PROTECTING THEIR PEN PALS; TEEN-AGERS FEAR FOR SAFETY OF ANIMALS AFTER PIGS HURT.Byline: Michael Coit Daily News Staff Writer Some shaken students and angry parents said Monday that they are considering moving farm animals from the Canoga Park High School Canoga Park High School is a public school located in Canoga Park in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California, USA, within the Los Angeles Unified School District. It is located right across the street from the Topanga Plaza shopping center. agricultural magnet program after a possible incident of animal abuse. Students and parents said they are concerned that security measures Noun 1. security measures - measures taken as a precaution against theft or espionage or sabotage etc.; "military security has been stepped up since the recent uprising" security are too lax after six pigs apparently were hit and cut with wires Saturday night or Sunday morning Sunday Morning may refer to:
``I have a lot of concern for my sheep. I'm in love with my sheep,'' said Alyson Cleal, a freshman in the Environmental/Agricultural Science Magnet program. ``It's not that hard to get into these cages. We can't do anything about (the security) because we have to put our money into our animals.'' During the past decade, rabbits, lambs, goats and pigs have been wounded, or killed in rare instances. Goats and calves also have been stolen and often never recovered - last year six goats were snatched and turned up on the roof of another high school in an apparent prank, students and parents said. Chickens clucked, an ostrich ostrich, common name for a large flightless bird (Struthio camelus) of Africa and parts of SW Asia, allied to the rhea, the emu and the extinct moa. It is the largest of living birds; some males reach a height of 8 ft (244 cm) and weigh from 200 to 300 lb stuck its neck from a shed and goats gave blinking stares at visitors Monday. Students at the only agricultural magnet program in the Los Angeles Unified School District The Los Angeles Unified School District (the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. raise farm animals for show and sale, often at the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. Fair every June. The program's compound of livestock pens, gardens and nursery is enclosed en·close also in·close tr.v. en·closed, en·clos·ing, en·clos·es 1. To surround on all sides; close in. 2. To fence in so as to prevent common use: enclosed the pasture. by a chain-link fence with a gate secured by two chains and two locks. Lighting has been added and there are regular patrols by the Los Angeles Unified School District police, said Principal Nancy Delgado. ``We have all the security necessary,'' said Daniel Fricke, the school district police detective on the pig abuse case. Yet Fricke also acknowledged the shortcomings A shortcoming is a character flaw. Shortcomings may also be:
That observation is little consolation for parents who buy the animals their children use for breeding or raising. ``We invest a couple of hundred dollars in these animals. It's mainly for education. You're not going to get anything for them,'' said Diana Casillas, whose daughter is a senior in the program. ``I'm afraid to take the animals over there now,'' she said. ``They're targets either for kids doing pranks or people who are into something weird.'' Heather Suarez, a senior in the program, has talked about moving her two adult goats to the Cicero Farms petting zoo. But she's also concerned that the move could disrupt their breeding, said her mother, Kathryn Pereyra. The injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. pigs were found about 8 a.m. Sunday by one of the students who regularly care for the animals on weekends and holidays. ``My guess is somebody let them out and possibly beat them,'' said Dave McConnell, one of the program's two full-time teachers. McConnell was called to the scene Sunday by Cleal, one of the two students who went to feed and check on the animals that morning. ``There's not really that much for us to do about it unless there's suspects,'' he said. CAPTION(S): 2 photos PHOTO (1) This pig is back at Canoga Park High School after an injurious in·ju·ri·ous adj. 1. Causing or tending to cause injury; harmful: eating habits that are injurious to one's health. 2. ordeal in the outside world when vandals broke into its pen. (2) Canoga Park High School ninth-grader Alyson Cleal, 14, tends to pigs kept as part of the school's Environmental/Agricultural Science Magnet program, the only one in the district. John McCoy/Daily News |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion