One of the most consistent and disturbing search terms I get on the blog involves cat killing and specifically, how to do it. One good thing about this otherwise depressing issue is that anyone who comes here is going to find nothing but love for our feline friends. Another good thing is that it continually reminds me that there are deranged individuals in the world who, for whatever reason, target cats. As such, I try to be careful not to feed the crazies by giving them a voice here. Comments about cat killing do not get approved and the commenters get banned.
I was deeply troubled to read that The Orlando Sentinel recently published an op-ed by Ted Williams, editor-at-large for Audubon Magazine, in which he calls TNR a failure and suggests that feral cats should either be poisoned with Tylenol or trapped and killed (presumably by some means other than Tylenol). Isn’t the Audubon Society a wildlife advocacy group? And yet they allow Ted Williams to submit for publication a piece calling for the killing of feral cats, who are a form of wildlife themselves? And The Orlando Sentinel printed it? Shame.
Feral cats have a right to live. For those deemed medically hopeless by a veterinarian, euthanasia by injection is the preferred method to relieve suffering. Poisoning would never be recommended. And the killing of any healthy/treatable cat is immoral and unacceptable.
Needless to say, the cat killing sickos of the world have delighted in the Ted Williams piece. And they are gleefully spreading the news that the Audubon Society says giving Tylenol to feral cats is yay. I wonder how many pet cats or other animals are going to be poisoned with Tylenol as a result of this irresponsible piece in the Sentinel?
Vox Felina posted about this outrageous op-ed piece yesterday. (There is a link to the op-ed in the Sentinel at Vox Felina, if interested. I won’t be posting that link here.) Alley Cat Allies has an action alert here.
http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2011/11/a-dc-bird-researcher-is-convicted-of-trying-to-poison-cats.html
Smithsonian employee found guilty of attempting to poison feral cats. Check out her lawyer, he also represented Michael Vick.
Good to know that there sometimes is justice for animals.
Lawyer that specializes in defending animal torturers. I didn’t know that was a thing. Ick.
I shudder often these days, especially when well-meaning individuals actually give directions to the morally deficient among us. (see Pacelle’s nonsense about ‘bait dogs’ which lowbrows actually started doing based on his nonsense). When ill intent is the motivator, as with this person from Audubon, I consider it counselling to engage in animal cruelty.
There has been a lot of nonsense printed lately about various billions of birds killed by cats which, if you do the math, means that every cat in the US is killing hundreds of birds each year. It’s bollocks.
There are only 4.7 billion birds in the US. That study reached the conclusion that cats alone might be killing 3.5 billion *a year*.
Yet, it was treated as credible. The Audubon Society has a 400 million dollar trust fund. That might have something to do with getting laughably false information treated as if it were credible.
I never knew about Tylenol being poisonous to cats.. Yup now that that information is out there..it will be off and running.. just plain wrong.
They removed the bit about Tylenol. Here’s part of the original post taken from google cache. http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/348/a7038291b0a74726b02961d.png
The last sentence went from “Ted William is editor-at-large for Audubon Magazine” to “Ted Williams writes an independent column for Audubon magazine. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the National Audubon Society. “
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-03-14/news/os-ed-feral-cats-031413-20130313_1_feral-cats-feral-cat-problem-alley-cat-allies
evidently the Sentinel removed Williams sentence about Tylenol, which he asserts was NOT a call for people to use it to kill cats.
http://www.flyrodreel.com/blogs/tedwilliams/2013/march/the-scourge-feral-cats
just on the chance you want to read some background
“evidently the Sentinel removed Williams sentence about Tylenol, which he asserts was NOT a call for people to use it to kill cats.”
He can argue that all he wants, but in reading the original letter it was clear that WAS what he was calling for. Disgusting, disgraceful, contemptible, vile man. There are enough cat haters out there as it is and now he’s given them ammunition to use. Sick.
Makes me sick – just sick.
Yeah, they’re pulling it now because guess what? Poisoning animals is illegal in many areas and it was a STUPID thing to let through in the first place.
The man is just a jackass. But then, so was John Audubon.
I don’t understand how this got past the editorial board at the Orlando Sentinel. Did the Audubon Society drug their drinks before review time?
Seriously. There was a time back in the day when an editor would have said, “Whoa, we’re not going to encourage people to break the law, here!”
Hopefully, this painful backlash will make them think twice in the future.
I won’t hold my breath, though.
Complaints to the Better Business Board regarding the National Audubon Society Standards for Charity Accountability, in the category of “Fund Raising & Info – #15. Truthful Materials” need to be filed.
The BBB Wise Giving Alliance currently lists them as “Meets Standards”. http://www.bbb.org/charity-reviews/national/environment/national-audubon-society-in-new-york-ny-496
It is quite clear they are willingly disseminating untruthful materials. Please see info about filing a complaint about a charity here – http://www.bbb.org/us/Charity-Complaints/
Example is a link on their site (http://www.audubon.org/audubon-news) on 1/29/13, to “Science News” – “Cats Kill More than One Billion Birds A Year”, as well as the opinions of Ted Williams, editor-at-large for “Audubon Magazine”.
This biased junk science is exposed in this and other Vox Felina posts, http://www.voxfelina.com/2013/02/garbage-in-garbage-out/
This is quite disturbing. I applaud Alley Cat Allies for rallying the troops and ensuring that man is no longer associated with Audubon Society. I also noticed that the Orlando Sentinel has altered the article to remove reference to killing cats with Tylenol.
The Audubon Society have now backtracked and distanced themselves from this, and posted it on their facebook page. But they still swallow and agree on that Smithsonian bullshit.
“The National Audubon Society is unequivocal on the important issue of cat and bird safety: We reject the idea of people taking matters into their own hands in ways that can harm neighbors’ pets – or any cats.
Audubon strongly believes that cats belong indoors. That’s safer for them and for the birds. Feral and free-roaming cats are subject to injury, disease, and predation. We urge communities around the country to adopt effective measures to counter problems suffered and caused by cats and to vigorously enforce existing rules and procedures.
Ted Williams is a freelance writer who published a personal opinion piece in the Orlando Sentinel. We regret any misimpression that Mr. Williams was speaking for us in any way: He wasn’t. Audubon magazine today suspended its contract with Mr. Williams and will remove him as “Editor at Large” from the masthead pending further review.
Mr. Williams is not an Audubon employee. He is a freelance writer and a conservationist who has written for Audubon for 33 years. He writes for numerous publications.
We fully understand the gravity of the issue of the threats cats present to birds. Cats – particularly feral cats – are a leading cause of bird deaths. National Audubon Society has long supported a “Cats Indoors” campaign urging pet owners to keep their cats indoors for the safety of both their pets and birds. Audubon has guidelines on how to keep both birds and cats safe at http://www.audubon.org. We’ve had this guidance on our web site for years and we think it’s good, common sense.
A recent report by Smithsonian scientists and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that cats kill an estimated 2.4 billion birds each year, underscoring the need for effective solutions to protect wild birds and cats alike.
But backyard poisoning isn’t the answer and we want to make it absolutely clear we don’t support that idea.
More information about Audubon’s work to create healthy habitat for birds and pets is available on our website.
National Audubon Society | Audubon
http://www.audubon.org” ~carol/CARE Feline TNR~
Best Friends weighs in:
http://blogs.bestfriends.org/index.php/2013/03/16/orlando-sentinel-publishes-instructions-on-how-to-kill-a-cat/
Update from Vox Felina as the Audubon Society distances itself from Ted Williams:
http://www.voxfelina.com/2013/03/audubon-editor-suspended-pending-further-review/
Peter Wolf found this blog
http://10000birds.com/national-audubon-society-caves-to-the-cat-crazies.htm/comment-page-1#comment-169718
Sorry- its on a comment I am following- but apparently Teds son Scott posted on here and he is just as crazy as his dad.
In the OutterBanks of NC Audubon came in and sued the NPS to restrict beaches.
They force the NPS to actually kill people’s cats and dogs who inadvertently wandered on a beach they were allowed on for years.
You have to open the comments section- some very well thought out posts.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/deborahljacobs/2012/09/04/outer-banks-of-north-carolina-become-a-bloody-beachhead/2/
This is not about the environment- its about land control and power for the very wealthy who can afford $10k a week rental beach houses and who don’t want the middle class people around them.
As Audubon just sold a chunk of this areas beaches that were left to them to a developer for a luxury hotel.
The extreme environmentalists havent been about the environment for a long long time.