A bill (assembly 2778; senate 1081) has passed the NY assembly and is before the senate.. It is very important for birders to understand what the bill means to wildlife. I urge readers to contact their state senator to oppose this bill. Here's why:
The bill supports and provides funding for so-called TNR (trap-neuter-return) for feral cats. The problem with this procedure lies in that R. Once the cats are returned to where they were trapped, colonies are established for them at which they are fed and sheltered, but they are still allowed to run wild. These protected cats are killing thousands of songbirds and even more small mammals at a time when songbird populations are already threatened. National estimates of birds killed each year by feral cats are in the millions.
TNR proponents claim that over time their colonies will reduce the number of feral cats, but the evidence is strong against them. Two other approaches offer a better route to elimination of these animals in the wild: trap-and-euthanize or trap-and-maintain, the latter in secure facilities.
What is so illogical about TNR is its contrast with our usual approach to wildlife. We are encouraged not to feed wild animals. (In many urban and suburban areas even bird feeding is discouraged because it attracts vermin.) Yet TNR and feral cat communities are being established to feed and shelter an alien species. The house cat, a wonderful pet when kept inside where it belongs, is not native to the western hemisphere.
I am unable to send attachments to this email because of size limits. If you wish to see them, please contact me. They are: a copy of the senate bill, a draft copy of my position paper on this issue, and Ted Williams' article about feral cats that appeared in Audubon Magazine.
UNFORTUNATELY, THIS BILL IS ALREADY BEFORE THE FULL SENATE AND IMMEDIATE ACTION IS NEEDED TO HAVE ANY CHANCE TO HEAD IT OFF.
PLEASE MOVE QUICKLY TO HEAD OFF THIS DANGEROUS LEGISLATION BY COMMUNICATING YOUR OPPOSITION TO YOUR STATE SENATOR. If you do not know who is your senator, you can find out at www.nysenate.gov/senators using the search tool.
Gerry Rising Amherst, NY insr...@buffalo.edu -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
