Don't Read This If You Love Cats
From the Houston Chronicle - Nov. 9, 2006:
BIRDER JAILED IN SHOOTING OF STRAY CAT ON TOLL BRIDGE
GALVESTON — A well-known birder and founder of the Galveston Ornithological Society has been charged with animal cruelty, accused of shooting a stray cat with a .22-caliber rifle.
A toll bridge attendant told police that Jim Stevenson was in a white van from which two shots were fired. John Newland said he was on duty at the San Luis Pass Bridge on west Galveston Island Wednesday morning when he heard shots.
Newland said he pursued Stevenson on FM 3005. He said Stevenson stopped, then backed into Newland's truck and fled.
Newland said the cat that died Wednesday had been shot in the foot earlier in the week. He said 10 cats have been killed in the past year, four in the past week.
Newland said he and the bridge workers think of the cats as pets. "They all have names," he said.
Stevenson, 53, is charged with one count of animal cruelty. He was in the Galveston County Jail late Wednesday.
Animal cruelty? No, what's really cruel here is that a bunch of a**holes are feeding cats and allowing a feral population to thrive in a an area that provides habitat for endangered shorebirds. If they really think of the cats as pets they would take the bloodthirsty little vermin home with them, have them properly spayed and neutered, give them a nice home to crap in, and take responsibility for the havoc they inflict on other creatures.
Jim Stevenson has since told his side of the story, which can be found at Birding is NOT a crime!!!!
For firing the fatal shot and paying the price, Jim Stevenson is my new hero - in fact I proclaim him a Hero of the Birding Revolution 1st Class, as Martin Collinson would say (not to imply that Mr. Collinson condones murdering cats). Now if someone would be similarly attentive to the packs of dogs that are allowed to roam our neighborhood...
By the way, since I brought up Martin, check out his blog - George Bristow's Secret Freezer. Very well written and funny, with not a trace of cat killing in it.
posted by John @ 12:06 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Bravo, John! Cats have no place in the wild here. Our critters have evolved with few defenses against them, and they're unfairly competing with our own predators.
I'll agree 100% with the passion, if not the exact circumstances of the action. Anyone putting feral cat's welfare over that of native birds is WRONG!
ZERO TOLERANCE FOR ALIEN PESTS!
OK fellas, let me put this to you. I am an avid bird watcher & avid ailurophile. While I have birdfeeders & houses all over my property (which are not only a good source of amusement for myself, but for my cats as well), I also help to care for a colony of feral cats & will continue to do so until all of them die off NATURALLY (& will greet those who wish them harm with my own .45!) If it weren't for a**holes putting domesticated pets, not PESTS, into the wild to fend for themselves (which is a crime in many states), there will always be feral cats. In my opinion, anyone who puts any life value above another is sick & should suck a few bullets out of their "cat killing" guns & take themselves out of the chain. I am disgusted that you consider yourself educated & would think that Jim Stevenson was right to kill cat(s). I hope he's housed with some big, burly, cat loving "Bubba" after he's charged with animal cruelty & is made to wear a "Hello Kitty" costume while he's being prison raped! Cats are not the #1 problem of birds, humans are, as we destroy their homes to build McMansions in the heart of their breeding grounds. Perhaps someone will mistake your stupid little dog for a cat & blow it to smithereens & then you'll discover the hurt caused to those who care for all animals, including those "pesky" cats.
So all life is of equal value? That's a fatuous notion held by silly people. Apparently you don't buy it either, based on other comments you made. The parts about prison rape, shooting people with your .45, and my "stupid little dog" were a hoot. Yes, I can see how you value all living things - or maybe just cats.
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