From: Tyson Brooks <tysonbrooks@gmail.com>
Date: 16 October 2007 05:42
Subject: That's Feral – Cat Lovers Beware
To:
That's Feral – Cat Lovers Beware
See that rabbit!! Kill it!! Run it over!! See that stray cat!!! Kill
it!! Run it over!!
Avoid the kangaroos and wombats (often described as cement bags with
eyes). Such is the creed of the Australian driver. (Pedestrians seem
to be popular targets as well). There are few dead rabbits or flat
cats on the road, but kangaroos and wombats litter the road like
bodies in a combat zone. Some get propped up again road guard rails
dressed in old t-shirts and sunglasses.
Australian animals are sacred to most Australians. Feral imports are
not, and must be exterminated. You cannot go far into the bush without
coming across a sign warning bait has been laid down for foxes or
rabbits. Entire National Parks close for weeks so they can shoot feral
goats. Pig traps mare the landscape. The damage these feral animals
cause to the lanscape is impressive. In a dog eat dog world Australian
animals are ill equipped to deal with competition and cars. Many
kangaroos and wombats aren't shy and become terribly confused by
bright lights. Hence the roadside carnage.
Even the most mature, peace loving Australian adult will tell you of
their will to hunt down rabbits and cats (or tell you with delight how
their neighbours would gas feral cats with the the exhaust from a ride
on lawnmower). These feelings are so strong that in 1996 Australian MP
Richard Evans called for all cats, both domestic and feral to be
eradicated because they prey on wildlife. Australia even has its own
anti-cat crusader, John Walmsley publicizes his cause by wearing a cat
skin on his head like a coonskin cap, it's small flat face looking out
over his forehead. His motto "The only good cat is a dead cat (or flat
cat)". Although he claims to have never killed a cat, his walls at
home are covered in cat skin friezes. He offers a reward for any cat
skins that may come his way. At the height of the madness many house
cats went missing as people clambered to take advantage of the price
on pelts. Waimsley advocates having bandicoots, quolls or platypus as
preferred pets (beware the poisonous barb on a male platypus' leg).
Feral is my favourite Australian word. The definition has gone far
beyond an animal that does not belong on the continent. It is used to
describe anything disgusting (such as your unwashed feet, stinky
swampy water, or small dirty ill-mannered children). Such is the
national feeling towards imported critters. The government spends
millions keeping these critters under control while the environment
goes through untold damage from animals that were not evolved to be in
harmony with the environment.
Australia! A strange but wonderful place.
Pet cats are on the decline in Australia.
Tyson (not a cat hater).
****************************************************
Tyson Brooks
Back in Vancouver 23rd November
Skype me: TysonBrooks
Photos
http://picasaweb.google.com/tysonbrooks/
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Tyson Brooks
In India
Photos
http://picasaweb.google.com/tysonbrooks/
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