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.....yeah....Disneyland rules over doing what God asked you to do.
L
Try it that way.
L
Ditto, FRiend. Jerks are always dumping critters off on the dirt road that runs adjacent to our farm. We currently have, in residence, 12 dumped cats. They have all been neutered, etc, and reside in our several barns. We feed them, and they keep the mouse population down. We also have a dumped horse, and three dumped dogs.
The critters can live off of the fat of the land, don’tchaknow.
“Fools trying to be God actually.”
God didn’t put domesticated cats in north America (or anywhere else, for that matter) - humans did. Therefore it is our right (and responsibility, in my opinion) to choose where and when they do belong. The only real question here is the proper way to deal with feral animal species that are affecting the native wildlife.
I shoot all feral cats on my farm. They cause tremendous damage up to and including killing my barn kittens. I won’t have it.
You must be a vegan.
“Highly intelligent beef cattle”? LOL! I must have all the dumb ones.
>>Well.....yeah....Disneyland rules over doing what God asked you to do.<<
?
>>“Highly intelligent beef cattle”? LOL! I must have all the dumb ones.<<
They’re just smarter than cats. ;)
A little off topic, I was helping my son-in-law deliver a calf and he had to “go back in” for his wedding ring.
He was a little panicked at first...
This is the most confused article I've read at FR in some time ... it sounds like the author
was at least half in the bag when attempting to write the article.
Animals, like all of creation on this planet, are a natural resource. God instructs us to manage our natural resources responsibly.
It is also responsible to change the oil in your car at regular intervals.
It is not a morality thing, it is a taking-care-of-your-stuff thing
Out in my neck of the woods, the farmers have all the rat-control cats they need. When the “city-folk” drop off a box of kittens, they are immediately put down. Sorry folks, but that is just the way it is.
We have a beagle that somebody dumped and two cats.
We live in the mountains and all of them "found us" in the middle of the winter.
I have NOTHING good to say about pet owners who dump animals or irresponsible owners who turn their cats loose outside to feed on wild birds.
Personally, I LOVE my cats in the house. We have deer mice (hantavirus) and they do a good job of catching them when they get in the house.
I live in the country and have 3 cats. We neuter and spay and keep them in the house. The last one was an 8 week old kitten hit by a car we found last summer. Our vet fixed two broken legs at a discount and he is now one of the most beautiful cats and nice personality that we have ever known. He follows us around like a puppy and oh yes, he sleeps in the middle, sometimes under the covers.
All of that changed when young teenagers started dropping dead from the hantavirus spread by deer mice.
We're overrun by them up here.
Our cats do an excellent job of killing them.
>>I have several family members who hate cats like some of our posters do.<<
I don’t personally understand the cat haters either - unless someone had a bad experience with them I suppose.
Cats have many uses. They can be very cuddly. They can be very standoffish. They can be very friendly. But they are cats and they are not self-sufficient. If someone is not willing to go to through the hassles involved with pet ownership of any kind, they really should not have them.
‘Course, that’s their business, not mine.
Personally, I don’t hate cats, but if one becomes a problem, and it is not someone elses pet, it’ll get put down pronto. It’s like removing blackberries. It is a natural resource that is where it does not belong. And hey, I love to pick blackberries in late summer. I also uproot a lot of it to keep it out of my yard.
When and if we get to heaven, God is going to ask us if we liked the gifts that He gave us. A lot of people won’t know what He’s talking about, and will have to explain to Him what they did with the little ones He entrusted into their care, even for just a moment.
There are lorts and lots of rescue groups anymore that will take even whole litters of kittens as well as individual cats, dogs and puppies. If you can go online to FR, you can go online to find one near you.
LOL, I had a similar experience. I was pulling a calf and had to go in up to my elbows. My husband was watching and asked if I shouldn’t put on a pair of gloves. Now, gloves go no higher than my wrist and I was up to my elbows inside the cow. I asked him if he was going back in after the gloves. I didn’t think so.
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