Posted
3/05/2007 05:52:00 PM
by Douglas
I'm expecting no less than three groups to be up in arms about
this.Officials have tried poison, gassing and euthanasia to control a breeding frenzy among squirrels in a city park here. Now, they plan to give birth control a shot.
Under a new program to start this summer, squirrels in Palisades Park will be injected with an immuno-contraceptive vaccine to stunt their sexual development.
"We don't want to kill them if we don't have to," said Joe McGrath, the city's parks chief. "I personally like squirrels, but we also have to be receptive to the county's concerns."
Health officials say the squirrels, which number about 1,000 in the park, pose a public health risk. They warn that the rodents are aggressive and may carry rabies or host fleas that can spread disease, such as bubonic plague.
First off, the squirrels are being given the birth control against their will. Who is there to represent the squirrel eugenic angle? Don't these squirrels have the right to a family? Secondly, what about the Catholic Church? Isn't squirrel contraception a sin, just like it is for people? God will determine when he wants these squirrels to have more squirrels, not the squirrels, and certainly not the bloody do-gooders form the City of Santa Monica. Finally, where are the animal rights nuts on this one? Also, are they going to receive the HPV vaccination when they're 12 squirrel years old to protect them from squirrel cervical cancer? So many question. . . .
Personally, I'm 100% in favor of a squirrel's right to chose, as long as they don't chose the wrong nut.