Monday, April 23, 2007

A letter to an editor

Jim Stevenson, the founder of the Galveston Ornithological Society, was indicted in the shooting death of a feral cat at San Luis Pass. Stevenson has stated that feral cats on the isle’s West End are a danger to bird populations.
What Has Happened To Our Animal Priorities?
We would also like to contribute to Jim Stevenson’s defense.
About 30 years ago, our house was on a dead-end street, and there were a lot of feral cats in the pastures around our house.
One of our daughters, a toddler of 4 years, was playing in a room that we were adding on to our house.
We were not aware that one of the feral cats had gotten into this room. All of a sudden, I heard this awful screaming. The cat had our daughter’s little hand in its mouth and would not let go of her.
Our daughter was deathly sick for about one week. She could not walk, her entire body was swollen, she had fever and she was on antibiotics.
On the way to the hospital in her little voice, she asked: “Am I going to die?”
Needless to say, the next day, we dug a deep hole, my husband got the shotgun and we killed about 10 feral cats in the pasture.
We are not animal haters; we just believe you should have a right and obligation to protect your own children.
I guess in this day and time, we’d be arrested and go to prison?
Feral cats are mean and dangerous animals. What has happened to our society? Where are your priorities?
Gladys S. Haak Santa Fe
LINK

Cats not the mascot, but they're all over

A&M-CC and city dealing with feral animal problems
Some of Tavia Young's unwelcome neighbors have moved on.
But the 20-year-old Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi student is greeted by the same three or four cats roaming around her on-campus student apartment in the evenings.
"They are always there," said the communications major from Palacios, about 50 miles east of Victoria. "Last year, there were tons - all the time."
LINK

Thursday, April 19, 2007

"Cats kill birds. It's what they do."

I ran across another blog with a flame war going on about feral cats. I've done my share of verbal and written fighting on the subject, but managed to avoid that particular war. I'll only say here the experts... (and by "experts" I'm not refering to the TNR enthusiasts) expert biologists will tell you domestic cats are killing machines. They have no more a niche in our ecology than do Burmese Pythons.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Walla Walla tries to get at feral cat problem

Unfixed felines are banned from prowling outdoors here under a kitty curfew aimed at curbing the feral cat population.
The curfew, enacted last month by the City Council, applies to cats 4 months and older. It also prohibits leaving pet food outdoors overnight.
Violators can be fined up to $500, and three citations could lead to a larger fine or even jail time, City Attorney Tim Donaldson said. The city's animal control officer also can seize at-large cats, he said.
LINK

City May Change Feral Cat Laws

Let's hope they put some bite in their laws!
OMAHA, Neb. -- Omaha's City Council is considering a change in the way the city deals with feral cats.
On Tuesday, an ordinance proposed by Councilman Chuck Sigerson was discussed. It would require people who take in feral or stray cats to identify them, put tags on them and have them vaccinated against rabies.
If passed, the ordinance would also require people who take care of large numbers of feral cats to get a permit.
"What we're trying to do is in the name of public safety to reduce the wild -- that is, feral -- cat populace, while those who choose to take care of these animals shall have to take some responsibility," Sigerson said.
The ordinance could come to a final vote within two weeks.
LINK

Friday, April 13, 2007

Falcon Cams at four Xcel Energy plants

Falcon Cams at four Xcel Energy plants
Seen at Birdchick Blog

Cat, plover camps 'compromise"™

I will be adversarial to cats as long as they are killing birds!
Wildlife officials protecting an endangered shore bird and a rescue league that feeds wild cats are working together this year to keep predator and prey apart.
Starting this week, the U.S. Department of the Interior, working with state Fish and Game, will trap cats in Hampton Beach State Park and release them to Seacoast Area Feline Education and Rescue (SAFER).
The "catch and release" policy comes just in time to welcome the endangered piping plover back to Hampton and Seabrook beaches.
LINK

Grand jury indicts bird lover in cat's death

Stevenson discussed the hours before his arrest after his release in November. His account appeared on the Texbirds online message board.
He wrote that, the night before his arrest, he saw a feral cat on the West End “creeping up on three snowy and two piping plovers, and several sanderlings.”
Stevenson wrote that he tried unsuccessfully to capture the cat. However, the next morning, he saw it and several other cats in the area, making him concerned for endangered and threatened birds whose habitat lies near the isle’s western tip.
LINK