On June 24, RiverheadLOCAL reported that “Environmental activist Richard Amper has taken his complaint about the Kent Animal Shelter application for a permit to build— and two other pine barrens commission matters — to the state attorney general.” Mr. Amper contends that the commission should not even be considering a waiver for the shelter rebuild proposed by Kent and accuses “commission politicians” of “pandering to a popular, ‘aren’t the doggies cute’ operation.”
So Mr. Amper thinks that Kent Animal Shelter is an ‘aren’t the doggies cute’ operation. This can be interpreted to say that Kent Animal Shelter — which has been a vital organization for the past 47 years on the North Fork of Long Island, rescuing tens of thousands of homeless animals, spaying and neutering an equivalent amount, providing humane education to children to promote responsible pet ownership, and giving our seniors in adult care facilities an opportunity to connect to the love and companionship of a loving pet — is more or less a joke according to Mr. Amper. All of the families, all of the individuals whose lives have been enriched over the years, all of those animal advocates, organizations and foundations that are concerned for the welfare of homeless animals would strongly disagree with the philistine viewpoint of Mr. Amper.
The Kent Animal Shelter has diligently applied to all of the appropriate agencies for permission to rebuild where we have been located for almost a half century. Perhaps fearing that the Central Pine Barrens Commission may allow it, he has taken the fight to prevent the Kent Animal Shelter from rebuilding to a whole new level.
To minimize the work of the Kent Animal Shelter is a misdirected effort to thwart a project that will greatly benefit the environment by removing buildings that are directly encroaching upon the Peconic River with a deleterious effect. This project will greatly benefit the environment by placing a new state-of-the-art facility with a technically advanced wastewater removal system that is decades ahead of its present, antiquated, environmentally unfriendly system.
Wake up Mr. Amper, take the blinders off. This project is a win-win situation for the animals, the public, the community and the environment. The Kent Animal Shelter’s facility pre-existed any Pine Barrens preservation laws. Kent Animal Shelter is already here, there is not one native pine tree on the acreage, and 700 feet away is property not included in the Pine Barrens core. So this ‘aren’t the doggies cute’ operation is already here and here to stay. Surely, Mr. Amper’s efforts are better spent elsewhere.
Pamela Green is the executive director of the Kent Animal Shelter in Calverton, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation established in 1968. Kent provides a no-kill haven for homeless animals, adoption services, a spay/neuter clinic, and humane education. Green has held the position of executive director at Kent for 30 years. More information about the shelter is available at www.KentAnimalShelter.com.
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