A cat colony at Jones Beach State Park is causing some tension between two groups of humans, with one arguing that the feline interlopers are a threat to the area's bird population. The other happens to disagree.
According to the Times, bird lovers are agitated over the roughly 30 cats that have taken over the shoreline, living in structures created by cat lovers that form a sort of kitty Hooverville.
Advocates for the cats, who in addition to feeding them also ensure that they are spayed and neutered, say the animals are not an avian threat since they are well-cared for.
“Every day the cats get fresh water and fresh food,” Marion McKenna, one of many volunteers who tends to the cats, told the Times. “They are not hungry. They stay where they are.”
“Nobody has bothered us,” she added. “The park’s staff all know who we are. We’ve never had any trouble. It’s just the bird people.”
"The Bird People" refers to conservationists who argue that the cats are threatening nesting plovers, an endangered species that lay their eggs in shallow depressions in the sand—well within reach of hungry (or bored) cats.
"The fact that the cats are being fed does not protect the birds, said Glenn Phillips, the American Bird Conservancy's bird collisions and development officer. “People think that a well-fed cat isn’t going to bother chasing down these birds,” he said. “But it doesn’t work that way. They are driven by instinct.”
State Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey told the conservancy that the state would attempt to remove the cats this summer, first analyzing the population before beginning the process of removing the shelters and feeding areas and finally, "humanely" removing the cats themselves.
Cat supporters fired back, saying a humane solution does not exist.
“The shelters are full,” McKenna said. “They don’t have spots for a lot of adults. People only want kittens. But these cats didn’t ask to become feral. The state will trap them and put them down, and then more cats will be dumped.”
