DISGUSTING! HSE killing cats in Galway

tomfodge

http://www.galwaynews.ie/29334-pest-control-company-removes-wild-cats-uhg

Horrible in this day and age

Pumpkinseeds

I agree, there are animal rescue groups in Galway doing fantastic trap neuter and return work in the Galway area. What the HSE are doing is barbaric and unnecessary:mad:

Fighting Irish

I'd do the same thing

Pumpkinseeds

Nobody feed the troll

Cuddlesworth

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

I agree, there are animal rescue groups in Galway doing fantastic trap neuter and return work in the Galway area. What the HSE are doing is barbaric and unnecessary:mad:

Fleas transmit a variety of diseases. In a environment like a hospital, this could prove to be lethal for most patients with already compromised immune systems. The problem needs to be removed. They also point out in the article that rehoming is a option. I'm not sure where the hatred is coming from, they are targeting a very specific problem in a very specific area.

GreeBo

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

Nobody feed the troll

So killings cats is bad but starving trolls is ok?


The cats are unwanted and causing a problem for the hospital.

Fighting Irish

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

Nobody feed the troll

Someone with a different opinion than you isn't a troll :rolleyes:

People think life is a lot more important than it is for certain creatures. In my opinion life isn't all that important for any species on this earth, even humans

DBB

Folks, threads like this always, always descend into mayhem. I would love to see just one that doesn't go the same way. So, may I remind all posters to post in a civil manner to one another, there is to be no more flaming.
Failure to adhere to the forum and boards charters, and attempts to rile other posters, will result in warnings and bans.
Please, let's see a mature, balanced debate here:).
Thanks,
DBB

Chuck Stone

<snip>

GreeBo

In an attempt to have a balanced debate, perhaps the "DISGUSTING!" should be removed from the thread title?
It kinda makes it appear that only views of a certain opinion are allowed in here, which I'm assuming is not the case?

Indricotherium

Chuck Stone wrote: »

<snip>

I'm far from a cat hater, but the cars in question here have gotten to pest levels and are causing a problem so while it is far from my taste or preference I can see that it is necessary.

SillyMangoX

Is it really necessary to have them put to sleep? Can they not be part of a TNR scheme, treated for fleas and rehomed? The only thing removing ferals from an area does is create room for more ferals to move in. In all likelihood, the fleas would have got carried in by someones pet, this time of year wouldnt be great for flea survival outside, I would think it more likely someone working there has an infestation in their home.

im invisible

I was six when I first saw kittens drown.
Dan Taggart pitched them, 'the scraggy wee ****s',
Into a bucket; a frail metal sound,

Soft paws scraping like mad. But their tiny din
Was soon soused. They were slung on the snout
Of the pump and the water pumped in.

'Sure, isn't it better for them now?' Dan said.
Like wet gloves they bobbed and shone till he sluiced
Them out on the dunghill, glossy and dead.

Suddenly frightened, for days I sadly hung
Round the yard, watching the three sogged remains
Turn mealy and crisp as old summer dung

Until I forgot them. But the fear came back
When Dan trapped big rats, snared rabbits, shot crows
Or, with a sickening tug, pulled old hens' necks.

Still, living displaces false sentiments
And now, when shrill pups are prodded to drown
I just shrug, 'Bloody pups'. It makes sense:

'Prevention of cruelty' talk cuts ice in town
Where they consider death unnatural
But on well-run farms pests have to be kept down.

SERGEANT.

It's necessary whether people agree with it or not.

unseenfootage

The article says that they have been in touch with the GSPCA so maybe they have been advised that putting some of the kitties down is an option.

They have a hard enough time keeping humans alive, we can't expect them now to take care of animals.

girl in the striped socks

It is absolutely necessary to remove the cats from the grounds of the hospital if they are causing problems. There is no question that it is the correct thing to do.
I understand that people may find euthanasing them cruel but a point comes when it is the only solution left. It's certainly not a nice thought but patient & staff safety cannot be compromised & if no homes or rescues can be found for the cats then what can anyone else suggest is done with them?
They could be neutered & released again but realistically that's not cost effective for all of them. And that's the world we live in. It's cheaper to euthanise the cats.
I suggest anyone who can offer one of those cats a home gets in contact with the pest control company that's contracted to capture them.

boomerang

So far I have not seen a shred of evidence to connect the presence of cats on the grounds of the hospital with people getting flea bites in the outpatients' department. The cats may not even have fleas! And you certainly cannot get close enough to a feral cat to have a flea hop on you! Far more likely that a visitor's pet at home has fleas, and brought them into the building on their person.

Humans, dogs, hedgehogs, foxes, rats... All carry fleas.

Just wait til they eradicate the cats and have to call in Rentokil again because of the rat problem!

borderlinemeath

boomerang wrote: »

So far I have not seen a shred of evidence to connect the presence of cats on the grounds of the hospital with people getting flea bites in the outpatients' department. The cats may not even have fleas! And you certainly cannot get close enough to a feral cat to have a flea hop on you! Far more likely that a visitor's pet at home has fleas, and brought them into the building on their person.

Humans, dogs, hedgehogs, foxes, rats... All carry fleas.

Just wait til they eradicate the cats and have to call in Rentokil again because of the rat problem!

That's the first thing that I thought of. Kill the cats and the rat population will just explode. I know which I would far rather have around.

unseenfootage

Its pretty standard for hospitals, restaurants, supermarkets and so on to have pest control, whether they have cats on their premises or not. The article clearly says that the cats only turned up a couple of weeks ago. That is why they're linking the fleas to the felines and not to dogs and foxes.

GreeBo

Was there a rat problem prior to the recent cat problem?
- No.
So why would you assume a lack of cats will create a rat problem?
- Screwy logic.

boomerang

Again, without a shred of evidence, to my knowledge, unseenfootage. That's what bothers me. It seems to me the hospital are embarrassed and want to be seen to be act. The cats are the scapegoats here, whether they deserve it or not.

Removing the cats really won't solve the problem. First of all, there'll be no deterrent against rodents. Next, more cats will come in to fill the vacuum.

boomerang

The cats act as an effective rat deterrent.

Remove the cats, rats will increase in numbers, particularly if there are food sources.

ck83

boomerang wrote: »

So far I have not seen a shred of evidence to connect the presence of cats on the grounds of the hospital with people getting flea bites in the outpatients' department. The cats may not even have fleas! And you certainly cannot get close enough to a feral cat to have a flea hop on you! Far more likely that a visitor's pet at home has fleas, and brought them into the building on their person.

Humans, dogs, hedgehogs, foxes, rats... All carry fleas.

Just wait til they eradicate the cats and have to call in Rentokil again because of the rat problem!

It seems from reading the article that maybe the vet who examined them after they were captured might have seen evidence of fleas

unseenfootage

They could get dogs to keep the cats at bay.

boomerang

unseenfootage wrote: »

The article clearly says that the cats only turned up a couple of weeks ago. That is why they're linking the fleas to the felines and not to dogs and foxes.

I've been told that at least 15 cats were trapped today.

I'm sorry, but feral cats in those numbers don't just arrive en masse. The cats have likely been there all along.

Ferals are largely crepuscular, making it difficult to estimate how many there are in a location.

boomerang

unseenfootage wrote: »

They could get dogs to keep the cats at bay.

The discussion is getting somewhat surreal

GreeBo

boomerang wrote: »

The cats act as an effective rat deterrent.

Remove the cats, rats will increase in numbers, particularly if there are food sources.

Again, then why was there no rat problem before there was a cat problem?

boomerang

ck83 wrote: »

It seems from reading the article that maybe the vet who examined them after they were captured might have seen evidence of fleas

I don't get that impression at all, ck. And even if some of the cats do have fleas, I cannot see how the fleas were transmitted to some of the staff in the building. It makes no sense at all.

girl in the striped socks

Assuming some pencil pusher in the hospital isn't a cat hater & there is a good reason for them to be captured & removed, what do people suggest they do with the cats if they don't euthanise them?

boomerang

Please explain to me what threat to human health and safety the presence of cats pose? What problems are they posing? We still have no firm link between the cats and some staff in outpatients' having fleas.

Actually, it is both cheaper and more effective to neuter the cats and return them than it is to have Rentokil continually trapping the cats and passing on their fees and the veterinary costs of euthanasia to the HSE.

Euthanasia is not the only solution here. It's not even the best solution.

girl in the striped socks wrote: »

It is absolutely necessary to remove the cats from the grounds of the hospital if they are causing problems. There is no question that it is the correct thing to do.
It's certainly not a nice thought but patient & staff safety cannot be compromised & if no homes or rescues can be found for the cats then what can anyone else suggest is done with them?
They could be neutered & released again but realistically that's not cost effective for all of them. And that's the world we live in. It's cheaper to euthanise the cats.
I suggest anyone who can offer one of those cats a home gets in contact with the pest control company that's contracted to capture them.

Indricotherium

As to the imagined rat problem, I'm sure a hospital that is putting down cats en masse, will have no issue with eradicating other animals that are pesting them.