![]() |
![]() |
#1 | |
WG Staff
Join Date: Nov 2008
|
![]()
An invasive species is an invasive species
Second Opinion on Mute Swans Second Opinion: An invasive species is an invasive species - A virtual meeting of The Sun's editorial board, where issues are discussed, opinions made - baltimoresun.com excerpt from above: Quote:
__________________
The tendency of man's nature to good is like the tendency of water to flow downwards. -Mencius |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#2 | |||
WG Staff
Join Date: Nov 2008
|
![]()
Maryland to Continue Killing Mute Swans
By Ashley Halsey III Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, June 8, 2009; 1:31 PM washingtonpost.com excerpts from above; Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
__________________
The tendency of man's nature to good is like the tendency of water to flow downwards. -Mencius |
|||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#3 | |||
WG Staff
Join Date: Nov 2008
|
![]()
DNR boss: Keep killing mute swans
Says invasive birds causing major damage to bay's ecosystemMaryland's mute swans were handed a death sentence yesterday. By PAMELA WOOD, Staff Writer Published 06/09/09 DNR boss: Keep killing mute swans • Top Stories (www.HometownAnnapolis.com - The Capital) excerpts from above: Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
__________________
The tendency of man's nature to good is like the tendency of water to flow downwards. -Mencius |
|||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#4 |
Heron
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: NE IL, USA
|
![]()
They're beautiful...but they've gotta go.
They should do the same with mustangs out west, IMO. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#5 |
Slapping, Swearing, Itching, Scratching Mosquito Bait
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: pennsylvania,usa
|
![]()
...and the ponies of Chincoteague and Assateague:
Assateague Island National Seashore - Assateague's Wild Horses (U.S. National Park Service) |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#6 |
Pope
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Virginia
|
![]()
It's practically heresy around here to say this, but I agree with swamp thing. The recent death of one of Misty's grandchildren (great-grandchildren?) actually made the front page of the local newspaper.
The ponies generate considerable tourist dollars, and so are not likely to go anywhere any time soon. Aside from the annual pony round up (proceeds from the pony auction help support the Chincoteague VFD), the herds must be thinned periodically to keep the ponies from completely overwhelming the island habitat (not publicized to the same extent as the round up, to be sure). Those ponies represent a very complicated eco-social equation. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#7 |
WG Writer
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Greensboro, Alabama USA
|
![]()
Global Citizen - Promoting a Cleaner and Greener planet!
It seems extreme to me for the BLM to be engaged in the extermination of mustangs. Certainly there are other options. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#8 |
Official Plant Nerd
Join Date: Dec 2008
|
![]()
The Mute Swans and the Wild Mustangs gotta both go. There are adoption programs for the horses. The big problem is that people whip people up with misinformation. Take this article for example, The Bush administration vs. the wild horses. - By Deanne Stillman - Slate Magazine. Ms. Stilman claims, "Wild horses were indigenous to North America, populating this continent before the Ice Age." regarding her beloved horse, the Ice Age wiped out that early ancestor of today's horse. It was no bigger than a small dog. Yes, that early ancestor of today's horse was adapted to the pre Ice Age climate but that climate ceased to exist as did that species of horse. Those early horses were a part of an ecosystem long gone. Given the Ice Age started about 70,000 years ago, I think it would be safe to say those horses were extinct on this continent although to read her article would lead most to believe otherwise. Thousands of years went by in which no species of horse was present to co-evolve and therefore their recent introduction has resulted in unforeseen consequences. Every free-ranging horse in the United States is a descendant of an escaped or abandoned horse. This argument is no longer about facts of ecology associated with the preservation and perpetuation of wildlife but more about human emotions and alliances. Cats and horses are so deeply entrenched in our culture that some people will always be unwilling to discern fact from fiction. I don’t see anyone running to the defense of the Nutria or the wild boar and sure as rain, no one came to the defense of the Cane toad but mention a cat a swan or a horse associated with the same destructive characteristics and well then we have a small percentage of people who are up in emotional arms. It saddens me that some people have little or no concern for the well being of wildlife or the fragile ecosystems they depend upon for survival.
__________________
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#9 |
Official Plant Nerd
Join Date: Dec 2008
|
![]()
Missed the comments about the BLM. The Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act has a stipulation dictating feral horses may be removed from public lands if it is proven they are overpopulating or causing habitat destruction. They're the Mute Swan of the Wild West... and of Assateague Island. How much more research do we need evidencing they are destroying our lands to destroy more of them? I personally believe they have no place on public lands supported by my tax dollar. I own three... they're on private property.
__________________
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#10 |
Unicellular Fungi
Join Date: Nov 2008
|
![]()
There is an ongoing adoption program for the feral horses.
__________________
"In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; we will understand only what we have been taught." -Baba Dioum, Senegalese ecologist |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Tags |
animal rights advocates, cygnus olor, exotics, invasive, invasive fauna, invasive species, invasives, mute swan, national wildlife refuge, species |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|