The Clark County Council is reported to have given new life to stray and feral cats by providing for their release back into the wild after being neutered (“County cuts stray, feral cats some slack,” April 25, The Columbian). Of course, if you’re a bird lover, you’ll probably realize it means the council will be giving a death sentence to a lot of birds.
It does not seem wise to put an invasive species, the cat, back in the wild to hunt and kill birds, a native species we are trying to protect. Nor does it seem appropriate from a health standpoint to increase the number of cats when the cat is the only known animal to host a bacteria that many scientists now believe has links to several human neurological diseases. The county council should review its action and consider the importance of native species and the health issues concerning toxoplasmosis.
