"I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." - Thomas Jefferson, inscribed on his memorial
My dear friend Kelly who is from Atlanta has been in New Orleans since 2003 (I believe I have the date right) but she is an AVID lover of all furry creatures and is actively working to help save the abandoned and stray animals who are on the streets in NOLA. I will repost her myspace post cause this is germane to some of you all on here. Maybe someone else has ideas too!...
http://www.operation-save-a-pet.com
I have been helping out with animal rescue efforts to sustain the estimated 3,000 domesticated cats and dogs roaming the streets of NOLA until the trappers come. We have mapped off the city and attend to feeding stations at least once a week. There are trappers on the ground as well as a spay neuter mobile van, which is currently sterilizing the cats and releasing them back because there is no where to put them.
The other day the City Attorney released a cease and desist order commanding us to stop feeding the animals. I agree that there are potential public health concerns attendant to the operation, but I cannot accept putting an end to the effort. Also, there are a LOT of politics going on down here. The order was no doubt issued at the behest of the LA/SPCA (who are currently NOT trapping and do not agree with the feeding program).
There are simply too many animals still out there, and many of them are starving. One field volunteer told me about coming up on a yard with 12 dead cats--they had survived Katrina but starved to death.
I am posting to see if you might have any ideas for me to incorporate in a response to the City Attorney. I would like to present a case for why the operation is valuable and will succeed. Does it really make good sense to just let the survivors starve?
Do you know of any similar efforts in other disasters?
Do you have any insight into how we can reconcile the feeding program with the public health concerns?
Is there a humane, effective, and affordable way to control the rats?
Would you be willing to voice your concerns directly to the City Attorney?
crystal [email] said at 1:19 PM 02-03-2006: I'm not sure if cats really can eat rats, the just kill them and then bat their carcass around and play with it. and these are previously domesticated cats and dogs who are used to having owners feed them every day. they aren't prepared to live on their own on the streets.
dave [email] said at 5:40 PM 02-03-2006: if a cat gets hungry it will eat small animals regardless of domestication. hell they've been know to eat owners in cases where the owner died and they were suffering from emaciation.
ed [email] said at 2:29 PM 02-03-2006: I don't have any advice, but this makes me very sad. The same politicians who want to keep vegetables *koff*Schiavo*koff* from starving don't care if if actual sentient beings starve.
