U.S. to Kill Cats, Foxes Along Bay / Plan to protect endangered mice, birds in Redwood Shores
Published 4:00 am, Monday, September 14, 1998
1998-09-14 04:00:00 PDT REDWOOD CITY -- Stray cats, skunks, raccoons and red foxes roaming the Redwood Shores area soon will be the targets of a controversial extermination plan to save endangered birds and mice.
No one seems to like the idea of killing some animals to save others, but Redwood City officials said they have little choice. They had to go along with a federal trapping program to receive permits needed to raise levees along the bayside Redwood Shores neighborhood.
"I expect I'll get a number of phone calls from people saying, 'My cat is missing,' " Mayor Diane Howard said. "What I'm concerned greatly about is animals straying into that area, like cats and dogs, innocently being put to sleep."
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Under the plan, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will trap and kill feral cats, skunks, raccoons and red foxes roaming the outskirts of the levee that encircles Redwood Shores. The animals, officials said, prey on the endangered California clapper rail and salt marsh harvest mouse.
"Our mandate is to protect endangered species, even though we feel for the plight of the poor cats," said Pat Foulk, spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Sacramento. "It certainly is an emotional issue. As a pet owner, I get a lump in my throat."
Redwood City is spending $5 million to raise the levee around Redwood Shores to protect against flooding. The work is likely to disrupt the habitat of the birds and mice, and to offset those effects, federal wildlife officials insisted that the city embark on a five-year program to eradicate predators.
Both are protected under the Endangered Species Act.
That is not the case for mammals higher up on the food chain.
Foulk said the target animals can devastate the endangered ones. The animals will be captured in baited traps and then given lethal injections.
Spaying or neutering and then releasing the predators, a common way to control feral cats, will not work because they could still prey on the rare birds and mice, Foulk said.
Trapped cats will be checked for collars and microchips, said Peter Vorametsanti, Redwood City senior civil engineer.
Mayor Howard said federal officials should embark on a public awareness campaign to alert pet owners. The trapping program, expected to begin late next month, will cost about $46,000 the first year.
"It's not going to be a happy situation the first time somebody's domestic cat disappears," said Deborah Nelson, Redwood City's community development director.