Feral cats in San Antonio's Breckenridge park? We don't go to parks to see feral cats. We go to see the wildlife they're killing that are NEVER mentioned in this article! Please don't do this to our wildlife!
Contact the Mayor and City Council!
Technically, the volunteers have been breaking the law for more than 10 years by trapping, sterilizing and returning cats to the park — City Code prohibits a person from feeding an animal for more than 72 hours without claiming it as their own.
But that could change Thursday, at least on a limited basis. The City Council will consider an agreement with two local nonprofit organizations to legalize a trap, neuter and return — or TNR — pilot program for the Tea Garden cats.
The agreement would devote $5,000 in city funds to sterilize the cats and implant microchips in them.
The agreement is worth more than that to animal advocates, who've longed for city-sanctioned feral cat colonies in an effort to reduce the number of cats killed at the city shelter.
MORE ON THE STORY
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
Ok, so here you have a group of people willing to do something about the problem.
So given there were no volunteers willing to catch and euthenize the cats I guesss you'll have to decide. Do we do nothing and let the cats continue to populate the area or do we utilize the only people willing to do something and let the TNR efforts remove the problem slowly, but surely?
You continue to post success stories of TNR efforts on your site.
From this very article:
"In 1995 a group of staff and students at the University of Texas at Austin formed the Campus Cat Coalition to organize TNR colonies on the campus, where at least 100 and maybe as many as 200 cats were living.
In the past six years, no new litters of kittens have been born on the campus, and only 30 to 40 sterilized adult cats remain in small colonies. As of November, the group had adopted 99 kittens and adopted or reunited 38 friendly strays. A little more than 100 adult feral cats were sterilized and returned to the campus and 11 cats were euthanized because of serious injury or illness."
Now there are fewer cats left to kill birds. Maybe they should have done nothing instead?
You are overlooking several major points.
First, it was the responsibility of the area authorities to rid the area of destructive alien pests by the most effecient means possible, not to prolong or perpetuate the status quo of cats killing birds.
Secondly, not everyone shares your aesthetics that find groups of lounging or roaming cats a thing of beauty.
If you’re going to wait for the government to do something you might as well pick up a copy of Don Quixote.
What you fail to acknowledge is that the only people willing to act are all in favor of TNR. Therefore, that’s the most effective method for reducing the feral cat population.
By your logic: The quickest way for me to reduce world hunger and poverty is to give everyone money and food. Sadly, that's not going to happen. Therefore we have to favor the best method leading us to the goal. This is true for the feral cat issue as well.
You enjoy avoiding the obvious, which is that as pointed out in the Austin example, TNR does work.
Since this is the time of year birds are counted, let’s see what the numbers are. While we’re waiting utilize the Audubons website and see for yourself. http://audubon2.org/birds/cbc/hr/count_table.html
I am willing to act and I oppose TNR. I write politicians calling for stricter enforcement of our laws protecting our wildlife, I trap cats, and I write blogs.
Well thankfully more people believe in the TNR effort and are willing to act to promote it. As your posts show the TNR effort is growing because it is the most humane and economical solution.
If every person trying to denounce the TNR effort would go out and help with it instead this problem would be solved within a few years. Yes, birds are dying, but look at the numbers. There is no dramatic worldwide problem. Letting these cats live out their lives without being able to produce will not result in the extinction of any species of birds. Though it will provide a reduction in the number of cats living outdoors.
I must imagine that you also write to your representatives about other ecological problems birds face. Do some research and you’ll find that cats are not on the top of the list of problems birds face. And it’s not only birds that are facing extinction if we don’t wake up. Like I wrote before, if you’re waiting for our government which doesn’t seem to think there are any ecological problems now, then you’ll be sorely disappointed. It’s going to be 70 degrees here in New Jersey tomorrow. I’m from Texas originally, and this is even warm for that part of the country. We’re breaking records here and the trees are starting to bud thinking it’s spring.
If you really want to make a difference I believe you’d be doing yourself a favor to start a different blog focused more on either the bigger picture or something that is having a more dramatic effect on birds. By your assertion that all feral should be killed, you are not trying to stop animals from dying, you just don’t want birds to die. Trying to stop TNR efforts and have cats killed to save the birds is like dumping ice cubes into the Arctic because it’s too warm.
Well thankfully more people believe in the TNR effort and are willing to act to promote it. As your posts show the TNR effort is growing because it is the most humane and economical solution.
Trap, neuter, abandon serves as make work for you feral cat enablers. It fuels your denial reserves and keeps you from admitting it is wrong for there to be 100 million feral and roaming alien domestic cats killing our wildlife.
If every person trying to denounce the TNR effort would go out and help with it instead this problem would be solved within a few years. Yes, birds are dying, but look at the numbers. There is no dramatic worldwide problem. Letting these cats live out their lives without being able to produce will not result in the extinction of any species of birds. Though it will provide a reduction in the number of cats living outdoors.
If every person enabling our wildlife's destruction and breaking laws through trap, neuter, abandon would stop feeding cats, sit on their hands, and stay out of the way of animal control specialists the suffering of our birds and your cats would soon end.
I must imagine that you also write to your representatives about other ecological problems birds face. Do some research and you’ll find that cats are not on the top of the list of problems birds face.
I've never said that. Cats are second on the list of bird's problems
If you really want to make a difference I believe you’d be doing yourself a favor to start a different blog focused more on either the bigger picture or something that is having a more dramatic effect on birds. By your assertion that all feral should be killed, you are not trying to stop animals from dying, you just don’t want birds to die. Trying to stop TNR efforts and have cats killed to save the birds is like dumping ice cubes into the Arctic because it’s too warm.
Excuse me? I will decide what I focus on here. Get off your high horse about killing. You took credit for your group abandoning 300 domestic alien bird killing machines to kill our birds! If our federal wildlife laws were enforced you would be in a lot of trouble.
I'm on the high horse? Who has the poll asking which we should kill, birds or cats?
Your shallow myopic view is keeping you from the facts. TNR will slowly, but surely, remove feral cats from our areaa. How in the world do you think that there will ever be a successful trap and euthanize effort if you don't even believe that TNR advocates can catch all of the cats?
You say feral cats are an unnatural predator, and of course they are, but let’s get real here. Feeding birds is even more unnatural. Go into a pet store to look for bird food and what do they sell? Suet, or beef fat. Ok, that’s a very natural food for birds, isn’t it?
I'm on the high horse? Who has the poll asking which we should kill, birds or cats?
You choose to kill our birds and wildlife by enabling your feral cats to gobble them up by the billions while ignoring laws protecting said wildlife.
I choose to protect our wildlife by upholding those laws and advocating the removal of your aliens from our ecology.
Your shallow myopic view is keeping you from the facts. TNR will slowly, but surely, remove feral cats from our areaa.
My shallow myopic view is you are a cold blooded, ruthless killer of birds and you're in denial of the deaths those ferals you aid and abet cause. Trap, neuter, abandon is slowly, but surely, removing our wildlife from our ecology.
How in the world do you think that there will ever be a successful trap and euthanize effort if you don't even believe that TNR advocates can catch all of the cats?
If our laws were enforced you'd cease and desist your efforts at circumventing them and allow the experts to do their jobs, or you'd be in jail.
You say feral cats are an unnatural predator, and of course they are, but let’s get real here. Feeding birds is even more unnatural. Go into a pet store to look for bird food and what do they sell? Suet, or beef fat. Ok, that’s a very natural food for birds, isn’t it?
Excuse me, our birds belong here, your cats do not!
I know your favorite word is enabler, but you should calm down a bit. It’s apparent you are more interested in your self aggrandizing hate-speech than saving birds.
Your profile says you worked for a chemical company. How many birds died and continue to die from your chemicals?
In my lifetime I will see a reduction of cats in the areas I help with. You will write letters and wait for solutions that have already been tried unsuccessfully. Cats have been around for hundreds of years and if you think you're the first person who's wanted them dead you'd better think again.
By your logic all the birds that have died before you became the BirdAdvocate are on your head too. Not to mention the ones that are tortured for your meals.
I know your favorite word is enabler, but you should calm down a bit. It’s apparent you are more interested in your self aggrandizing hate-speech than saving birds.
Uh, does the word enabler hit one of your sore points? The topic of this forum is feral cats and what we can do to get them out of our ecology. You release them into our ecology, enabling them to destroy our fauna. Your denials accomplish nothing.
Your profile says you worked for a chemical company. How many birds died and continue to die from your chemicals?
You would prefer to go back to the stone age? Again, the topic of this forum is the destruction of our wildlife by the cats you serve. Your condemning chemicals does nothing to excuse your actions.
In my lifetime I will see a reduction of cats in the areas I help with. You will write letters and wait for solutions that have already been tried unsuccessfully. Cats have been around for hundreds of years and if you think you're the first person who's wanted them dead you'd better think again.
Your objections remind me of a person who told me years ago I would never succeed in one of my activist pursuits against a huge corporation. He'd been in a position of responsibility there for for thirty years. A few months later he was forced to retire. My agenda continued to succeed.
My agenda now is protecting the billions of native animals your feral cats kill. I have the laws behind me as well as millions of people. Most importantly, I'm in the right.
By your logic all the birds that have died before you became the BirdAdvocate are on your head too. Not to mention the ones that are tortured for your meals.
Speaking of logic, try to use some, this is not an animal rights discussion. Your favorite game, besides enabling your precious kitties to kill birds, is baiting birders, but if you expect to continue it here you will watch your step.
Post a Comment