Reply #10: Okay let me respond [View All]

[Mortos]

First of all, thank you for your reasoned and articulate response. There are ways to debate politely which can teach and inform and there are just vitriolic attacks.

Let me respond to a couple of your points.

The research I did indicated that there are estimates of 100,000,000 cardinals in the U.S. I don't know if that figure is accurate but if it is it would indicate this species is hardly threatened.

This woman did try many of the things you recommended. According to her, they did not work.

The trapping or capturing of an migratory bird is also prohibited by the migratory bird act so to do that would have brought about the same penalties as what she did.

After her initial wave of relief at having killed the bird she said:

Then 60-plus years of culture kicked in. My knees grew wobbly, tears fell on the gun's fine wood. What had I done?

I left my prey where he had fallen. I stashed the gun in a little-used closet and mourned the demented bird and the parts of me that had died with him. I had lost another comfort zone of self-righteousness, another "death and taxes" truth.

I also moved into the country and lived in harmony with my wild neighbors. I loved the wild turkeys that would come grazing through my back yard early in the morning. But I also shot a skunk that appeared rabid and probably was one of the predators of my chickens.

I assume this woman has lived in this area for a long time and has only killed once. She must have been pushed pretty far to commit an act which was contrary to all her beliefs. But she did it and she was saddened by it and people on the old WWW are posting her home phone number and address and encouraging bird lovers to call her and threaten her and tell her what an insufferably evil bitch she is. People here are advocating her death and torture.

Which is worse?