MUCH better to eliminate the city's pigeons and sparrows and let the cats concentrate on the very common rats and mice. Predation and disease spread from birds seems a bigger problem than the natural behavior of cats.
> -----Original Message----- > From: Minnesota Birds [mailto:MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU] On > Behalf Of Matt Dufort > Sent: Thursday, March 21, 2013 12:46 AM > To: MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU > Subject: Re: [mou-net] Minneapolis City Council looking at > trap & release of feral cats > > Thank you for raising this. Mr. Gordon is my city councilman, > and I will be > contacting him about this issue. > > On a related note, the lead author of the recent study on cat > impacts on > wildlife, which got so much press, was Dr. Scott Loss. Dr. > Loss received > his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota just a few years > ago, and was > for several years an active member of this listserv. > > Matt Dufort > Minneapolis > > > On Wed, Mar 20, 2013 at 11:33 PM, Stephen Greenfield > <tapac...@q.com> wrote: > > > In spite of the recent release of a comprehensive analysis of the > > destruction of birds and other wildlife by cats, City > Council member Cam > > Gordon has proposed ending Minneapolis' program for trapping and > > euthanizing > > feral cats [http://m.startribune.com/news/?id=196232891]. > The study by US > > Fish & Wildlife and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute > > conservatively estimates the annual loss in the billions of > birds and > > mammals, mostly by un-owned feral cats, and summarizes that > "free-ranging > > cats cause substantially greater wildlife mortality than > previously thought > > and are likely the single greatest source of anthropogenic > mortality for US > > birds and mammals" > > > [http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v4/n1/full/ncomms2380.html]. The > > alternative policy of "trap, neuter, and release" makes > people feel more > > humane, but just encourages people to release and foster > feral cats and > > extend the damage. > > > > > > > > City Council members need to hear from constituents who > care about birds > > and > > other wildlife. (Of course you may want to encourage > programs for adoption > > or shelter of these animals instead.) The only site where I > can find their > > e-mail addresses is the following: > > http://www.mpls.dfl.org/elected-officials. Cam Gordon's is > missing, but I > > believe it is cam.gor...@minneapolismn.gov. You can also > find other ways > > to > > contact individual members at > > http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/index.htm. > > > > > > > > Yours, > > > > A cat owner > > > > > > > > Stephen Greenfield > > > > Minneapolis > > > > tapac...@q.com > > > > > > > > > > ---- > > Join or Leave mou-net: > http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > > > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
