Letters to the editor

Hunting not the answer

Cats are not a danger to society and should be able to live. Every state has free-roaming feral cats, and it is absurd for Wisconsin to legalize cat hunting. The catch-and-release programs that spay or neuter cats and then release them back into the wild are helping to lower the large population of feral cats by eliminating their ability to reproduce; with time, the problem will decrease. These organizations also vaccinate the cats before returning them to the wild. Disease among cats cannot be spread from species to species unless the cat is infected with rabies — cats are not a hazard to society. The trap- and-neuter programs have been very successful in many states, including Virginia. Another issue to consider with the legalization of cat hunting is that it goes without saying that domesticated cats will get confused with feral cats, and mistakes will be made. The idea of special collars as a form of identification would not work. Cats rarely keep collars on, and they can be a danger for outdoor cats. This country is at a time of war, and discussion of ridiculous topics such as legalization of cat hunting should not happen. This discussion would not be taking place if pet owners would take responsibility and get their pets spayed or neutered. Humans are to blame for this problem, not the cats. Let’s take the mature, responsible approach and care for our pets rather than murder innocent and beautiful creatures.

Tiffany Brooks
junior, dance major

Traffic cops necessary

On April 14, staff writer Brian Goodman penned a truly bizarre and uniformed rant against speed limits and traffic cops.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, speeding is one of the most prevalent factors associated with crashes and is a factor in 31 percent of all fatal crashes.
There is also a distinction between a highway’s design speed and its speed limit. The design speed is the maximum safe speed under ideal conditions. Since conditions are rarely ideal, making the speed limit the same as the design speed would not be a wise move.
On local roads, where motor vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists all interact, disregarding speed limits constitutes truly reckless behavior. The difference in the severity of injuries sustained by a pedestrian or bicyclist hit by a car moving 25 mph compared to a car moving 40 mph is significant and may be the difference between life and death.
Enforcing speed limits improves safety — plain and simple. Goodman’s column was irresponsible and foolish. Based on his remarks, we would all be safer if he gave up his keys.

Leonard Van Wyk
associate math professor

No need to grab a gun

In reading the House Editorial on feline infestation in the April 14 issue, it was rather obvious to me that the writer of the editorial was not a cat lover. Over the years, I have taken 10 feral cats and converted them into very loving pets. But this process is not for everyone and does not work with all cats. I do agree that you cannot let the feline feral cat population continue to grow; however, the means in which you correct the problem should be carefully thought out. The first thing to realize is that any kind of feral cat population problem is due to the irresponsibility of humans. All pets should be spayed or neutered. There are so many misconceptions about animals and when they should be spayed or neutered — like "they should have one litter first" or "they get fat" — all of which are false. There are many clinics which help with low-cost procedures. Although the catch-and-release programs return animals to the wild, the animals are not able to reproduce, therefore they are not continuing to add to the population. It is those litters of unwanted kittens and mothers that are dumped by people that really increase this population. As for the statement that stray cats easily spread disease, that’s not completely correct. They can spread rabies to humans but nothing else — all other diseases are feline only. Cats are not rodents — they cannot carry diseases such as the bubonic plague, pneumonic plague, lassa fever, lymphocytic choriomeningitis and trichinosis like rodents can. My biggest problem with the rationale of hunting cats is that it completely undermines the work of animal rights activists. We cannot condone the hunting of a domestic animal. It will only cause wider acceptance of mistreatment and killings. Is there any reason why these cats cannot be caught and euthanized in a humane manner? This would emphasize that hunting domestic animals is not acceptable and no one should take it upon themselves to eliminate what they consider to be a feline or canine problem. I also think emotion would definitely blur our vision because it is emotions such as humanity, guilt and love that keep our actions in check. Our entire country should use this as a wake-up call to the importance of spaying and neutering pets, and instead of passing laws on how to kill animals, let’s get busy passing laws to control our pet population problem. The responsibility begins with us.

Tracy Kellum
orientation staff

Better promotion the key

I am writing in response to Brooke Easton’s complaint in the April 14 issue about the lack of participation from JMU students in the recent hunger banquet. I really don’t think that the problem is in the JMU students lack of interest or lack of caring but rather the lack of promotion. What I mean is, why do we always hear about events in The Breeze and from other sources the day after they have happened? Rather than pointing the finger at students who did not show up, why don’t you look at the promotion side of your event and think about what percentage of the JMU population actually knew about the event? In her statistics, she added the total undergraduate and graduate population of JMU, leaving out all the online and study abroad students. I, like 61 percent of the undergrad population, live off campus and, other than The Breeze, there is no real source for us to find out about events. Also, I find her opinion of people voting for the Duke Dog mascot as a viable comparison to my original argument. The Capital One Mascot Challenge was an event that was not only well advertised, but lasted for weeks. It’s time for The Breeze and the different student organizations that run events to do an actual job of announcing them ahead of time and not just write reviews on events.

David Zinatbakhsh
senior, kinesiology