Posted on 11/21/2007 4:20:08 PM PST by No Truce With Kings
Editor’s note: A mistrial was decalred in the animal-cruelty case against Jim Stevenson, after jurors said they could not reach a verdict about his shooting of a cat.
Despite neither reading any newspaper articles nor watching any TV newscasts since the infamous cat incident a year ago, I’ve become aware of a few discrepancies that I would like to publicly address.
Most importantly, this matter was not about cats vs. birds. It was about biodiversity, especially on Galveston Island. In the 10 years I have lived here, I have witnessed the total extirpation of breeding black skimmers, Least terns and Wilson’s plovers at San Luis Pass, all federally protected species we pay hefty taxes to save. Were there a rare species of wild feline living at the pass, and we were turning loose some feral, raptorial bird, I would be just as opposed to those birds being there as these cats.
While increased beach traffic has no doubt contributed to the birds’ demise, marauding nocturnal feral cats have been seen taking these species, as well as the endangered piping plover that winters at the pass.
Most estimates place avian mortality at around a half-billion annually at the hands of outdoor cats in America, and it’s simply foolish to think it’s not happening at the pass.
I have friends who own cats with which I play and I am not a cat-hater! This was a wounded, feral animal that was chasing endangered species and would likely die the same excruciating death as dozens of her comrades in that revolving door of feline misfortune.
The “caretaker” admitted under oath he was “not the owner” of the cats, which many thought should have been enough to end the trial.
It is against the law to allow an animal you own to run free.
This is to say nothing of why Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ignore their responsibility to enforce the Endangered Species Act or the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
However, this particular cat would never have been shot had the “caregiver” not been hiding the food to keep anyone from poisoning it (an act I would consider despicable). A sign there might have helped!
I find it equally cruel and despicable that some who supposedly care for animals would turn domestic creatures such as cats loose in the wild, subjecting them to diseases (shared at feeding stations), predators such as coyotes, automobiles, starvation and a host of other horrible deaths.
The larger question, though, involves cruelty to birds and other native wildlife, when an unknown predator such as a feral cat bats them, digs its claws into them, sinks its teeth into them, and chews their head off. I believe those who release cats think of their victims as sticks or rocks, not the beautiful, feathered gems many of us are trying to preserve.
This is now a call to (political) arms. The city needs to enforce existing codes, the two wildlife agencies need to enforce those two acts, Animal Control needs to continue rounding up feral cats — and maybe we could even get the police to enforce the laws about vehicles driving over and destroying our dunes.
Indeed, vigilantes are generally born when officials fail to do their jobs.
Jim Stevenson is president of Galveston Ornithological Society.
Well, your husband is no dummy. He had enough moxie to kibbitz, and let you wade in. LOL.
I have had several feral cats as pets, and they have been just as loving as any other cat. My Whammy passed away in Sept. at the good old age of 15. I found him as a wee kitten, nearly frozen to death next to a garage can- during a December snowstorm. He was safe and warm every since.
>>It’s your bragging about killing kittens with a plastic garbage bag that makes you even more of an idiot than your tag line would indicate.<<
No offense, but I don’t think you read my post fully. I did not brag, and I did not use a plastic bag. You also seem a little too emotional in your responses here. You need to gain some perspective.
He’s no dummy for sure. :-) He loves animals the same way I do but he doesn’t like to touch them much. If he pets the dog he has to get the antibacterial hand wash as soon as he can. I think he has a phobia. No way he would “wade in”, as you said. LOL
The guys a nut case in my opinion.
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