Nature lovers, rejoice! The National Park Service is finally going to remove the feral cat colony from Plumb Beach, part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. Signs like the one above went up late last week. Seeing as Plumb Beach is a known stopover area for large numbers of shorebirds, a known breeding area for a variety of saltmarsh species, including Clapper Rails, and habitat for a wide variety of mammals, reptiles, insects, and other bird species, this is a long overdue move.

cat sign 2

As is only to be expected, the cat crazies are out in force trying to stop this wholly rational and logical action. They are filling up comment sections on blogs, rallying on Facebook, and doing everything they can to stop the removal of cats and allow the continued slaughter of wildlife by said cats. (If you want to learn more about why cats should be kept indoors check out the American Bird Conservancy’s Cats Indoors page.)

Rather than engage with the cat crazies, I think it would be a great idea to send an email thanking Doug Adamo National Park Service NRC Coordinator, at doug_adamo@nps.gov. After all, it takes courage to stand up to the cat crazies and he should be thanked for doing the right thing.

cat sign

A big hat-tip to Nate for being the one who first brought this issue to the attention of the birding world.

Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.