Feral cats and feral horses
January 16th, 2008
We need some Australian environmentalists in the USA to deal with the ridiculous feral cat problem…
Environmentalists called Wednesday for hundreds of wild horses to be shot dead to prevent a unique Australian national park becoming a “horse paddock,” with little room for native species.
Around 1,700 feral horses — known in Australia as ‘brumbies’ — have caused havoc in the Kosciuszko National Park, according to the National Parks Association of New South Wales state.
[…]
It says current plans to deal with the problem by trapping the horses are ineffective, accusing the state national parks authorities of caving in to sentimentalism. The association itself is a non-government body and is not directly involved with the running of the parks.
An invasive species, even if it is cute and cuddly, is an invasive species… that includes feral cats, horses, goats, pigs… it is these formerly domesticated invaders that often cause the most damage to particular ecosystems, from extinctions to predation to loss of food.
Related posts: Trap, neuter, release and the Iowa cats, "Animal rights" versus biodiversity, Feral cats destroying Iowa
7 Comments Add your own
1. alex | January 16th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
thank you for posting such a ball-sie topic! i know many people don’t like the sound of such a thing - that feral cats are a problem, and that there may only be one way to solve the problem - but seriously! this needs to be a part of our conversation! every time i go for a walk, it seems like everywhere i look there are cats, cats, cats. i’m not sure how many of them belong to people, but really, humans need to be more responsible with their animals - otherwise they’re bad pet-owners! and when we have had as many bad cat-owners as we’ve had, we end up with wild (feral) cats becoming a serious problem to the ecosystems surrounding our urbanized areas (and beyond, no doubt). so that means that because of those bad cat-owners who couldn’t take responsibility in the first place, new people have to take even more, difficult responsibility by dealing with all these roaming, predatory animals!
and nobody has the balls to step up and say, “either we euthanize these animals, or we lose our local bird population.”
so let’s choose: protect the cute, fuzzy things that have no real predator, or take responsibility for an extremely harmful invasive species that is our own fault.
(PS - instead of getting all sentimental over these fuzzy cats, why don’t the cat people put their energy into saving the ACTUAL ENVIRONMENT? just a thought!)
2. Alley Cat Rescue | January 17th, 2008 at 8:18 am
I will not argue with placing blame on irresponsible people who do not sterilize their pets, who dump them outside, who move and leave them behind, as the cause for stray and feral cats. However, I do not agree with trapping and euthanizing them. Eradicating cats and colonies does not the fix the problem, it makes it worse. This will allow for more cats to come in and take their place; starting the whole cycle over again.
The more effective method of controlling feral cats is through TNR (trap-neuter-return). TNR stabilizes populations at manageable levels, eliminates annoying mating behaviors, is more effective/less costly than repeated eradication attempts, is humane to the animals, and fosters compassion in the community.
Not to mention, TNR is more humane. It is not the cats’ fault, so why punish them. We shouldn’t be deciding who lives and who dies (the cat or the bird, etc); we should be helping cats by at least sterilizing them and having them vet checked. This way their populations are being controlled and their health ensured.
Feral cats are animals like any other animal. They are wild and have the instincts to survive without human contact. Yes, there are hardships they face (cars, weather conditions, other animals–they do have predators) but so does every other animal. We don’t round up all the squirrels and raccoons and euthanize them because we feel bad that they might have to defend themselves.
There’s no simply answer or solution, but there is a happy medium that we all can contribute to and that’s TNR.
3. Peter Bray | January 17th, 2008 at 8:53 am
Your comments are mostly false. Let’s go through them.
What? That doesn’t make any sense. Underlying your argument, of course, is the cat monger notion that colonies somehow ward off other cats. That’s just not so, and there is no scientific basis to make such a claim. A “colony” of cats is not a pride of lions fighting off invading lions… it is a group of semi-domesticated animals that may or may not ward off other cats.
But, even in the unlikely event that they somehow do ward off other cats, you say that getting rid of the colony will “allow for more cats to come in and take their place”. Where do those cats come from? Thin air? Or are they there to begin with? So you have X cats in a colony and Y cats outside of the colony. If you euthanize X cats in the colony, you only have Y cats left (which can be euthanized too)…. surely this is better than having X + Y cats?
A bunch of nonsense. First, it does not “stabilize” cat population levels. If anything, it results in MORE cats. The site of 100+ cats well-cared for and very publicly visible encourages other people to drop-off their unwanted cat at the “colony”.
Second, how can trap, castrate, release, and then care for that cat for its life be cheaper than trap and euthanize? You’ve got me on that one.
Finally, as any TNR person will tell you, it is impossible to catch every cat in a colony, and so the colony will continue to expand, while significant efforts and cost will go towards trying to catch the few uncatchables…
That’s just stupid to say, and I bet you know it. Cats were introduced by humans. And they are decimating local ecosystems. We need to be responsible and clean up this mess.
Well, here’s a good summation of why TNR doesn’t work:
Trap-neuter-release people simply don’t care about the environment.
4. poetryman69 | January 17th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
do what you gotta do.
5. joesph alden | March 13th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
in opinion, feral organisms (plants and animals) should be treated like other animals. Many people kill feral animals because the are unneeded.
join the
H.T.F.A. cooperation
(help the feral animal) cooperation
for more information email H.T.F.Acoop@nyc.gov
THANK YOU
6. Peter Bray | March 13th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Yes, we should declare protected areas for zebra mussels in the San Francisco Bay so they can establish themselves. And whenever we find snakeheads in lakes and streams on the east coast, we should do everything to ensure that they survive and propagate. And Australia should allow cane toads free access to the entire country without hindrance. And Scotch broom should be welcomed. Yeah, uh, great idea.
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