I have a feral cat colony on my 3 acre property now. They co exist with my chickens just fine. I love the fact that they are around. For one thing I haven't seen a mouse in the barn in years! Which is fantastic for me since I also have horses, and mice living in the hay and getting into my grain bins could kill my horses with the diseases that they carry. I am also a responsible homeowner who had the entire colony (over the period of a few days) trapped. They were then taken and spayed/neutered, tattooed, and ears notched. Yes, a few females were apparently pregnant, but I prevented anymore from being added to the world. I agree that we have a lot of cats! Since bringing them home, a few got mad I guess and took off or a fox may have gotten them. (they were still kinda young - 6 months or so) but I don't think that we should have a mass killing of feral cats! There was a country that did that once (India maybe?) that got so over run with rats that they had to have cats brought back into the cities to kill them off. Rats and mice and all those other rodents mass produce as well. How would we control that? People are desperately trying to help fix the problem by spaying and neutering these feral cats to stop the reproduction. And as far as them killing endangered species.... All species have their time here on earth. It's a cycle that will one day end for humans as we are today as well. (altho, I'm a believer that humans will be their own demise long before nature decides so). Please, Don't blame the cats for doing what their instincts tell them to do. Seeing animals euthanized is not a good experience. To see them panic and struggle for those last few moments before their bodies shutdown is enough to make u cry. I've witnessed this from working at a vets office, and from having a horse with a broken leg put to sleep. It amazes me how these politicians can use my hard earned tax money for their campaingns every election, but can't toss some money to their state organizations who are trying to help animals. Fund some programs to encourage the guy down the street, who makes barely enough money to take care of his family, to trap those 3 cats that have been hanging around the property and take them to have them spayed/neutered free of charge to him. Most people can't afford $50 per feline to have them fixed. And who would if the cat is some feral hanging around? And those once a year "specials" ain't gonna help a whole lot! The horse industry is horrible!! All these TB race horses being bred year after year after year.... Ever drive down the country and see dozens of those cute youngsters out there playing around in the fields? A handful will be lucky to see a long healthy life. If they don't race well, they sell to who ever. If they don't sell fast, ship to slaughter auctions, break a leg? Dead. And those majestic beasts that run the open plains in the Midwest, and ranches housing the round-ups that the BLM runs, are all rounded up and shipped to slaughter house in Canada and Mexico. Why? Because they are eating endangered plants. Or because some oil company can't run their pipe line underground because that land is protected as long as the horses are occupying it. Solution? Round them up and ship them to slaughter, said the government... The public will never know! Ugh!! Im not an Animal Rights person,I believe in hunting game animals for food and to control the diseases that would otherwise wipe out the species. I believe animals shouldn't suffer. If they are beyond help, or the odds of a good recovery is low, then we should end their misery. A neighbors dog came to my property once, killed my dairy goat, my sheep and ripped apart my female turkey so badly that I couldn't believe the poor girl was still alive and walking! (yes, I put her out of her misery) I also wanted to kill that dog!!! But, it's doing what a dog does, and yes it was for sport, but it's still instinct. I should have made my pen more secure somehow to deter and prevent the dog from getting in (I wasn't home when it all happened. Found the horrific scene when I got home from work) and the stupid people who owned the dog should be held responsible!!
Okay, I'm done now. Sorry!!
Ok rant over!
It's great to have you here!
