Editor:
Cats are listed among the 100 worst non-native invasive species in the world.
According to the British Ecological Society, globally, cats have contributed to the extinction of at least 40 bird species, 21 mammal species, and two reptile species.
The Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute estimates that free-ranging domestic cats kill 1.3–4.0 billion birds and 6.3–22.3 billion mammals annually.
Cats kill anything that moves, no matter how well-fed or whether neutered. It’s so bad in Australia, they’ve taken to poisoning, trapping and hunting cats, like we do to our native wildlife we consider “pests” – which I am totally against.
In my book, indigenous wildlife has seniority and our ethical responsibilities lie with them not to cats/dogs. There is no balancing free-roaming cats/dogs with wildlife.
Ditto humans with nature.
Example. Logging, mining, dams, industrial fishing, pesticides, herbicides and other toxic chemicals, plastics, animal waste which contains drugs, pathogens, radioactive waste (Hanford) and on and on is what’s killing the salmon and everything else on the planet. Humans upended the natural balance.
Laws for free-ranging cats and regulation of pet ownership need to be tightened. People need to take responsibility for their cats like they do dogs. Keep them in your house and/or in escape-proof yards. They should all be chipped, registered.
Property owners should have rights in dealing with cats who trespass onto their property. When you let your pet roam free, you are risking its life and it’s on you (emphasis) if it gets killed or trapped and taken to a shelter/pound or dumped somewhere else.
I had one with a chip that was dumped all the way from Corvallis. Did they want him back? H–l no! How cold and immoral is that?
Kicking it out onto the streets is not a humane option. Nor is it neighborly.
Oh, and not to mention it’s against Oregon’s animal abandonment, neglect, abuse laws
Imagine suddenly finding yourself kicked out onto the street for the rest of your life – alone, scared and homeless in the freezing or searing weather – no food, no water, no shelter, no security; constantly on guard and having to fight, fight, fight or run for your life. Constantly being injured and sick.
TNR (trap neuter return) is not a solution, for the obvious reason. And the whole business of kitten and puppy mills needs to end.
What can I catch from my cat? Toxoplasmosis, cryptosporidiosis, giardiasis, Cat Scratch Disease, pasteurella multocida, salmonella poisoning, scabies, ringworm, roundworm, hookworm, visceral larva migrans, cutaneous larva migrans, plague, rabies.
The Humane Society says “Predation by outdoor cats on birds and other wildlife is a real and legitimate concern. The HSUS supports collaborative efforts to humanely reduce outdoor cat populations.”
The earth’s wildlife populations have plunged by 69% in under 50 years as humans continue to clear forests, consume beyond the planet’s limits and pollute on an industrial scale.
Freedom and liberty for some means freedom from responsibility.
Diane Daiute
Sweet Home