You wouldn't want to shoot THIS ONE:
But you might wanna' shoot THESE:
You'd probably just wanna' RUN from THIS one:
These people have just waaaay too much time.
Posted on 04/13/2007 8:33:45 AM PDT by BradtotheBone
GALVESTON — After devoting much of his life to protecting wild creatures, a prominent naturalist here now faces trial on a felony charge of cruelty to animals.
Jim Stevenson, 53, a well-known bird-watcher and founder of the Galveston Ornithological Society, was indicted this week by a Galveston County grand jury on charges that he killed a feral cat Nov. 8 with a .22-caliber rifle.
"What really bothers me, this cat was down there killing endangered species of birds and others protected by law," Stevenson said in an interview Thursday. "Feral cats are not protected by law, and I stopped a cat from doing that and I get arrested."
Assistant District Attorney Bill Reed declined to discuss Stevenson's view of the law.
"All of those issues, I'm sure, will be flushed out in court," Reed said.
Stevenson, who has lived on Galveston Island since 1996, has traveled the world studying birds and published four books, including the Wildlife of Galveston. and publishes the Galveston Ornithological Society's quarterly newspaper, Gulls N Herons.
Despite his deep involvement with nature, or perhaps because of it, he has been accused of an aversion to feral cats because they prey on the birds he has studied.
Stevenson said the cat he is accused of killing had previously been captured and would have been euthanized had it not been spayed and and released.
Stevenson believes that there is no law protecting feral cats.
An official with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has said the law is unclear.
Although he admitted in a 1999 Internet posting to killing two dozen feral cats near his island home, Stevenson told the Houston Chronicle in November that he is fond of cats.
His arrest last year surprised and saddened many environmentalists.
"Jim Stevenson is not a bad man," Dori Nelson, chair of the Seabrook Eco-Tourism Committee, told the Chronicle soon after his arrest.
The arrest came after a toll-booth worker at the San Luis Pass Bridge told police that he heard two shots fired, then saw a white van speed away with Stevenson at the wheel.
One of the toll-booth employees, who had been feeding several feral cats and considered them pets, found the dead cat and pursued Stevenson. The employee said the cat already had a limp from an earlier bullet wound.
Stevenson is free on $10,000 bail. If convicted, he faces from six months to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
:-)
Delano, California’s National Bird is the crow.
If you drive through there in the evening, you will be shocked by all of those mean, ugly birds swarming the place. (They storm the almond and fruit groves around there—driving up the cost of the food you buy.) Insanely, it’s illegal to kill the monsters.
“Don’t ask: Don’t tell” was a seated president’s personal declaration; so why not, “Shoot! Shovel! Shut-Up!”?
I think it is going to take more than the 2 of us to convince fawn. ;9)
You wouldn't want to shoot THIS ONE:
But you might wanna' shoot THESE:
You'd probably just wanna' RUN from THIS one:
These people have just waaaay too much time.
(((I think it is going to take more than the 2 of us to convince fawn. ;9))))
:-D
Aw, that’s okay. She loves cats, I can’t blame her much!
Yeah, and feral is such a cool word to throw around, much cooler than stray. ;9)
You have stated the exact reason cats should not be allowed to run free.
In addition to ringworm, cats' feces carry pin worms which invade a child's intestine and rectum. WORSE, if a child gets this on his/her hand and puts said hand into said child's mouth, other parasites (I can't remember the name of the parasite.) can do extreme damage to said child's brain.
Nope.
Cat traps are the answer to feral cats. Responsible owners are the answer to domesticated cats.
(((Yeah, and feral is such a cool word to throw around, much cooler than stray. ;9))))
True! Merrorwr!
woof woof cat friendly, of course.
No. I’m being sarcastic with you....as you are really confused. I think some of you need to look up the definitions of words.
Please tell me now man kills songbirds. Or do you mean little boys with BB guns.
Thanks, Bannie, but the boogers over at that web site don’t like sharing their pictures.
haha! They’re not our FRiends.
I could’a sworn it worked earlier!!
:-o
:-)
My cat’s main prey are rodents of all kinds.
Since we live near the water and those rats get BIG, our neighbors have been extremely thankful. One even tried to give me money once to “borrow” Kitty and eradicate a pesty...uh...pest (rat) from her home. Job done (with no payment) in less than 10 minutes.
A good mouser or ratter is worth her weight in gold. We have never ever had a live rodent in our house.
As far as the article goes, I never quite understood why “naturalists” like this guy don’t like it when nature takes its course.
Regards,
Regards,
Look on my page.....
fe·ral1 /ˈfɪərəl, ˈfɛr-/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[feer-uhl, fer-] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective 1. existing in a natural state, as animals or plants; not domesticated or cultivated; wild.
2. having reverted to the wild state, as from domestication: a pack of feral dogs roaming the woods.
3. of or characteristic of wild animals; ferocious; brutal.
~~~~
wild /waɪld/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[wahyld] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation adjective, -er, -est, adverb, noun
–adjective 1. living in a state of nature; not tamed or domesticated: a wild animal; wild geese.
I adopted a feral cat too (many people do!) and while they always retain a little bit of wildness, they can be as lovable as rescue cats & pedigrees.
When they spray the entire area(twice a year) from the planes at night to kill mosquitoes here in florida, you will notice the next day or so...dead birds under trees. I've seen it regularly myself. Not to mention how the landscapers put pesticides in the ponds around here to kill algae, etc, and you will read how most of the fish die and are found floating on top of the water (makes the papers once in a while) and how birds will drink the same water.
I know birds are killed/disturbed when things are built but we must built houses/hospitals/schools for humans.
You can’t really object to mosquito spraying because a few birds might be killed. Tell me you aren’t that nuts.
My neighborhood was built in a heavily wooded area 50+ years ago, I am sure some birds were killed/displaced then. Now the huge trees are full of birds and their nest so it worked out OK. I feed and water them and my yard is a riot of songbirds all year long. We still have a pair of Goldfinches that didn’t leave with the others. The male is bright yellow now.
If every egg laid by every bird hatched and lived to maturity and reproduced we would be knee deep in bird poop. Thankfully some of them die.
I did not say I did. I'm telling you what kills them. It's more than a few if you add up the entire peninsula of florida twice a year.
In Florida, I've seen many areas where the big besting birds (cranes, etc) nested in for YEARS totally wiped out by growth. THey nest in fields not trees. They're gone. You don't see them anymore. So many trees were wiped out too, so the birds don't have many places to live. Also, down here, some developements don't allow you to feed the birds. I have both cats and birds that I feed in my back yard(land which belongs to the association not me) but the cats never have killed a bird. Because I feed the cats. I have cardinals, some small new red breasted birds, woodpeckers, black birds of course and pigeons/doves, blue jays...) I have many generations of cardinals. The cats will lay under the very tree/bush where my neighbor and I hang the birdfeeders. Not one bird is killed. I've had a dove fly into my kitchen window and kill itself and I've had a hawk fly down and grab a dove and eat it alive. I also have many racoons...who you know climb trees and steal the birds eggs. Raccoons LOVE eggs. Everyone forgets that they are the Main bird egg stealers. Cats don't steal eggs.. Also, we used to have otters in the canals. No more....suburban growth. So dont' blame the cats.
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