Posted on 04/07/2008 6:05:51 AM PDT by Aristotelian
Every spring, as birds flock back to Long Island [N.Y.] in droves, Eileen Schwinn wonders whether this will be the season the cats get the last remaining pair of piping plover at Mount Sinai's Cedar Beach.
Schwinn, president of the Eastern Long Island Audubon Society, is racked with emotion over what she says is a "dramatic decrease" in species such as plover, bobwhites and ovenbirds threatened by the claws of stray cats.
But Cedar Beach's 30 or so feral cats have a powerful ally in a smorgasbord of animal rights groups, some of whom say Long Island's strays - estimated to be in the tens of thousands Islandwide, according to one rescue group - have as much right to the beach as birds.
The controversy in Mount Sinai reflects a battle playing out from Atlantic Beach in western Nassau County to Sammy's Beach on the South Fork - birders and cat lovers at loggerheads over what to do about feral cats believed to be preying on bird species as common as the tern and as rare as the ground-nesting piping plover.
Local government agencies charged with resolving the disputes often find themselves caught between flying fur and feathers.
"It's a very sensitive issue; it's a nationwide problem,"
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
The birds poop on the beach and leave it.
The cats bury theirs - ergo, let kitty kill the filthy birds.
Come now, what do you want, consistency? These are cat haters, the non-native argument is just an excuse.
If the birds are a 'native species', why do they go away every year? The cats don't leave.
And maybe the filthy birds are getting offed where they go in the winter.
"But Cedar Beach's 30 or so feral cats..."There's no such thing as a 'Feral Cat'.
What works in KS and the plains states doesn’t work in states with lots of trees. The Yotes wont catch many feral cats.
Yes, but if we could get them to go after the non-migrating Canadian Geese that are infesting New Jersey, it might just be worth it.
I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to respond to you. It was for #6.
#6 (Constitution Day), please see my post 23
They sure are around me, in Massachusetts. It disgusts me to see those sad "Missing Cat" posters on telephone poles. They aren't missing, they are EATEN, dimbulbs.
We try to put up coyote warning posters for all the good it does. One dumb relative of mine keeps adopting them from shelters, then watches "Born Free" and feeds the coyotes. I wish the shelters would shut her off.
But seriesly, the thing I remember about L.I. beaches was the sheer amount of signs everywhere.
"Do this!" "Don't do that!" Everywhere.
You cat people are so predictable. LOL!
The birds are a native species.
The cats are not.
This cannot be repeated loud enough or often enough.
Cats are aliens birds are not. Now if stray cats only ate the offspring of escaped parrots then I guess that would be fair.
Any cat off it’s owner’s lot is feral.
Cat fight!
They aren't missing, they are EATEN, dimbulbs.Too true. About the eaten, and about the dimbulbs.
Mr tiddles can do no wrong /s
And I'm all for shooting feral cats
When the birds start feeding on the mice in my garages and barns, I’ll defend them against the feral cats that inhabit this west Texas property. Also the cats keep the obnoxious European Starlings away. Right now, my vote is for the cats.
Hehehe, kind of funny considering your screen name...
Bookmarked to my cats only folder for latter reading. Thank-you. =^..^=
Sounds like time for the bird lovers to import some infected cats, then let nature take its course.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.