Birds

» Robert Dailey - How do we stop cats from killing birds?

In response to How do we stop cats from killing birds? posted by rdrisdelle:

Rosemary:
My 12-year-old daughter and I fish in that exact location where the guy shot the cats. It's a beautiful area, full of birds: pelicans, red-wing blackbirds, terns, American avocets, roseate spoonbills, killdeer, plovers, sandpiper,white and blue herons, comorants, various types of gulls and many other species. In fact, we were out there just this past weekend, fishing within a 100 yards of the tollbridge at San Luis Pass at the west end of Galveston Island (where the shootings alledgedly took place).
Many of those birds are ground nesters. Also, during the winter, wintering duck and geese populations spend nights along or near the Gulf beaches, flying to rice fields in the early morning to feed, and back to the beaches at sunset.
Gulls, geese and pelicans are probably sufficiently aggressive to fend off marauding feral felines, but many of the other birds have no defense.
One of the problems is that, on Galveston Island, as on many of the other Gulf barrier islands, feral cats are the top of the food chain and the major predator (next to man).
There are occasional coyotes that make it over from the mainland, but those occurances are rare and very intermittent.
Add to predation by cats the encroaching growth of "beach homes," taking up much of the island's indigenous wetlands, marshes and beaches. (I'm sure that many of the cats were introduced on the island by those same beach home owners.)
I'm not sure what to do about the situation, although I do understand the shooter's reasoning.
In some states, where coyotes have become nuisances to livestock, special bounties have been placed on them and people encouraged to hunt them. However, our perception of cats as "pet" preclude us from acting in this manner.
I'm not anti-cat. We have a cat and a dog. The cat is kept inside always. The dog is allowed in the back yard when a human is present. He's chased some squirrels, but they climb trees, and dogs can't.
Having been raised in the country, I know how quickly cats (and dogs for that matter) can become feral. I have seen packs of feral dogs cut calves from herds of cattle, kill them and eat them. I have also found evidence that feral dog packs kill deer and other wild animals. And I'm sure that, hungry enough, a pack of feral dogs could and would kill a human, particularly a child.
But feral dogs are easier to see and track. They arfe pack hunters.
Cats are lone stalking hunters, leave little evidence and are hard to track because of their small size.
The solution is that if people want pets, they should have them neutered, or, if not, should be responsible enough to keep them from going feral.
If unwanted, pets should be brought to an animal shelter, not released on the side of the road.
I'm not sure what should be done. I don't hate cats. Perhaps the state could be convinced to set up a humane trapping program, and relocate the cats or have them put down.

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» Rosemary Drisdelle - How do we stop cats from killing birds?

In response to How do we stop cats from killing birds? posted by bobcajun:

Hi Bob,

Thanks for your comments. I must say that the thought of someone shooting within 100 yards of where you (or anyone else) might be fishing totally gives me goosebumbs!
It does seem that, to really get control of the feral cat problem, millions of cats would have to be killed - a huge hue and cry would result from such a plan. The millions of birds and other animals killed by feral cats are, of course, invisible to most of us.

Rosemary Drisdelle

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» BirdAdvocate - Millions of Feral cats and the billions of birds they kill.

We are going to have to be more vocal and dedicated at protecting our wild life than the feral cat enablers are at allowing cats to kill them.
Cats are cute, yes, but a feral cat munching on a clutch of a threatened bird species is not. This would be a good test case to support. This man is an avid and well known birder and author.
Please, let's do what we can to outlaw feral cats, not bird advocates!

-- posted by BirdAdvocate

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» Rosemary Drisdelle - Millions of Feral cats and the billions of birds they kill.

In response to Millions of Feral cats and the billions of birds they kill. posted by BirdAdvocate:

Hello, and thanks for your comment.
I'm certain that many people just don't understand the magnitude of the problem - especially those that insist on feeding feral cats. I'm hoping that this case will result in public education about the issue.
Mr Stevenson can, if he chooses, use the opportunity to stimulate a lot of public debate - even though we may not agree with his methods, we understand his reasons. It will be painful for him under the circumstances of course.

The writer of the blog at the following link has posted comments that are supposedly from Jim Stevenson http://birdingisnotacrime.blogspot.com/2...

My original blog post is found at http://birds.suite101.com/blog.cfm/cats_...

Rosemary Drisdelle

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» BirdAdvocate - Millions of Feral cats and the billions of birds they kill.

In response to Millions of Feral cats and the billions of birds they kill. posted by rdrisdelle:

I am doing all I can on several fronts, Rosemary. With the many pet owners who do not accept cats are destructive or don't care it will be an uphill battle.

-- posted by BirdAdvocate

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» Rosemary Drisdelle - Millions of Feral cats and the billions of birds they kill.

In response to Millions of Feral cats and the billions of birds they kill. posted by BirdAdvocate:

A few years ago, I did some research into the estimated population of feral cats. I can't lay my hands on the number just now but I do remember I was shocked - it's in the millions for North America. It seems to me this must be a much bigger problem than domestic cats. I'm not suggesting that hunting by domestic cats is not a problem - even the well fed cat hunts for practise and kills birds - but I suspect that tackling the feral cat problem would have a tremendous impact without being quite so contentious. Comments?

Rosemary

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» BirdAdvocate - Millions of Feral cats and the billions of birds they kill.

In response to Millions of Feral cats and the billions of birds they kill. posted by rdrisdelle:

Rosemary, I'm sure the feral cats take out millions of birds, but the roaming cats kill more than their share. One bird killed is too many for me. I'll quote a post from my blog I made to the feral and roaming cat enablers.

"What is it about feral alien cats that have no, zero, zilch, niche in our ecosystem that causes some people to value their lives over our natural fauna that do?
Oh yes, it's the cuddle factor. I wish long lives for every feral cat enabler. May you live long lives, long enough to wake up one morning to silence and realise that feral cats have helped silence our bird's songs."

-- posted by BirdAdvocate

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» Rosemary Drisdelle - Millions of Feral cats and the billions of birds they kill.

In response to Millions of Feral cats and the billions of birds they kill. posted by BirdAdvocate:

Your comments highlight one very important point: the problem is, and has been, people - people who don't spay and neuter thier cats and allow them to roam free, people who release/abandon unwanted cats into the wild, people who feed feral cats. The solution will not lie solely in eliminating feral and roaming cats; it will have to include educating and changing the attitudes of people. This seems to be an ideal time with the current focus on environmental problems and species extinction. I'm doing some research and I plan to post an article on this topic soon.

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» BirdAdvocate - Millions of Feral cats and the billions of birds they kill.

In response to Millions of Feral cats and the billions of birds they kill. posted by rdrisdelle:

Yes, Ma'am, if people only realized the terrible consequences of their actions, but unfortunately, they do not. Personally, I believe galvanizing the birders to political action should be one of our top priorities.
The feral cat enablers apply unified pressure every time local authorities or legislators get a clue our bird populations cannot withstand this pressure indefinitely.
We will have evolve and adapt to do the same.
I am not ready to switch to cat watching and keeping a list of cat varieties I see in the wild. I will be looking forward to your posts, and will say now I respect your sensible posts on the topic.

-- posted by BirdAdvocate

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» Rosemary Drisdelle - Millions of Feral cats and the billions of birds they kill.

In response to Millions of Feral cats and the billions of birds they kill. posted by BirdAdvocate:

Thanks for your comments and your continued interest. I'll try to keep this a lively topic here on the birds page. Feel free to make suggestions.

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