Re: Feral cat question
- From: "dgoodpasture@xxxxxxxx" <dgoodpasture@xxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2005 06:48:55 -0400
Lest I be accused of trolling, I will answer a few of the particulars
brought up in this thread. I understand that some may find this topic
highly offensive. In fact, I respect that those who are disturbed by
this topic are very likely people of good will and kind hearts who are
having a perfectly understandable reaction to the deliberate killling
of an animal they see as a harmless house pet.
Nonetheless, I feel a bit maligned, and much of this calls for a
response. I assure you, I'm not angry, nor am I trying to be
offensive.
I will admit that I bristled a bit at the indirect hint that I'm asking
because "I just like to kill things..." For what it's worth, I don't
even hunt anymore. I'm still an avid shooter, but my game now consists
of tin cans and paper. I found that killing animals left me with
feelings of remorse greater than the pleasure hunting brought me, and
concluded hunting wasn't for me. I now let the meat industry folks
do my killing for me.
Having said that, back to cats. I'm ambivalent about them; I have no
particular like or dislike for the creatures. I certainly wouldn't
shoot one just because I could. However, after watching them stake out
the bird feeders on my property, and watching the hatchlings of a covey
of California Quail reduced from around two dozen to three or four, I'm
no longer just going to sit idly by while the local birdlife serves as
a buffet for free-ranging felines.
On a larger scale than just my little corner of the world, the damage
domestic cats do to bird populations is mind-boggling. Don't take my
word for it; I'm just some random bozo on the Internet. Instead, I
commend to you a University of Wisconsin study which estimated that in
one year alone, in Wisconsin alone, domestic cats kill between 8 and
217 million birds, with the best estimate being 39 million. 39
million, folks. In one state. I can barely grasp that number. The
abstract is online; please go read it and draw your own conclusions:
http://wildlife.wisc.edu/extension/catfly3.htm
Yes, an individual cat may very well be someone's beloved pet. They
may not be feral, or even "feral," in quotations (whatever that was
supposed to imply). But when animals are out running loose and
raising hell, it's a pretty fine distinction. I have two dogs, and
I love them no less than I would if they were human. If they were to
be shot for harassing livestock or wildlife, my heart would break. But
whose fault would it be?
Mine.
Forgive the sarcasm, but I doubt very much if Tabby is going on an
enjoyable "stroll through the woods," perchance to call on Mr.
Graydigger and Miss Sparrow for afternoon tea. I would think
rec.hunting would not be a place where animals are anthropomorphisized.
More likely, the cat is fulfilling its instinctual desire to hunt, a
task for which it is superbly designed. We humans, through our own
shortsightedness and egoism, have introduced a highly effective ALIEN
predator to the North American ecosystem, and we will live to regret
it, I think.
Silent Spring, indeed.
Best regards,
Dan
.
- References:
- Feral cat question
- From: dgoodpasture
- Re: Feral cat question
- From: John
- Feral cat question
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