[AGL] local controversial story of birder jailed for shooting feral cats

[michele mason]

Connie, note the new address.  I had same problem. Called Bastrop 
Humane Society who hooked me up with a lady who pays for coupons to 
neuter/spay at the clinic at 51st and Cameron. It took a good deal of 
effort and time, but I finally grabbed all but one and had them fixed. 
I feed the remaining male, hoping to get hold of him. Luckily, I've 
found no bird remains, but he's a pretty good ratter, so he gets to 
stay. I realize this is not much help for Shiner, unless you can locate 
a similar set-up in your area. Plus, maybe someone around here is 
dealing with the same problem.
Taking them to other farms really doesn't change anything, except maybe 
lots of folks can afford fewer numbers. It may be possible for 
neighbors to join the effort and ya'll find a vet who'll give you a 
deal. Otherwise, I'm afraid shooting may be last resort. I hope not.
Good luck, Michele

On Nov 14, 2006, at 8:10 AM, Connie Clark wrote:


> His version of the story is on the texas birders list serv, #281

> excerpt: "I find the issue of respect for life as challenging as any. 

> I say this as someone who catches Cottonmouths on my property by hand 

> and releases them unharmed in wilderness areas, someone who replaced a 

> shotgun with a camera years ago, thus bringing on his dad's ire, and 

> someone who just shed tears over the passing of Ed Bradley. Maybe I'm 

> just real tired.

> The ethical dilemma is pitting the life on one cat against the dozens 

> or hundreds of small, wild animals it will kill in its (short) 

> lifetime. And piggybacked on that is the "real" cruelty of the death 

> they normally receive, from starvation to disease. Study after study 

> reveals this. For me, it is clear, though I am by no means immune to 

> the emotional, while trying to hide in pure logic, science and 

> pragmatism."

>  

> Jim Stevenson is, as the article below says, is a naturalist writer 

> and photographer in Galveston, and founder of the a birding group down 

> there.

>  

> I am faced with the same dilemna at our farm near Shiner.  A 

> well-intentioned neighbor layed two kittens on FarmerKen out there.  

> We didn't get them to the vet fast enough, now there are about 100 

> feral cats.  Kenneth has begun trapping them and hauling them off to 

> someone else's farm, but they are still quite a nuisance to the 

> wildlife in my opinion.  Shooting them seems like the only way out! 

> Advice welcome - CC

>  

>

> Stephensons story in toto:

> http://listserv.uh.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0611&L=texbirds&T=0&P=29981

>  

> from the Houston Chronicle

> Nov. 11, 2006, 1:35AM

> Birder claims past cat killings

> Man charged in shooting of stray admits deaths of dozens more in '99 

> Web posting

> By KEVIN MORAN

> GALVESTON — An ornithologist charged with animal cruelty in a fatal 

> cat shooting this week is a self-professed cat hater with a killing 

> record that goes back to the time he arrived in one of the world's 

> best birdwatching areas on west Galveston Island a decade ago.

> Wildlife author and photographer Jim Stevenson said in a 1999 Internet 

> posting that "there were cats out the wazoo" when he built his 

> isolated island home.

> "And I'm sorry if this offends, but I sighted in my .22 rifle and 

> killed about two dozen cats in about the first year," the passionate 

> birdwatcher and professional birding guide wrote. "When we allow feral 

> cats to roam free, we might as well be out there with BB guns plinking 

> away at the songbirds ourselves."

> Stevenson's arrest Wednesday stirred cat and bird lovers whose 

> passions clash frequently across the nation and world. It has raised 

> anew long-fought debates about what damage feral cats do to wildlife 

> and how to stem the population growth of wild cats.

> Stevenson's alleged cat shooting Wednesday surprised most who know him 

> or follow his writings, even those who know about his antipathy for 

> cats. Others responded differently.

> "I'm not surprised at all," said Kathi Richardson, one of about a 

> dozen Galvestonians who regularly trap feral cats for spaying or 

> neutering, then release them and feed the colonies the cats form.

> Richardson said Stevenson expressed his hostility toward cats in an 

> article he wrote in the Galveston Ornithological Society magazine he 

> publishes. Stevenson founded the society.

> "I was appalled and I sent a copy to the national humane society," 

> Richardson said.

> Others who know Stevenson's aversion to cats said they thought 

> shooting cats was out of character for the man they know.

> "Jim Stevenson is not a bad man," said Dori Nelson, chair of the 

> Seabrook Eco-Tourism Committee, for which Stevenson conducted a 

> birdwatching walk Nov. 4.

> "He loves the environment and all its wild creatures and is truly 

> repulsed by people who don't share his  attitude."

> Nelson said she hopes the charge against him isn't true. "I know where 

> Jim is coming from, but it's wrong to get out there and take 

> pot-shots."

> Trish McDaniel, a former director of the Animal Shelter and Adoption 

> Center of Galveston who has gone on birding excursions with Stevenson, 

> said he is "exciting to be around when you're learning about birds and 

> wildlife. He knows his stuff."

> McDaniel said she doesn't approve of feeding feral cats but she 

> doesn't believe in shooting them either.

> On Friday, Stevenson said he would have no comment until he hired an 

> attorney. But, within hours of his jail release, he posted a message 

> headed "what actually happened" on the Web.

> He stopped short of admitting he shot a cat. He described spotting a 

> limping cat on the beach at San Luis Pass and said it is "well 

> documented" that crippled predators pursue easy prey.

> "I believe this was the case here, and I was very concerned about how 

> many endangered, threatened ... (birds) would succumb to it," 

> Stevenson wrote. "That was Wednesday morning and life hasn't been 

> terrific since."

> Stevenson, 53, a Tallahassee, Fla., native and former high-school 

> teacher there, faces a sentence of six months to two years and a 

> $10,000 fine if convicted of felony animal cruelty, chief assistant 

> Galveston County District Attorney Joel Bennett said.

> Stevenson spent Wednesday night in the Galveston County Jail. He 

> posted a $10,000 bail.

> There is great disagreement on how feral cats affect birds and other 

> wildlife. Some preservationists maintain that the cats kill hundreds 

> of millions of birds annually. Others maintain that feral cats mainly 

> eat field mice, rats, snakes and other small animals.

> Problems of feral cats and other non-native animals and plants are 

> among leading conservation issues worldwide, said Matt Wagner, a Texas 

> Parks and Wildlife Department wildlife biologist.

> "There are those, including some of the biologists who work at Texas 

> Parks and Wildlife, who truly believe that increasing populations of 

> feral cats in the environment are having an impact on game birds, 

> ground-nesting birds, reptiles, small mammals and other types of small 

> wildlife," Wagner said.

> But few studies have been done and people quarrel with the results, he 

> said.

> Feral cats are most likely to attack birds when no humans feed the 

> cats, Wagner said.

> Richardson said she and others who trap cats and have them spayed and 

> neutered, then provide food for feral colonies, are doing their best 

> to keep the feral population down. More than 3,500 cats have been 

> trapped on Galveston Island in the past seven years, she said.

> "I get anywhere from two to six cats a week," Richardson said. "It 

> keeps down the feral cat population. The cats really help eliminate 

> the rats and mice."

> McDaniel said feeding neutered feral cats is wrong. The cats remain 

> without vaccinations and worming and can prey on wildlife, she said.

> Houston Audubon Society president Stennie Meadours said Friday that 

> she was "saddened by the whole series of events" surrounding 

> Stevenson's arrest.

> But she said feral cats have played major roles in the near extinction 

> of some bird species in Hawaii and other states as well as in such 

> remote places as the Galapagos Islands.

>  

>

> Access over 1 million songs - Yahoo! Music Unlimited.

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