Attempted cat purges overlook value of predation to maintaining the health of species WELLINGTON, New Zealand; PERTH, Australia––The cat news from Down Under on June 28, 2023 provoked a global explosion of hissing and spitting, focusing––as cat news from Down Under usually does––on ever more cruel, bizarre, and inevitably futile attempts to exterminate cats, rationalized […]
New Zealand exempts cats from killing contest, finds cure for FIP
But all other land predators & even non-native waterfowl remain in the crosshairs CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand––Nationally hellbent on destroying any semblance of a natural, normal predator/prey ecology since the introduction of the Predator Free 2050 program in 2012, New Zealand might be the last place the rest of the world might expect to produce a […]
Shooting cats to save lizards, or to please billionaire birders?
The Cayman Islands may have more billionaires’ mansions than rock iguanas, but cats are not to blame GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands––If free-roaming cats were really a significant threat to iguanas––of any subspecies––one might expect most of Florida to be devoid of iguanas. Florida, after all, has reputedly the most optimal habitat for feral cats […]
Vultures circling overhead are good news for Planet Earth
Both black vultures & turkey vultures are rapidly expanding U.S. range and numbers Feeling down about global warming, chemical pollution, and reports about loss of species? See the vultures circling overhead? Both black vultures and turkey vultures are rapidly expanding in numbers and range across the U.S. Turkey vultures have even appeared in southeastern Alaska […]
New NACA “Guideline” on shelter intake overlooks why animal control exists
Focus on keeping animals out of shelters means more dogs and cats will be left to run at large LINDSBORG, Kansas––The words “wildlife” and “rabies,” and the phrases “public health” and “running at large” never appear among the 1,688 words comprising the new National Animal Care & Control Association [NACA] “Guideline on Appointment-Based Pet […]
D.C. Cat Count confirms low feral cat population, lots of free-roaming pets
Birder claims about feral cats hugely exaggerated WASHINGTON D.C.––Three years & expenditure of $1.5 million after it started, the D.C. Cat Count results are in, if not yet formally published in scientific media. The D.C. Cat Count findings demonstrate chiefly what ANIMALS 24-7 has argued for decades: both birder and cat advocacy organization claims […]
Audubon writer allegedly recommended poisoning cats
Editor-at-large Ted Williams suspended, then reinstated WASHINGTON D.C.––National Audubon Society president David Yarnold on March 26, 2013 announced that Audubon magazine editor-at-large Ted Williams had been reinstated after a 10-day suspension for allegedly urging the use of the over-the-counter pain reliever acetaminophen to poison feral cats. Though the alleged recommendation was later withdrawn, it received […]
Shooting war: cats win, feeders lose in East Bay Regional Park District
East Bay Regional Park District agrees to ceasefire if cat rescuers remove cats from sensitive wildlife areas OAKLAND, California––Histrionic headlines and activist alerts aside, what the East Bay Regional Park District board of directors really did at a heated June 15, 2021 meeting over cat policy was to: Permanently reassign staff biologist David “Doctor […]
San Diego showdown: trap-neuter-return advocates sue vs. return-to-field
Court case hinges on the difference between a truly feral cat and a tame, friendly cat found at large SAN DIEGO, California—A lawsuit brought against the San Diego Humane Society & SPCA by the Southern California animal rescue charities Pet Assistance Foundation and Paw Protectors seeks to establish, for the first time, a clear legal […]
Cat killer “Doctor Quack” paid well by East Bay Regional Park District
Shotgun-wielding biologist took home $182,951, left dead cats in dumpsters OAKLAND, California––East Bay Regional Park District biologist David “Doctor Quack” Riensche may have been paid more per feral cat he allegedly killed than the $3,000 that “Joe Exotic” paid to Frank Allen Glover in his foiled plot to murder Big Cat Rescue founder Carole […]