happen to this year’s animals, particularly the calf—a baby separated from his mother, and put on display in the freezing snow for 10 days? In addition to our primary objective--stopping the cruelty--we provided a press release to Mayor Malool, from the Centers for Disease Control, educating the public to the cautionary measures that must be taken, to avoid bacterial contamination to children (from contact with farmed animals, at such public events), which would be unrealistic in this environment.

We also advised her that the Vice Chancellor for Administration for the ArchDiocese of Newark (which covers Scotch Plains), Deacon Joseph A. Dwyer, Jr., stood behind our efforts to stop the live nativity, and that he was willing to either join us in meeting with the Mayor (his schedule permitting) or to provide a written statement. And we told her that we had learned that compassionate Scotch Plains students wanted to see an end to the live nativity. I also recently learned that several residents, including a school crossing guard, had attempted to address this issue, but were given the bum’s rush.

The Mayor also ignored my reporting to her that we had been told, by a Scotch Plains police officer, that the animals had escaped twice from their enclosure. This could easily have caused an accident on busy (especially during Christmas shopping season) Park Ave or very nearby Route 22. Do taxpayers want to pay for any financial liability from accidents or illness (E. coli), caused by the live nativity?

After first learning of this cruel display, in 2007, from a Scotch Plains resident, we went to investigate. What we found were 5 animals (the display always includes a calf, 2 sheep, and 2 goats) with no straw bedding and virtually no hay to eat. The food trough was too small to hold food for even one animal. Parker Gardens compassionately donated 6 bales of hay to us, for the animals.

We went there every day, for the remaining days (including Christmas Eve and Christmas), to check on the animals and give them the donated hay. I noted the shallowness of the only shelter (the manger within the enclosure), and that malicious individuals could easily throw dangerous materials into the enclosure or jump the fence and harm the animals. At no time, did I see anyone monitoring the safety of the animals. I found and removed a pacifier (that the goats could have swallowed) from the enclosure.

Last year, conditions for the animals appeared the same, whenever I went to check. This year, witnesses reported to me that that there was very minimal bedding available. The calf was lying on a small amount of bedding, barely the size of his body, out in the open, on the snow. The other animals were huddled in the manger, on the only other bedding available. School children were shrieking at the frightened animals.

The animals were on display during the heavy snowstorm on 12/19. On that day, the water supply for the animals was frozen, and at 4-5pm, when it had started to snow, and was bitter cold, the tarp was not yet up. Another witness saw the tarp being removed the next day. The temperatures have been between the teens and early thirties (the latter feeling 10 degrees colder, according to weather reports).

Please spare a thought for these animals, who have to endure 10 days of this, with very little shelter and minimal (if any) bedding. Urge Mayor Malool to permanently replace this cruel display with one that delivers a holiday message of compassion. Mayor Malool, responding to yet another request for a meeting, told us that she was too busy dealing with human issues. The same issues, presumably, that she has been too busy with, for the past year, to meet with us.

The Mayor’s lack of time management skills aside, the humans whom Mayor Malool was too busy looking after, to meet with us, do not include the humane community, the school children and adult residents opposed to the display, or religious leaders who find the spectacle at odds with the Christmas spirit.

We now have a League of Humane Voters in New Jersey. When election time rolls around, we (like Santa) will remember who has been naughty or nice.