Please check out this thread and help this person with the Owl problem

[Minimus]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=243x1668

[amazona]

1. ok I tried but...

...I'll be honest and say I don't think this problem can be solved on the internet. This person should talk to Fish and Wildlife. If they go around trying to put bird shot in a Great Horned Owl, especially if the birds are nesting, sounds like a tragedy waiting to happen. Either for them, the owls, or both!

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[Minimus]

2. I suggested Fish & Wildlife too.

I know they are concerned for their pet, but shooting the owls definitely not the answer.

[scarlet_owl]

3. I think this person is going about this all wrong.

If they are that concerned about their pets, they should go out with them when they need to go outside. As for feral cats, I'd say tough luck. I'm a cat lover as much as anyone, but feral cats are bad for wildlife. Owls can't just be relocated. They have hunting territories.

[amazona]

4. hard to tell sometimes about sanity of people on the internet

When I first read the thread, I thought the poster was a "pot" stirrer. The bit about shooting at the owl seemed meant to provoke.

At least they did contact Fish and Wildlife, and they now know that we weren't just making it up about the owls being a protected species.

Sounds like Fish and Wildlife thinks they are just being silly and is not going to issue a depredation permit to allow the killing of the owls. With the little we know from the thread, I think I have to agree with that decision. Owls should not be executed for consuming some feral cats!

Areas where GHOs are removed can get very "skunk-y." But people get spoiled when they go a few years and don't see a skunk. They don't realize the service that owls are quietly providing, and usually without even being noticed.

Oddly, a friend of mine who provides home to a great many feral and rescue cats has also seen Great Horned Owl on her property...but the cats do not get "controlled." Apparently the owls are finding sufficient skunks to keep them busy. In almost 15 years of living in this area I have only twice smelled a skunk...and never seen one.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[scarlet_owl]

5. You're right about that! Great horneds love skunks!

[BikeWriter]

9. I totally agree about feral cats. I've had a Mockingbird nesting...

in my Loquat tree in my front yard for years. Each year they set up a nest. I help them frighten the cats away when the babies are preparing to leave the nest. I was met on my front porch by the sight of a bird's head and wings a few days ago. I am not a happy camper! That is our Texas State Bird!

[OnionPatch]

6. We have tons and tons of great horned owls here

I have never known any cats, my own or my neighbors, to be eaten by an owl. Is this common? I've heard of a golden eagle snatching up a tiny dog but I really didn't think owls ate cats. Wouldn't the cat claw the heck out of the owl? My old cat could fight off a rotweiller. I'm just amazed that an owl would be able to prey on a cat. Coyotes are a different story. I've lost cats to them.

[amazona]

7. I dunno how common it is to be very very honest

A friend of mine who rescues ferals has a GHOW on her property and it has not taken any of her way-too-many outdoor cats...but she works with a vet and her ferals are VERY healthy. Keep in mind that because of the bacteria on a cat's claw, if it scratches a bird, the bird will very likely die. A cat to a bird is like a Komodo dragon is to a person...one scratch, one bite, and even if you think you get away, you die of infection...and the birds do know this.

The GHOWs are taking skunks in that area in my humble view. In a decade I've only smelled skunk once even though it is quite rural.

Your mileage may vary but in southeast Louisiana I have been informed by those who should know that GHOW prefers to take skunk. Other prey is second choice.

I think the whole thread was a bit of fun being had at our expense. I could be wrong but that's what I think based on my humble experiences. I would not expect to have any feral cats or pomeranians depopulated by Great Horned Owls except under very exceptional circumstances.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[Stepup2]

8. This thread smacked of something

a bit odd imo. I have heard of owls snatching cats, but it was in Greece. Not certain of the specie.

I do however find it doubtful that this person is looking for a solution, imo, anyone who cared about a smallish pet, especially after witnessed feral cats getting caught, would have kept in close at hand.

I think the "discussion" of shooting at owls was/is meant to inflame.

I would think a responsible pet owner, living in a rural area like the one this poster described, would be inviting trouble for small dog regardless of the owls.

[BikeWriter]

10. Precisely, a hungry coyote or bobcat would munch out on it. n/t