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Catching and killing could be the best solution in a Nene area, I don't know.
Trap-neuter-release is even better when you get cat lovers to feed them as well (like at the Keaau dump), less chance they'll attack native birds.
Putting a bell on them is a good idea, I hope they've considered that.
That's great Rob, but they should pay you $5 for trapping them.
They also need to come up with a $1,000,000,00 x-prize for a coqui solution. Some folks wouldn't sleep till they won it.
But too often governments look at problems as things to manage. They are always glad to start a new department that needs funding.
Actually solving a problem doesn't fit into the plan.
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I am perfectly happy to pay them $5 to take a nasty old tom cat off my hands.
Assume the best and ask questions.
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quote:
Originally posted by PaulW
Catching and killing could be the best solution in a Nene area, I don't know.
Trap-neuter-release is even better when you get cat lovers to feed them as well (like at the Keaau dump), less chance they'll attack native birds.
Putting a bell on them is a good idea, I hope they've considered that.
The problem at the Keaau dump was that people saw the cats being fed and started dumping their un-neutered castoffs there.
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The truck is a perhaps late 90's model import, I expect toyota. I don't remember the color. The bed has an aluminum canopy perhaps 4 feet high. Not painted. Single swing door. The kid driving the truck both times was probably late 20's, longish curly dark hair. Slight beard. Does this fit any description? I remember "humane society" on the side but could perhaps be wrong. If I'm wrongly accusing the humane society of TNR policies then I apologize. I would be highly encouraged to know that the humane society proper is engaging in more constructive practices.
No one is making any of this up. This is the truck dumping cats. They aren't dumping cats that were caught up here because--1) there aren't any, except for the couple of weeks after one sees the trucks. and 2) My neighbors, ahem, aren't the cat trapping type.
The theory behind TNR is this. Neutered cats compete with feral cats for food. They go hungry and don't breed, thus diminishing the cat population. That's bugger if it involves eliminating the Nene population to slow the cats down. While you might find places where such a program could be effective, as in areas with a large migratory bird population that isn't threatened--I'd be hard pressed to believe the idea makes any sense at all in a place where almost every bird species we have is in some sort of trouble.
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TNR leads to less feral cats in the long run than catch and kill.
Which do you think is better for the threatened bird species: more or less cats?
I would donate to a program that would issue traps and the people could turn in the trap with a cat for a $5.00 bounty.
Then we could destroy the cat.
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Obviously less cats. The issue I contend with is that TNR is effective. I reject that notion. It's a non-theoretical pain in the butt for me. Others disagree with its effectiveness.
These links may inform the debate. At the very least TNR is questionable in its science. It is unquestionably expensive.
At the very least read this link:
http://www.tnrrealitycheck.com/
These are good as well.
http://feral.typepad.com/feral_thoughts/...r-and.html
[url]
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122216162/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0[/url]
This is an especially comprehensive link, and deals specifically with the failure of TNR in Hawaii, and the cost of this failure.
[url]
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1027&context=icwdmother[/url]
I have made every effort to provide credible data. Much much more exists.
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The first link is someone just giving their opinion on how TNR may or may not work in Australia.
The second link gives an error.
The third link doesn't say much about TNR at all; it certainly doesn't say that catch and kill is better.
TNR is expensive, but the wonderful thing is that you can get cat lovers to help pay for it.
This link is from the cat fanciers association but I think it give some good arguments and numbers for TNR:
http://www.cfainc.org/articles/trap-alter-release.html
The problem with bounties is that people could start breeding cats just to get the bounty.
As the article shows, cats can poduce an amazing number of offspring in a few years.
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You reject the links, and the many links they provide as "not credible" but provide a link to "kittycatlove.com" to counter the argument?
I give up.
