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Rachel Gehringher-Wiar

Dear Lincoln Journal Star,

I am writing in regards to the article on Saturday, July 19, 2014 entitled best critter defense for her garden? An outdoor cat. On page 8 of the neighborhood Extra by Rachel Gehringher-Wiar. Her advice that readers encourage the presence of free ranging cats to resolve wildlife conflicts for garden seriously misinformed the readership. Free ranging cats are indiscriminate killers removing beneficial species along with some undesirable species. While readers may want all wildlife in the backyard dead, the fact is very few animals are causing conflicts with gardens so in effect Rachel’s solution is to kill them all and let God sort them out rather than a targeted solution to the problem. In addition Rachel didn’t inform her readers about the disease issues inherent with free ranging cats, particularly toxoplasmosis as cats use gardens for toilets.

It is unfortunate that Rachel didn’t take advantage of the resources provided by the University of Nebraska Lincoln through the Internet center for wildlife damage management website (ICWDM.org). By encouraging her readers to use cats, readers will lose the benefits provided by shrews and songbirds and other beneficial species such as garter snakes and frogs that perform insect control in gardens and also beautify the landscape.

It is my hope that if Ms. Wiar wishes to provide wildlife damage information to her readership that she consult the source mentioned above. If she has any doubts about the environmental impact free ranging cats have on the environment please letter read “Feral Cats and Their Management, EC1781”available at http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/sendIt/ec1781.pdf. As an author of that university publication, I would be happy to provide her additional details should she desire it.

Sincerely,

Stephen M. Vantassel,

About the Author

Stephen M. Vantassel is a Certified Wildlife Control Operator (CWCP®) who helps individuals, businesses, and agencies resolve wildlife damage issues through training, writing, expert witness, and research. His latest books are the Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook, 3rd edition and The Practical Guide to the Control of Feral Cats. He can be contacted at wildlifecontrolconsultant at gmail dot com.
If you would like your publication, video, or product reviewed, please contact the author at the e-mail above.

Copyright

All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

 

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Toxoplasmosis Lobby

Toxoplasmosis Lobby

Practical Guide to the Control of Feral Cats by Stephen M. Vantassel
Practical Guide to the Control of Feral Cats by Stephen M. Vantassel

Supporters of feral cat colonies and legal protection for free-range cats constitute what I call the “Toxoplasmosis Lobby.” In my opinion, these individuals believe that a cat’s right to defecate on your property trumps your right to protect your property from this dangerous infection.

I find it interesting that in all the rancor about the status of free-range cats, no one has effectively used this argument against the Toxoplasmosis Lobby.  It could be because the Toxoplasmosis Lobby have learned how to shout down opposition. I have experienced their “moral outrage” first hand. They are highly organized and can quickly fill your inbox or online bulletin with a litany of repetitive accusations ranging from “you are cruel” to “you are unscientific” to “you are Medieval”. Those with less time or a weaker spine actually become influenced by this nonsense so they back down in fear that the onslaught will continue.

But it is also possible that the public is not aware of research showing that toxoplasmosis is dangerous even at the subclinical level. Subclinical infections are those that don’t cause symptoms severe enough for people to be aware of. Like an alligator waiting for prey, subclinical infections lie just below the surface doing damage but not at a rate or severity that will trigger symptoms that would suggest there is a problem. At least, the symptoms don’t arise until it is too late.

If you don’t think toxoplasmosis is a problem, visit http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/03/how-your-cat-is-making-you-crazy/308873/. The findings there may frighten you.

 

About the Author

Stephen M. Vantassel is a certified wildlife control operator who helps individuals, businesses, and agencies resolve wildlife damage issues through training, writing, expert witness, and research. His latest books are the Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook, 3rd edition and The Practical Guide to the Control of Feral Cats. He can be contacted at wildlifecontrolconsultant at gmail dot com.

If you would like your publication, video, or product reviewed, please contact the author at the e-mail above.

Copyright

All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

About Stephen M. Vantassel

Stephen M. Vantassel, MNI, CNI, CWCP, ACP, ACE Stephen M. Vantassel's Bio Stephen M. Vantassel is the Vertebrate Pest Specialist for the Montana Department of Agriculture (2015-present). Formerly, Stephen M. Vantassel was the Program Coordinator of Distance Education-Wildlife Damage Management for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Natural Resources from 2004-2014. Stephen filled … Learn More

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