COUNTY MAY MOVE AGAINST FACILITY CHIMP CAGES AT STAKE AT WILDLIFE WAYSTATION.Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer County attorneys said Friday they would seek to block the Wildlife Waystation The Wildlife WayStation is a 160-acre refuge in northern Los Angeles County dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating wild and exotic animals. A charitable corporation located within the boundaries of Angeles National Forest, the facility was founded in 1976 by animal activist from erecting new chimpanzee chimpanzee, an ape, genus Pan, of the equatorial forests of central and W Africa. The common chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes, lives N of the Congo River. Full-grown animals of this species are up to 5 ft (1. cages unless it first gets building and land-use permits - requirements the Tujunga animal sanctuary An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and be protected for the rest of their lives. Unlike animal shelters, sanctuaries do not seek to place animals with individuals or groups, instead maintaining each animal until his or her natural death. fears will derail de·rail intr. & tr.v. de·railed, de·rail·ing, de·rails 1. To run or cause to run off the rails. 2. its effort to reopen. The Waystation last week won its bid for a court order to complete cages for 24 chimps, a ruling it believed would allow it to circumvent cir·cum·vent tr.v. cir·cum·vent·ed, cir·cum·vent·ing, cir·cum·vents 1. To surround (an enemy, for example); enclose or entrap. 2. To go around; bypass: circumvented the city. the year-long permitting process and begin construction immediately. But county officials say the beleaguered be·lea·guer tr.v. be·lea·guered, be·lea·guer·ing, be·lea·guers 1. To harass; beset: We are beleaguered by problems. 2. To surround with troops; besiege. animal refuge has to get the same permits as any other operation before it can break ground, and they threatened to issue a stop-work order if construction begins. ``Construction of chimpanzee cages at this time would be a violation of both county and state laws,'' Senior County Counsel Roberta M. Fesler wrote in a letter this week to the Waystation's attorney. Robert Lorsch, the volunteer CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. who is trying to turn around the Waystation operation, said he would not let the county interfere with the sanctuary's survival. ``I just am reaching out to the county for a responsible meeting with a responsible solution to move the chimps,'' Lorsch said. ``Having said that, the chimps will be moved.'' The sanctuary in the Angeles National Forest The Angeles National Forest (ANF) was established by executive order on December 20, 1892 as the San Gabriel Timberland Reserve. It covers over 2,600 km² (650,000 acres) and is located in the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles County, just north of the metropolitan area of Los , home to 600 wild and exotic animals, has been closed to visitors and new rescues for nearly two years because of violations of state and federal animal welfare laws. It needs to make significant renovations to bring the operation into compliance, and Waystation representatives had hoped the court order would help expedite the process, allowing it to reopen for rescues and fund-raising. ``We are taking these actions because it appeared the task force was trying to bleed the Waystation to death slowly,'' Waystation attorney Marilyn Barrett said Friday. Barrett also said Fesler and a county task force overseeing the Waystation are forcing management to maintain a dangerous situation. ``The question today is, should the chimps be in safe cages or unsafe cages? And that's where we have difficulty in understanding their position,'' Barrett said, noting the sanctuary is planning its next move. Earlier this week, the Waystation sent a letter to the county, alleging the task force has violated the Brown Act, the state's open meeting law, by not holding public meetings with detailed agendas. ``Here we clearly have a group of county employees making decisions that have a significant effect on county residents,'' Barrett said. If a judge agrees, the task force could be disbanded, its past decisions declared null and void and the Waystation could potentially reopen to the public. Fesler said the Brown Act doesn't apply because the task force is not composed of elected officials but of employees from the county's Chief Administrative Office and Fire and Public Works department Many governments worldwide have had departments or ministries referred to as the Public Works Department either formally or informally. In Australia: - New South Wales -
``They apparently don't understand the Brown Act,'' Fesler said. |
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