Seabird recovery project haunted by ghosts of cats, in the form of voracious mice CAPE TOWN––National Geographic writer Leslie Nemo omitted two of the most ecologically significant facts about the Marion Island Special Nature Reserve from her December 14, 2018 online feature “Saving a remote island’s birds—by getting rid of its mice.” Lauding […]
Marking territory: photographers vs. Alley Cat Allies
Pissing match hits the Chronicle of Philanthropy ARLINGTON, Virginia––Founded almost literally in a Washington D.C. alley to advocate on behalf for one of the most contentious of species, Alley Cat Allies has for 28 years been embroiled in controversy on a daily basis, but without––until mid-November 2018––itself becoming controversial over management issues. That was […]
TNR protects African wildcats from “genetic pollution” & ferals from cruelty
Alley Cat Rescue begins project at Kruger National Park KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, South Africa––Alley Cat Rescue, of Mount Ranier, Maryland, is now “working to implement trap-neuter-return programs for stray/feral cats around Kruger National Park,” according to founder Louise Holton, to keep African wildcats from hybridizing with their domestic descendants. Having “advocated for the humane […]
Mystery marine toxo host kills sea mammals; cats wrongly blamed
Toxoplasma gondii finding in beluga whales points same way as sea otter and monk seal studies––& not toward cats MONTREAL––A new study widely publicized for allegedly linking domestic cats to losses of endangered beluga whales in the St. Lawrence River estuary actually shows almost the opposite, read in context––and contributes to a growing stack of […]
$1.5 million DC Cat Count: useful, make-work, or compiling a hit list?
Counting cats in Washington D.C. & how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall WASHINGTON D.C.––For $1.5 million, one could catch, sterilize, and microchip all of the approximately 7,000 free-roaming, not-yet-fixed cats who may be at large in the 68.34 square miles of Washington D.C., at an average cost per cat of […]
Are Southern California coyotes eating 68% fewer cats than 20 years ago?
Data indicates steep drop in the feral cat population LOS ANGELES, California––Southern California coyotes may be eating 68% fewer feral and free-roaming pet cats in 2018 than they did 20 years ago, indicate comparisons of findings from five major studies of coyote diet. Since coyotes are opportunistic predators who tend to eat whatever they […]
Leaving The Wild: The Unnatural History of Dogs, Cats, Cows & Horses
by Gavin Ehringer Pegasus Books, distributed by W.W. Norton & Co. 364 pages. $27.95 hardcover. In stores December 5, 2017. Reviewed by Merritt Clifton Remember the most gripping and informative few books you ever read about dogs, cats, cows, and/or horses, by authors as thorough as the multi-time best sellers Desmond Morris, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, […]
Hawaiian Humane Society CEO Pamela Burns dies after colorful 27-year tenure
Burns remained on the job to her final days HONOLULU, Hawaii––Pamela Burns, 65, Hawaiian Humane Society chief executive since 1990, on September 18, 2017 “died peacefully at her home after taking a leave of absence approximately a week ago for health reasons,” the humane society announced. Burns, who was among the longest tenured humane society […]
Why is Hawaii “moving at a hurried pace” to kill cats at boat harbors?
New policy allows waterfront cats to be killed “by any means deemed necessary” MILILANI, Hawaii––Hawaii Department of Land & Natural Resources chair Suzanne Case “is moving at a hurried pace to kill cats with a lead pellet fired from a high powered pellet rifle to the head or heart,” alleges Carroll Cox––who is not […]
“Rabies roulette” in Tampa: the odds favor TNR
You are 32,250 times more likely to hit double zero than to meet a rabid cat in Hillsborough County TAMPA, Florida––With the 2016 final numbers yet to be reported by Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, the lowest annual total of rabid cats ever found in the U.S. came in 2015, the second lowest […]