danajohnhill.org | Hard Times Come Again No More

Some jackass in Texas is on trial this week, charged with animal cruelty after killing a cat he said was hunting the birds he was studying.  (I won’t get graphic in this post, but I am sensitive to the feelings of others, so only continue if you can bear it.)

James Stevenson is a bird-watcher, who readily admits to shooting the cat, and confesses to having done the same thing on his own property before.  The crime in question, however, took place around a bridge at San Luis Pass in Galveston.  This is important, because the toll-keeper at that bridge had taken to feeding and caring for the feline victim, and had even named her.  At the time of the crime, the law in Texas stated that it was illegal to kill a cat belonging to someone else.  One could presumably kill as many feral cats as one wished.  Texas has subsequently amended the law to include all cats, but this case apparently hinges on whether this cat–which was certainly a stray–was tended to by the toll-keeper.

I can understand the frustration of an avid birder wanting to protect his objects of interest.  Stray, hungry cats eat birds; it’s a sad fact of life.  I, too, love birds, and I do whatever I can to minimize their exposure to peril in my own yard.  Bela is much too fat to stalk anything, but Mr. Meow and Spooky could probably catch a bird if they tried.  Thankfully, I haven’t seen them do this.  But, with a little compassion, this bastard in Texas–who, incidentally is the founder of the Galveston Ornithological Society, in case you want to send some hate-mail–could have trapped the cat, had it spayed and put a collar around its neck with a bell on it.  Many communities have programs that will spay or neuter strays for free.  I realize that that would have taken effort on this man’s part.  I guess the difference between someone who loves animals and someone who doesn’t is how far they’re willing to go to help them.

Mostly, I am saddened at the obvious difference between lovers of birds and cats, of which I am both:  many birders hate cats, but few, if any, cat lovers hate birds.

Filed under: Animals, Axis of Evil on November 14th, 2007