Note: this is a deliberately provocative post.
The idea of exterminating the outdoor-domestic, stray and feral cat from North America is quite popular amongst that segment of the American population who have the illogical belief that non-native animals are less valuable than native animals and that humans are not a non-native species.
They also have the idea that life will be better if America was returned to some utopian state when all the species on the continent were native. That is meant to be better than today solely on the grounds that the species were native! It is ridiculous.
Non-native species in North America are those that exist on the continent due to the intervention of humans. Native species evolved on the continent since time immemorial. On that definition all American citizens other than native Americans should jump onto the nearest ship and plane and leave the country! It is ironic that the immigrant Americans all but destroyed the native Americans and now some of them complain that non-native cats are killing native wildlife. It is a bit hypocritical isn’t it?
Also the idea that non-native species should be seen as less valued than native species is very odd. The people who believe that the cat, a non-native American species is of lesser value than a native American bird that it hunts as prey hints at ethnic cleansing. They are all animals of equal value in the eyes of God.
From the people who wish to exterminate the cat from North America, there is no mention of the hidden benefits of the cat in keeping down rodent populations nor of the horrendous damage done by people – a non-native species – to all species of native animal in North America through all manner of means including destroying habitat or just plain shooting at the animals for the fun of it or for their skins.
Also why should these people single out the cat because it kills birds (at a level much lower than claimed)? If you kill the cat because it kills native birds you have to go the whole way and kill dozens or hundreds of other species. Where will it end?
Finally, the notion that you can actually kill all the feral, outdoor-domestic and stray cats in North America is highly impractical and absurd. One interesting and ironic aspect of the desire to kill the cat is that the veterinarians of America would be up in arms and protesting massively in support of the cat! Think of the billions of dollars they would lose from declawing over the years if there were no cats!
This subject makes me so angry, I can’t understand why some people have to kill certain animals just because in their view they don’t fit in. It’s the same with the grey/red squirrel campaign in England. Life is sweet to any and every living creature and I may be naive because I love all animals but to me every one of those living creatures has as much right to life as the gun toting bigot who takes it into his or her head to “cull” certain species.
It makes me mad to read the remarks of ignorant red necked idiots with rifles who like to kill. It is the worst kind of human behavior that degrades the planet.
Curious where the source material for these views you mention are. We have a lot of nuts in the USA. Our local county sheriff is wasting tax dollars to investigate President Obama’s birth certificate on behalf of the Tea Party! Their hatred for non-white folks (I am white) baffles me.
[Don’t get me wrong, I agree with you. I was just wondering what set this post in motion.]
Most feral populations are just ignored in my neck of the woods. I don’t think the average American even has a clue about the problem or those wonderful souls who strive to trap/spay-neuter/release – the only humane way to get rid of the problem. I’ve watch feral cats take down a goose (one was my Maine Coon who went feral after we couldn’t afford to feed the 22lbs brute) and one other took down a small bird of some kind. All the others cats (about 5-6 separate events) failed. This tells me that the birds have the advantage. Feral cats eat lizards, bugs, etc. I think nature will balance things out.
Hi Dan, the idea for the post, which I wrote in about 30 minutes came from a steady stream of comments and articles I had bumped into on the internet from people who have a thing against non-native species and want to exterminate them, particularly cats. Recently a crazy with rifle (Woodman) made a comment on my site and he is the sort who like to shoot cats and exterminate them (he made several comments but I deleted all but one). He prompted me to write the article. And I casually opened the book “Redemption” by Nathan J Winograd at a page that was about this subject, by pure chance. His book and my thoughts combined resulted in the post.
I figured as much. I went searching back through the comments and found his rant. I was just floored. Bravo on your response.
Thanks. I am glad you are on my side. There are a lot people who think a bit like Woodman. Sad really.