Audubon Chapter
Evicts Animals

HAMPDEN, Mass. —(AP)— A local advisory and fund-raising board has lost a court bid to prevent the Massachusetts Audubon Society from evicting Reddy Fox, Old Man Coyote and other injured animals from a wildlife sanctuary.

The Friends of Laughing Brook contended its parent group broke faith with local supporters who raised more than $300,000 to care for the injured animals on the former estate of children's book author Thornton Burgess.

The 300-acre wildlife sanctuary was built around Burgess' property, which he left to the town. It was acquired by the Massachusetts Audubon Society in 1978.

All of the animals kept at the sanctuary were too injured to go back into the wild. They were all common woodland species featured in Burgess' work.

Dalton Philpott, acting president of the Friends group, said it was continuing its fight despite the refusal of Superior Court Judge Francis Fecteau to block the removal of the remaining animals.

"We are not giving up," Philpott said following Fecteau's decision late last week.

The Friends group contended Massachusetts Audubon fraudulently got them to raise money for the animals when it had no intention of keeping them.

It also maintained that Massachusetts Audubon obtained Laughing Brook with the provision that it would consult with the Friends group and vote before disposing of any facilities.

Despite attempts by Philpott and others to raise the issue over the past several months, Massachusetts Audubon's board of trustees has never taken a vote on the decision made by Bertrand and other executives.