European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 13, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                I 11 Firma heart for abandoned animals of by Tara Bradley Steck v associated press r Raad Iffe Smith walks through a stable with Tome of the abandoned animal he s rescued. Radcliffe Smith s Large weathered hands probe lot burrs in the tangled or of the Airedele Spray cd at his feel while several ail wagging dogs Pace excitedly around him. He Calls them by their new names Bear Tippy Roy Rogers Bea and  each of Thesa canine castoffs a pal on the head and a smile. Twice a Day Lor More than 25 years the 68-year-old ormer Coal Miner has been going to inc Greene county Fairgrounds to feed and care lot animals he s Lound abandoned there. In thai time. Smith has a Rcd or everything from owls to sheep and Callie to mules is s now leading a horse seven dogs and several Riison cats All Al his own expense. Because inc Rural county has no animal shelter. Smith has to draw the line when it comes to taking in Pels that people simply grow tired a. Shelters in neighbouring counties Lake in thousands of unwanted Pels each year and to simply Doans t have the room or Money to provide for that Many. Rather he s the last resort Lor the hard Core cares or the cats hit on nearby highways dogs caught in traps or starving farm animals left after a county fair i m always on the Lookout or animals not just any animal but an animal Hal is in need Smith says. I be found Many dogs and cats hat have been it by cars and dropped All Here to die and others half starved and Frozen people have offered to pay me to take their dog. Bull can t do thai there Are Loo Many and i Don t have pens for  according to a 19b4 Survey by the Washington . Based humane society of Iho United states More than 11,6 million dogs and cats arc Given up to shelters annually 7.6 million of which Are put to sleep. Sometimes we just Lurn into a slaughterhouse says Bill Renn director of the Allegheny county humane society in Pil Isburgh. About 50 Miles to the North. Smith began his daily treks to the Fairgrounds Long before he left the mines with a Back injury in 1968. When he was working he d Rio before and after work and would stay longer in working nights now he stays about six hours taking Long walks with the dogs to nearby ten mile Creeh grooming and feeding a neglected horse and snooping around the grounds for More Lor Gollen animals. I always Check around the  he says nodding Protection needed for non game wildlife by David Vesey United press internationale environmentalists say the time has come to Lake urgent action to project non game animals Birds mammals reptiles and Lish Hal Are not hunted fished or trapped irom new i reals to their survival they Are worried about what icy consider to be a failure of leadership and funding in efforts to protect those animals comprising the vast majority of american wildlife from humans. They also Are worried about squandering the living legacy provided by nearly 3,700 species of wild animals identified to be living in the United slates by the fish and wildlife service in 1980, 93 million americans enjoyed outdoor wildlife activities such As birdwatching nature hikes and wildlife photography that underscored their appreciation for Many non game animals. Mas agencies Are so narrowly focused on game species that hey have All but forgotten non game  says Joyce Kelley. President of defenders of wildlife a non profit conservation organization in Washington. The organization says it will ask the states and Congress to work with wildlife and environmental groups to raise $50 million a year to Lund state programs to protect non Gamo wildlife programs outlined in the still unfunded non game act of i960. Kelley says Iha new Campaign is needed to prevent the decline of Many species of animals so that "10 years from now v e Don t have to Devoie extraordinary time and Money of preventing their  a number of migratory lard spec res the common Loon. The Osprey the red shouldered Hawk the Wood Slort and the barn owl Are among he non game animate tha could face survival problems in future years Kelley says efforts to protect non game animals must extend beyond the traditional approach of single species game management and must result in programs to protect the habitat of non game species irom development and pollution far too Many non game preservation programs in too Many states rely on unstable voluntary donations including income tax checkoff the group said. Kelley Laid americans Are wilting to pick up the Bill Lor protecting non game animals. A study conducted this year by the president s commission on americans outdo cars found 64 percent of the population thinks wildlife Protection should be paid for by taxes. In 1984,64 percent of California voters approved an �85 million Bond to acquire and protect wildlife habitat. These statistics support a major fact says Kelley the american people want new and better wildlife  Page 14 the stars and stripes