2002 Events ~ News ~ Stories 2006 2005 2004 2003 2001
|
||
|
2002 Year In
Review
2002
has been a most rewarding year for Friends of Roman Cats. FORC
members are all very proud of what we have accomplished during the past
year.
 We have achieved some solid
successes on which
to build in the months
ahead. As you will learn, FORC has launched the first steps of
its
project to bring more spaying and neutering to Roman cats; as part of
that
initiative, we have begun sending humane cat traps to Rome. We
played
a big part in a spay/neuter conference in Rome. We also are developing
our
advocacy skills to help bring more rights and protections for America's
domestic
animals.
We
began the year with a wonderful celebration, based on the Blessing of
the Animals that occurs in Italy every January as part of commemorating
the feast day of St. Anthony Abbot. It is hard to believe but we
are now getting ready for our second annual celebration of this
event. We will celebrate "The Blessings Animals Bring Us" on the
25th of January 2003. Again, we will have lots of Italian
antipasti and drinks, a silent auction, a raffle, video footage of
Torre Argentina, Italian music and perhaps a surprise or two.
Please let us know if you are interested in attending.
Returning
to 2002, we were very fortunate to add two new members to our Executive
Board. Lisa Ennis joined us as the new Treasurer and Pam Carroll
joined
 as Board Member at-large.
Cynthia
Caughey, a professional grant
writer and travel maven has joined our advisory board. They are
all
extremely welcome, adding valuable expertise and enthusiasm to the
organization.
FORC
refined its focus in 2002. In March, the Board sent Mary Kennedy
and
Susan Wheeler to Chicago to participate in the "No More Homeless Pets"
Conference, sponsored by Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. In
conjunction with Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary in Rome, FORC has
developed a spay/neuter voucher program. FORC sends money to our
representatives at Torre Argentina, who give it to approved
veterinarians, who then We
are also developing other spay/neuter strategies. We wish to
introduce a monthly spay/neuter clinic in Rome, staffed entirely by
volunteers including volunteer vets and able to reach various parts of
the city. FORC
decided that one way it could encourage cat caretakers in Rome to get
more
cats sterilized, was by supplying them with humane cat traps such as
the
Cat Assistance Team in San Francisco uses. Susan Wheeler and Lisa Ennis were both in Rome during the month of October. Lisa hand carried the first 2 traps with her on the airplane and they had a very dramatic demonstration of the traps' effectiveness at Torre Argentina. Some of the traps will be left at there for cat caretakers to borrow so they can catch their wild charges and get them in for sterilization. Others will be used by other people being recruited as trappers, in preparation for a spay/neuter clinic. While
she was in Rome in October, Susan was the lead speaker at a day-long
conference on "How to Bring More Spay/Neuter To Roman Cats." This
conference was presided over by Dr. Claudio Fantini, head of Rome's
Public Veterinary Services. The
response to the conference was very positive. It got various
groups talking together, some for the first time. On a personal note, a number of us have faced challenges and sorrows with the dear animals that enrich our lives. Mary Kennedy's cat Mister was diagnosed with lymphoma. Thankfully, he is now in remission, but it has been a difficult struggle for both Mister and Mary. Lynn Coulston lost one of her beloved cats, Thibby and has been fighting a heroic battle to prolong the life of Georgie, another of her cats who is suffering from kidney failure. Lisa Ennis lost her 16-year-old cockatiel, Myrtle. Lisa will miss her dancing to their favorite music and greeting visitors. Finally, Susan's cat Kurt, who came back with her in 1999 from Torre Argentina, is now showing t signs of kidney disease. In dealing with these and other problems, it comforts us to know that we are helping prolong and enrich the lives of cats both in Italy and the United States. We are grateful to so many people who have given of their time to help us this last year. First, to our website mavens, Judy Bell and Roseann Hirshman, whose professionalism and generous donations of time made it possible to communicate our message. During the year, they expanded our website, as we featured various articles about what is happening with animals in other parts of the world. They have also helped us by setting up a link, making it possible to sell items on our website. Thanks
to Piera Bignetti, who translated the Italian Companion Animal law of
1991 into English, so we could put it on our website. We are
thrilled to feature this law, that has been giving stray Italian cats
and dogs the right to life for over 11 years.
Thanks also to two wonderful artists, Muriel Escop, who has shared her etchings with us since the beginning of our organization, and Rosamund Clark, an English artist living in Rome, who does beautiful and fanciful cat paintings. Samples of both their art appear on cards we are now selling. Lisa Camasi, on our Advisory Board, took time from her very busy schedule last fall, to find a printer at Cal Copy in Berkeley and watch over the whole process of getting the cards printed. With the generous help of Dan Anderson, a neighbor of Susan's, FORC was able to transcribe the extremely informative video on "How To Run a F.C.C. Spay/Neuter Clinic" (put out by the Feral Cat Coalition http://www.feralcat.com) into European video format, and send copies to interested parties in Italy. Thanks also to Anita Rodal who sent out a thoughtful and beautifully written fundraising appeal, something she has wanted to do ever since she brought two kittens back from Torre Argentina to her home in S. California. Thanks John Henderson and Nancy Greenlease, two American journalists living in Rome, who gave us a lift by writing stories about Torre Argentina and FORC. Finally, grazie, grazie to all of you who have responded to us and to our website, it has been so rewarding to hear from you and get your messages of support for animals living here and in another county. Auguri a tutti! Posted:
1/25/03
|
||
|
We've
made it to
the big time ... check out this article that appeared in the 11/15/02 San
Francisco Chronicle:
Romans take pride in protecting the sacred cat/ S.F. woman helps raise money for shelter By
John
Henderson, Chronicle Foreign Service (November 15, 2002)
Rome
-- Inside sunken archaeological ruins known for being near the site
where
Julius Caesar was stabbed to death in 44 B.C., tourists vie with
hundreds
of cats in a virtual feline city-within-a-city. Tabbies bask on
their
stomachs surrounded by 2,000-year-old blocks of marble while other
breeds
hop on temples, saunter among columns, or rest in the shade of ancient
altars.
The estimated 500 felines at the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary, which is administered by two retirees and supported by an interior designer from San Francisco, are among an estimated 120,000 powerless cats in a city so feline friendly that 10,000 gattare or "Cat People" feed and pamper strays in piazzas and streets daily.
CATS A 'CULTURAL HERITAGE'
Some
historians say the Roman affection for cats stems from the craze for
things
Egyptian during the Roman Empire's conquest of the Nile Valley, where
royalty
kept cats. Others say Romans grew eternally grateful to cats in the
Middle
Ages, believing their appetite for rats kept the bubonic plague from
the
city.
Whatever the reason, a Roman law stipulates that cats cannot be displaced from land where they were born. In 2001, the city declared the sanctuary's felines to be a "cultural heritage." And before her death in 1973, Oscar winning actress Anna Magnani spent much of her free time feeding cats by hand at the Torre Argentina.
"The love for cats in Italy is specifically a Roman thing," said Nina
Rothenberg, a sociology professor at Rome's American University. "If
you go to the
city outskirts, nobody bothers with cats."
For many pet shelters, Torre Argentina has become a model for how to adopt homeless cats and solicit sponsors via the Internet -- www.romancats.com. Even old, disabled and ugly cats can be "adopted" through the group's "Ata Distance" program, by sending $15 a month to pay for their food and medicine. The sanctuary
also
pulls on the heartstrings of every tourist who seeks Caesar's final
steps. About 99 percent of all visitors leave donations, the shelter's
volunteers say. Cats have congregated at Torre Argentina
since archaeological excavations began in 1929, taking refuge in the
protected area below street level.
But it took 65 years before anyone offered assistance beyond the
occasional handout of food from cat-loving tourists.
When retirees Silvia Viviani, a former opera singer, and Lea Dequel,
who operated duty free stores on luxury liners, took over the
sanctuary's administration in 1994, they found the shelter in shambles.
Cats slept on syringes left by drug addicts. The ramshackled office was
infested with cockroaches and spiders. There was no electricity, water
or even a sewage system.
They soon convinced skeptical city officials to hook up electricity and
six veterinarians to sterilize cats for half the usual fee. They also
documented individual cats on computer databases and created a
newsletter.
MOST ABANDONED CATS
ADOPTED Of
the 654 cats abandoned at Torre Argentina last year, 349 were adopted,
packed in kitty containers and sent to homes as far away as New
Zealand. The organization is now sponsored by 150 individuals,
who receive photos and
medical updates of cats they sponsor.
But few supporters are
as
enthusiastic as San Francisco resident Susan Wheeler, who helped raise
$4,500 in the past year through donations and auctions at her Ingleside
Terrace home. When
not trapping feral cats for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to
Animals in San Francisco, she is busy raising funds for the Rome
shelter through her nonprofit Friends of Roman Cats. "I
was so impressed by the dedication of these people," said Wheeler,
referring to Viviani and Dequel. Wheeler said she had never been
a cat person and preferred dogs
as a child growing up in Pasadena. She became a convert after visiting
Torre
Argentina in 1989 while her daughter Claudia attended high school in
Rome.
That launched her into a mission to help not only the unique pet
shelter
but her hometown's cat population as well.
In San Francisco, she works with the Cat Assistance Team, or CAT, a 6-year- old group of 50 volunteers that includes corporate executives. They feed and trap feral cats for sterilization by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Wheeler said she had spent many evenings in her car waiting for strays to walk into traps triggered by a foot plate. In Rome, where she travels twice a year, she works with other volunteers to house, feed, wash and vaccinate cats. She notes that unlike San Francisco, Italian machismo makes population control even tougher because many male owners refuse to neuter their cats. "I am still trying to understand the Italian mentality," Wheeler said. But Italy is far ahead of the United States in refusing to euthanize healthy cats and dogs, Wheeler said. In fact, it is illegal in Italy to put to death a companion animal. According to the Human Society of the United States, between 4 million and 5 million dogs and cats are euthanized each year in the United States. Meanwhile, a sharp drop in tourism since Sept. 11, 2001, has caused a significant reduction in on-site donations for the Torre Argentina shelter. But Dequel said the feline mystique would see them through the lean times. "Rome's cats are symbols," she said. "People come here and are joyful when they see a beautiful cat on top of a column. They look more at the beautiful cat than the column." ©
Copyright 2002 SF Chronicle For the full text of the article, here's the S.F
Chronicle link. Posted:
11/28/02
Susan
sends along
this news
story from the Washington Post:
Dog Days of
Summer Turn Deadly for Rome's Alley Cats By
Daniel Williams,
Washington Post Foreign Service (August 19, 2002; Page A09)
The alarm is out in Prenestina, a rambling, anonymous southern Rome neighborhood, for a serial killer who has dispatched at least six victims with a kick to the ribs or strychnine. The most recent victim, named Lorenzo, died of fractured ribs with nary a farewell meow. Someone is killing the cats of Prenestina, news that would be upsetting in any town, but that is positively traumatic in Rome. This is a city where even stray cats get names and loving care from gattari, residents who feed and stroke strays in plazas and doorways. Some historians say the Roman affection for cats dates from the craze for things Egyptian during the Roman Empire's conquest of the Nile Valley, where royalty kept cats. Others believe that Romans grew eternally grateful to cats in the Middle Ages, believing their appetite for rats kept the bubonic plague from the city. In any case, the police in Prenestina have promised action. "There's a single hand behind this terrible chain of violence. His luck is running out," said police inspector Antonio Biscozzi. "There's already a suspect." The
cat killings have helped feed Rome's insatiable summer appetite for
animal news. The fate of Rome's fauna is always a hot topic in the
summer, when journalistic fare from the capital shrivels with the
retreat of politicians, reporters and just about everyone else to the
beach. Drama almost always afflicts the cats, birds and other animals
left behind -- even mosquitoes, deprived as they are of their main
source of food, the Romans.
A
few years ago, for instance, the city was scandalized by the plight of
dogs
temporarily abandoned by owners who were too cheap to find them a
kennel.
Then there were the aggressive sea gulls, attracted from the coast by
Rome's
garbage. Apparently enraged by the reduced pickings caused by the
seasonal
closure of restaurants, they chose to relieve unwary tourists of their
potato
chips.
This
year, it's the cats. Mara Belibani, a psychology student, informed the
police
about the Prenestina murders. Some of the victims were among the brood
she
calls with a whistle each morning and feeds. For a Roman, greater love
knows
no equal to Belibani's sacrifice: She told the newspaper Corriere della
Sera that she has given up her vacation this year to tend to her cats.
Hers
is a freelance operation, but other gattari get municipal subsidies,
including free sterilizations (for the cats). The best-known official
cat colony
thrives in Piazza Argentina, a sunken archaeological garden in central
Rome
that has become a veritable feline city-within-a-city. About 500 cats
live
among the marble ruins, doted on by an association of cat lovers. A
newer
home, for 200 strays, has taken root at a cemetery near the Ostiense
train
station. It receives donations from English cat lovers.
© Copyright 2002 Washington Post
For the full text of the article, here's the Washington Post link. Posted:
8/19/02
As we hear about them, we will highlight worldwide legisative efforts to give animals new rights. ~~ Animal Rights Legislation ~~ ~ Germany ~
CNN reports
Germany recently voted on this issue BERLIN,
Germany -- Germany
has
become the first European nationto vote to guarantee animal rights in
its constitution. A majority of lawmakers in the Bundestag voted
on Friday to add "and animals" to a clause that obliges the state to
respect and protect thedignity of humans.
The main impact of the measure will be to restrict the use of animals in experiments. For
the full text,
here's the CNN
posting.
Posted:
5/25/02
~ Great Britain ~
LONDON
(Reuters) - Less than
two
years after European human rights were incorporated into British law,
steps are underway to give pets their own "bill of rights" aimed at
guaranteeing them a minimum quality of life.
The
Sunday Times newspaper
reported that
Elliot Morley, an environment minister, will outline proposals Tuesday
to
update animal welfare legislation that dates back to 1911.
The
weekly broadsheet said
that
under the proposed rules, pet owners couldbe prosecuted if they failed
to give dogs, cats and rabbits what they needed -- including adequate
food and water, enough space and companionship.
"We
have an obligation to
treat
animals in the way that a civilized society expects," Morley is quoted
as saying.
A cartoon accompanying the front-page article depicts a gerbil addressing its human master from inside a cage: "I demand to speak to my lawyer." For
additional information,
check
out this online BBC
News article.
Posted:
5/4/02
 A friend writes: The Travel Editor/Staff Writer for the Seattle Times visited Rome last year and wrote a very nice item on Torre Argentina. I came across it quite by accident (it was republished last weekend in a Kansas City newspaper and one of my co-workers, who I've told about Torre Argentina , pulled the piece; I then tracked it down to its source).
Comment:
While
there's no policy change at this time, it's encouraging the debate is
at least starting.
The second story, "Fast Food and Animal Rights," produced by Daniel Zwerdling for American Radio Works, looks at what happened when "an unlikely corporation -- McDonald's" -- has taken the lead in the campaign for animal welfare." Part II of the report introduces Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who says that her autism makes it possible for her to experience the world as animals do. It is she that corporate executives credit with changing their attitudes about how animals are treated. Comment:
the influence of
McDonald's is truly amazing.
Click
on the links above to go to the website where you can listen to the
full program. |
||
|
Home | Mission Statement | News | Events Success Stories | In Memoriam | How Can I Help? Links | Membership | Catalog | Contact Us For more information, please contact: Susan Wheeler: rappwheel@aol.com or Mary Kennedy: marezie@appleisp.net |
Both participants found the
conference instructive in many
different areas. It confirmed our belief that a primary task for
FORC is to help bring more spay/neuter to Roman cats. At the same
time we want to highlight
the "legal rights" given to domestic animals in such Western European
countries as, Italy, Germany and England. We would like to see
companion animals in America enjoy the same rights that they have in
Europe, not just as
someone's property, but as beings in their own right. 
accept vouchers that
Torre Argentina gives to cat caretakers
for free
sterilization of their cat colonies. We believe that this kind of
program can make a significant difference as it reaches caretakers all
over the city of Rome, and allows whole colonies to be sterilized. 
This is a concept that works well
in a number of communities
in the United States. With the help of Linda Brinen, Cynthia Caughey
and Mary Kennedy, Susan Wheeler spent a chunk of the summer writing a
grant proposal requesting start-up funds for equipment and
supplies. We have also been in touch with people in Rome who want
to be involved, as well as wonderful people such as Dr. Terry Paik, one
of the early vets supporting the Feral Cat Coalition of San Diego's
spay/neuter clinic. He has offered to go to Rome to help when the
clinic gets underway. We will continue to develop this program during
the coming year. Special thanks goes to Lisa Camasi, a member of
our Advisory Board who was involved with the Feral Cat Coalition 
when she lived in San Diego., and
who also helped them put
together their excellent video. Thanks also to Linda Kelson, one
of the founders
of the FCC who has taken time to answer our many questions. 
There are no such traps in
Italy. We have mounted a
special Trap Appeal asking for donations that will go toward buying and
sending up to 30 traps to Rome. For a $75 donation, a person can
name a trap to send
over. So far people's generosity has been overwhelming, and we
are
about a third of the way toward our goal. 
It was attended both by
veterinarians and people involved in
managing
cat colonies. Susan talked about the importance of public/private
cooperation between the Italian municipal veterinary services that are
supposed to provide sterilizations and private cat caretaker groups,
using
examples from her work in San Francisco as a member of the Cat
Assistance
Team. She also introduced and screened the Feral Cat Coalition
Video
to show the conference attendees how private veterinarians and
concerned
individuals can help with high volume, low cost spay/neuter.
Susan
was told at the end of the conference, that FORC's lobbying effort for
increased
Roman sterilizations of homeless cats was the catalyst for the
conference.
FORC members all feel very proud. 
The Feral Cat Coalition video was
also extremely well
received and it
is being translated into Italian through the generous support of the
English animal charity