.

"According to recent news accounts (warning: graphic images), the mice, whose numbers increased dramatically after the cats were exterminated, are literally eating seabirds alive. As a result, seabird recovery hasn’t been nearly as successful as had been hoped."

Said Peter Wolf in Vox Felina.

 

Article Highlights

READ COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE:  VOX FELINA LINK

 

The Greatest Conservation Success Story
You’ve Never Heard Of


"Roughly the size of Tampa, Florida, or Salt Lake City, Utah, Marion Island lies approximately 1,325 miles southeast of Cape Town, in the Indian Ocean. It is the largest island from which cats have been successfully eradicated, a campaign spanning more than 19 years during which an estimated 4,000–5,000 cats were killed. No cat has been seen there since July 1991 [1].

Nearly 33 years later, plans are underway for a new eradication campaign—this time to exterminate the island’s mice...

"...During the final phase of the campaign, 30,000 day-old chicken carcasses were injected with the toxin sodium fluoroacetate and distributed across the island [6].

Despite all the reports associated with the eradication campaign, little has been published regarding its economic costs. The only report I’ve found that mentions cost at all refers vaguely to “millions” having been spent during the first six phases with “more millions” required for the “the final, and most expensive, seventh phase” [4].

And eradication of the mice is expected to cost more than $20 million [4]."

 

PLEASE READ COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE:  VOX FELINA LINK

 

About Vox Felina

Vox Felina is a repository of research notes, news stories, correspondences, and associated commentary focused on a range of issues related to “the plight” of unowned, free-roaming cats in general, and trap-neuter-return (TNR) in particular. The blog format offers two significant benefits for such a project: (1) by limiting the scope of each post, I’m able to zoom in on the details—critical for understanding deeply the complexities of the topic, and (2) the hypertext and tags permit linking and cross-referencing impossible in the print domain.

The primary impetus behind Vox Felina, launched in April 2010, was the abundance of flawed science promoted by many TNR opponents, undermining any honest debate of the “feral cat” issue. Nearly seven years later, the flaws have become more glaring, the promotion unapologetically post-factual (and self-serving). The need for a rigorous, thoughtful response is, therefore, greater than ever.

There are legitimate issues to be debated regarding the efficacy, environmental impact, and morality of TNR. But attempts at an honest, productive debate are hampered—if not derailed entirely—by the dubious claims so often put forward by TNR opponents. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I’m very interested in asking better questions—the sort of questions that might stimulate a more conscientious debate of this important issue. And in any event, I feel compelled to speak out on behalf of the cats.

Peter J. Wolf