Local Bird-Killing Hero Convicted

The man accused of killing a flock of seagulls? Well, yesterday he was convicted of killing said seagull flock, and some day soon he will file an appeal.

Judge Deborah Shelton Griffin said she believed the slaughter of 183 seagulls — six later had to be euthanized — was an accident, but in the law’s view she had no choice and had to sentence Daniel Gallagher to a $14,175 fine, $75 for each dead bird.

(You may be asking the same question I am now: Could I just go down to the pier and shoot some seagulls and all I’d have to do is pay $75? Probably not, you’d be charged with weapons violations and the fine could have been higher.)

The Pennsylvania Game Commission will get the fine from the longshoreman, who has since lost his job down at the Packer Marine Terminal (site of the bird massacre) and now works in Camden. But his lawyer has an ace up his sleeve.

“We don’t know that we agree that in this law there is no room for accidentally killing birds,” defense attorney S. Philip Steinberg said outside court after telling the judge he would appeal.

“Had a bird flown into the back of his vehicle, would he then be guilty?” he asked, adding he would argue at appeal that “there has to be some level of . . . intent to be guilty of this crime.”

No, the real question is: Had 189 birds flown into the back of his vehicle, would he then be guilty?

Man to appeal fine for killing gulls [Inquirer]
Sept. 11, 2007: He Ran (So Far Away) But He Couldn’t Get Away

Animal Lovers Turn On Each Other Down The Shore

It’s never safe for me when I write about animals. If I just call one dog breed ugly or wish for the death of one horse, people really get angry.

This time, though, two different animals groups are fighting with each other, and so the animal people will fight with each other. I should be safe. Cape May is the bird watching capital of the east coast, the World Series of Birding is held in Cape May and bird watching brings in $2 billion to the state economy. (Birders, I word I might just have made up, have deep pockets.)

“This is a very emotional issue; this really is a cat town,” said resident Pat Peckham.

Emotional! The issue is: A bunch of cats are eating birds. Endangered birds. Birds that are required to be protected by law. But the cats have more people on their side, since lots of people have cats and owning a bird is weird:

“We’re intent on protecting all species,” said Jessica Frohman with Alley Cat Allies in Bethesda, Md. “But birds are not somehow more important than cats.”

So will they kill a bunch of cats? Will the birds all be eaten? Will the cats be moved? (Will feathers fly? Sorry.) The blog comment sections of bird and cat blogs will be battlegrounds.

It’s cats vs. rare bird in N.J. town [AP/Yahoo! News]

This Is What Happens When You Mess With Our Cars

Ha ha, remember last week when that owl osprey shrew fox puppet giant sloth parked car red-tailed hawk blocked I-95 and made everyone late to work? (Of course you do. it’s still even on the front page.)

Well, apparently the motorists had their revenge, since on Friday the hawk was killed due to injuries sustained during her traffic blockage. Both of her wings were broken, and there was no way to correct the bone fractures.

Doctor Michele Goodman explained the decision:

“It’s just not to fair to subject a young raptor to the life of a chicken,” she said.

I’m waiting, chicken lovers/breeders/whatever, for your angry protests against this gallus-hating doctor.

Hawk that snarled I-95 traffic euthanized [Inquirer]

Keeping You Up To Date On ‘Cats v. Birds’

A letter in today’s Daily News:

I applaud the Daily News efforts to remind us of the need for caring homes for homeless cats. ¶ I am so glad I don’t live next to Ms. Makiver, an obvious cat-hater. As a responsible cat owner, I don’t understand someone who claims to love birds but blames felines for the declining bird population. I’m surprised she is not blaming cats for the near-extinction of the American bald eagle some years back.

An obvious cat-hater!

Letters | Save the cats [Daily News]
July 10: The Dark Side Of Kitten Adoption
July 14: The Kitten Adoption War Continues

The Dark Side Of Kitten Adoption

Today’s Daily News contains, perhaps, the most evil letter in the history of newspapers:

IT’S BAD enough local TV stations are promoting the adoption of PACCA’s cats due to their population explosion - now the DN is at it, too.

I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like our wild birds, and I do, too: cardinals, robins, mockingbirds, warblers, etc. In addition to being pretty, and in some cases musical, they eat tons of insects. But cats are the No. 1 reason America’s garden birds are in steep decline, way ahead of pollution and collisions with high-rise glass windows.

Everyone knows people who have cats with bell collars or who are declawed - and they still bring home their bird trophies, plus smaller animals like voles and young opossums.

Palm Beach has had a huge problem for years with feral cats taking out its wild birds, including larger ones like herons, egrets and spoonbills.

The biggest service you can do is let all these “harmless” cats remain unadopted at the shelters until their humane demise.

Yes, if you’re wondering, this letter just celebrated the murder of kittens.

For birds’ sake, please don’t adopt those cats [Daily News, 1st letter]
Photo by eye_of_einstein