Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
|
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Squirrel repellent?
"mf197421" wrote in message ... Im sorry, but it isnt really believable that a single species could possibly have as monumental an effect on the environment as the one you describe. No, I'm sorry, but you are wrong on this point. If you would like to get in contact with ANY Parks & Wildlife people here in Australia, they could give you chapter and verse about the destruction cats cause. A friend just came back from a visit to Israel where the majority of cats are actually feral and she didnt notice any extensive destruction of the wildlife and the landscape (which, mind you, is mostly man-created and therefore quite sensitive). The assumption that because feral cats dont have an effect on the environment in Israel (Something I would seriously question) THERFORE they wont have a devastating effect on the Australian fauna is a very flawed assumption to make. Completely different evolutionary paths for each ecology. It's a bit like saying 'My dog is black, therefore all dogs are black'. Not very smart.... There is a large section of land that has been fenced off in Western Australia to safe-keep the last breeding population of one of the small marsupials (One of the Pademelons, or Bettongs??), and the main purpose of that fence is to keep feral cats out. There are Native fauna people who patrol that fenced area daily to ensure cats are not entering the breeding area, and any cat seen in the area is shot on sight. Those people (who work for one of the environmental agencies in Australia) see cats as THAT big a threat to the success of the breeding program. If you want to read one of Douglas Adams's books; 'Last Chance to see', and in particular the section about the Kakapo parrot in New Zealand. These (now-flightless) parrots had no predators for most of their evolution(and so lost their need to fly), and their method of defence in encountering a cat is to lie still on the ground. They simply dont know what to do, and can no longer fly to escape. The only way of keeping this animal off the extinct list was to transport a breeding population to an island, and ruthlessly kill every introduced predator that might come near them. This included cats, rats, and I think one other type of introduced predator. These beautiful parrots are a hairs-breadth away from being gone, and it is only due to the dedication of a team of conservationists involved in this project that the Kakapos are likely to survive. Would you like more examples??? Nearly every country in the world has a similar project, with the same preparedness to kill introduced animals to protect an endangered species. My point in my previous post was that your view about life being sacred doesnt work when you introduce an animal (like the cat) into an environment that has evolved without a similar type of predator. Nearly all of the land-based predators that evolved in Australia (The dingo was introduced some many thousands of years ago, and its impact is still hard to assess) are marsupial, and have quite low birth rates compared to cats. The cat was introduced, and not only can it out-breed any of the native predators, but it is capable of eating quite a few of them as well. The effect is a huge reduction in the native populations of some very exotic marsupials, birds and even some types of frogs. This then starts to cause an effect all the way through the ecosystem. The justification of *our* right to regularly kill cats on the grounds that *they* are predatory is even less convincing (I guess you consider death by injection or gas of millions of cats a prettier sight than a cat catching birds to eat.) Sorry??? I dont recall suggesting we go on a cat-slaughtering rampage and kill every moggy on earth! What I was trying to get across was the killing of the few cats we do catch was a very small sacrifice to keep our precious wildlife we have here in Australia. I havent once suggested that killing a cat was by any stretch of the imagination a 'prettier sight' than anything. I do agree with you that killing ANY living animal shouldnt be an action that is done without thought, but we here live in an environment where the cat is a problem. Simply wishing the problem away wont halt the loss of our native wildlife. A live Rainbow bee-eater perched in a tree IS a much prettier sight than a cat raiding their breeding burrows in an earthern bank. They are one of the many animals that do suffer from predation by cats. Apart from that, there isnt much in your posting explaining why its necessary to systematically kill cats, much less why this does not raise moral or humanitarian questions. All you do is just try to give a sense of why you dont find cats cute. You dont need to give any justification for that. As for your question whether we must let them live just because they are alive, the answer is simply yes unless there is a serious reason forcing us to do otherwise. According to our values (at least the Judeo-Christian ones) all life is sacred and one must have good reasons to take it away. (For instance, with the Cane Toad to answer your question, I might have no other option if it threatens me and my family. There is no such danger from stray cats.) I'm not even going to touch the whole religous values thing; too many thorns there. As far as the Cane Toad is concerned, I am glad you are not in charge of halting the spread of these insidious creatures across mainland Australia. Anyways, one must realize that a decision to kill is a serious matter. I didnt see any such seriousness in the message to which I originally replied. Yes, but my reading of the same posting was the OP was simply being pragmatic about an act that occurs frequently enough for them to be familiar with what to do. I didnt read anything that suggested they were thoughtless, callous or making light of it. If they had suggested they were torturing the animal, or causing it unnecessarry pain or suffering, I would think otherwise. From what I read, they were doing exactly what our Parks & Wildlife service would dearly love most people in Australia to do. I suspect that the main idea behind your arguments is that you just dont like cats and that you are afraid of anything not completely under your control in your property and its surroundings. Thats fine but from that to trying systematically to eliminate stray cats is a big step. I hate to break it to you, but MOST of the animals in my life seem to run their own show, and I'm just comic relief for quite a few of them. As I stated previously, I dont hate cats at all. However, I hate what they do to our environment when loose. As far as the 'big step', simply talk to any expert on Australian fauna, and ask them how much effect do they think feral cats have had. I'd love to be there to hear the reply... In any case, you might want to try to find out why your emotions on this issue are so intense. I dont think the topic warrants such intensity. Ahhh, but you do! You thought the OP was thoughtless and callous when it came to taking the life of a wandering cat. You felt they had demonstrated a disturbing lack of consideration for the animals welfare. Lets face it; your values dont translate over here. You expressed concern about an Australian poster in an Australian news group, and yet you know little about the country you wish to force your beliefs on. I prefer to live in my cat-free environment, where the notorious bum-patting Toiletto Frogoli terrorises people attending the outside loo. Where the Red-Tailed Black Cockatoos spend most of their days citicising our laundry hanging on the line, and where the Rainbow Bee-Eaters cavort overhead in the mornings. Where a visit to the laundry is under the intense gaze of a resting Tawny Frog-Mouth Owl. Where the night-time floodlights are populated by countless Broad-Banded Sand Swimmers, and where a (supposedly diurnal) Shingle-back lizard can chase his tail (he was trying to catch a grasshopper sitting on it) in peace. Where the Willy-Wag-Tail can raise endless broods of chicks, and where heavy rain is punctuated by the yapping of burrowing frogs desparately seeking a single female with view to wild sex and no commitment... If I have to kill a few cats to keep these things, then so be it... Cheers, Rod.....Out back. |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Squirrel Repellent | Edible Gardening | |||
Cats etc was Squirrel repellent? | Australia | |||
Cats was Squirrel repellent? (long) | Australia | |||
Cats etc was Squirrel repellent? (long, sorry!) | Australia | |||
Snake repellent | Gardening |