christine cummings remembers the cold, drizzly day last year that she saved two baby great-horned owls. the rescue itself was routine for cummings, who is the president of a place called hope<\/a>, a rehabilitation center for birds of prey. but the circumstances were unique: the owls\u2019 mother was dead at the bottom of a tree, with blood in her eyes and mouth and under her skin\u2014symptoms that, to an expert like cummings, obviously indicate poison.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

cummings took in the orphaned babies, nurturing them until they could be rereleased into the wild. even after she freed them, she continued to leave food on her rooftop so that she could monitor them and ensure their smooth transition into the wilderness. every few days they\u2019d come back to the rehab center to retrieve some food, like a grown-up child just stopping by for a quick visit. one day, cummings found one of the owls, now an adult, on the ground. she picked it up and watched it die in her arms. when she tested the body, she realized that the poison that had killed its mother was responsible for this death, too.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

the killer was a second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide, a chemical used to exterminate rats. because of its widespread effects on ecosystems, some activists are fighting to ban its use. this is one of several legal battles being waged by passionate animal-lovers in connecticut to advance the welfare of species across the state.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

building out the legal system for animal rights advocacy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

connecticut votes for animals is one political organization where these animal-lovers unite. its members are pushing state bill 962<\/a> in hopes of preventing future instances like cummings\u2019 poisoned great-horned owls. the bill would prohibit the use of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides. the chemicals produce a slow death for rodents, said adria henderson, a member of the cva advisory council. in the time after a rat has been poisoned but is still alive, it can be eaten by a raptor, or other predator, which will then also die.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cif you kill mice and rats, and the owls eat the mice and rats, they\u2019re gonna die,\u201d henderson explained. \u201cit\u2019s a horrible death for any animal, and even if you don\u2019t like rats, they are a food source for other animals.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cit works its way into the food web and it\u2019s causing all sorts of damaging effects,\u201d cummings said.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

at a wildlife clinic run by tufts university in massachusetts, researchers found traces of anticoagulant rodenticides in every one of the 43 red-tailed hawks they tested. the tufts university website<\/a> explains that many of the hawks were also found with second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides, which are more powerful and harmful than first-generation ones.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

connecticut votes for animals has also rallied behind state bill 1060. if enacted, this bill would allow lawyers or law students to act as advocates for abused animals in court.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

the proposed legislation builds on \u201cdesmond\u2019s law,<\/a>\u201d a 2016 bill that allows court advocates to be appointed for abused dogs and cats. it was championed by jessica rubin, an animal rights lawyer and professor at the university of connecticut school of law.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

with the presence of an advocate, cases of animal abuse are less likely to be dismissed. rubin explained that in the past, cases were dismissed frequently because of a lack of sufficient evidence.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cthe advocate can really play a wide range of roles in an animal cruelty case,\u201d rubin said, explaining that advocates conduct extra legal and factual research to give recommendations about a case. \u201cit\u2019s\u2026another perspective in the courtroom.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

now, ct votes for animals seeks to expand the idea of court advocates to all abused animals, not just dogs and cats, henderson said.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cdesmond\u2019s law doesn\u2019t cover goats\u2026neglected horses\u2026neglected farm animals,\u201d henderson said. \u201cthere\u2019s all that other part of the animal world\u2026that if desmond\u2019s law is expanded, they would be protected.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

honoring the interior lives of animals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

jp farm animal sanctuary<\/a> is a project run by lynn printy and oscar janssen that aims to protect this other part of the animal world. it provides a safe home to cows, pigs, chickens, and other farm creatures. some of these animals were rescued from abuse, while others were on the path to being killed for food.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

\n