Posted on 08/05/2007 9:26:04 AM PDT by nuconvert
N.J. Town Targets Cats in Effort to Protect Endangered Birds
August 04, 2007
CAPE MAY, N.J. —
Cats are as much a part of this seaside town's genteel culture as rainbow-colored Victorian bed-and-breakfasts, trolley tours and cocktails on the porch at sunset.
They're also suspect No. 1 in many deaths of the endangered piping plover, a fist-sized, white-and-brown fuzzball of a bird that has closed beaches and stopped development projects in the interest of protecting their habitat.
With only 115 pairs of piping plovers left in the state, the federal government may intervene on the side of the birds, which has set both fur and feather flying here. Cat lovers fear the roaming felines will be euthanized, while bird lovers are wary of a rare species being wiped out.
"This is a very emotional issue; this really is a cat town," said resident Pat Peckham. "I think they should leave the cats where they are. I'm a firm believer in letting nature take its course."
A cat's nature and its appetite for critters are just what have bird enthusiasts concerned.
Cape May is one of the prime bird-watching spots in all of North America; the World Series of Birding is held here each year. And with bird watching and related expenditures bringing in nearly $2 billion a year to New Jersey's economy, the feathers may win this fight.
The plovers, which breed on East Coast beaches during warm weather, build nest in sandy, open stretches of beach, making them and their chicks easy prey for a variety of predators, including foxes, gulls, raccoons and cats.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
You do realize that your cat was licking his butt just before you opened that ice cream bar....
And that is why you need snakes. The cats are not the natural predator, but the snakes are. Too many of these are killed by people overreacting out of fear and ignaorance. And then they wonder why the rodents get out of control. See Chinas rat problem for reference.
Related:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1875233/posts
Jersey has tunnel vision for wildlife
ping
ping
I don’t think that having domestic and feral cats running all over is “letting nature take it’s course.”
What is this nonsense of trapping, neutering and releasing feral cats back into the wild. What utter stupidity. Kill all feral cats. They are bad news.
I say outlaw Garfield - and Snoopy, too. Keep Tweetie.
There was a time when the taxpayer had control of his wallet. How did all these enviro-mental cases get unlimited access to our pocket books?
If feral cats are a problem, declare open season on them and be done with it. Besides, feral cats are more of a threat to domestic cats, raccoons, fox and other furry critters with all the diseases they carry like feline leukemia's, parvo virus, mange, etc. they spread around.
Please note, the target is a cat.
I guarantee you seagulls have more to do with the decline of the plover population than a cat does.
Sounds like they need more feral cats, not less.
Most people in the country (no doubt where the birdwatchers watch birds) do NOT keep their dogs confined. That’s one reason why they move to the country—or so they say.
Dogs like to hunt. They like to hunt things that move. Everyone I know either complains about their dogs killing birds, or brags about it.
As I read the article, two billion is what birdwatchers spend in the state of New Jersey every year, not what the government is spending on the plovers.
cute little fuzzball
A nutty neighbor started opening the traps to let the cats out.
I started shooting them!
cat fight, the cat lovers aren’t going to like this.
I started shooting them!
I'm surprised you didn't get in trouble for shooting your neighbors!
Mark
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