Nature's big picture

The "animal lovers" in your front page headline [March 3]seem to be rather selective in the animals they choose to love. No mention was made about the native animals these imported predators kill each and every year. We in the lakes area are ever vigilant about invasive aquatic species. Feral cats, of any stripe, are every bit as dangerous to our wooded areas and grasslands as zebra mussels are to our lakes. One University study suggested that each feral cat can kill as many as 1,000 small mammals per year. The same study suggested that between 2-7 million song birds are killed by feral cats in the state of Wisconsin alone. If these "animal lovers" looked at the big picture, the ordinance proposed by the village of Wahpeton is not only about feral cats but it also is about protecting our native birds and other wild life from an invasive killer. I personally would rather see healthy populations of small mammals and song birds in my neighborhood than some skulking feline predator.

Jack Jones

Wahpeton