There's nothing unusual about cats stalking birds. There's also nothing unusual about tenderhearted children (and some adults) rushing to the rescue when they see a cat pouncing on a bird.
But there's something quite unusual -- and troubling -- about what happened to a little girl in Fredericksburg, Va., who snatched a young woodpecker away from a cat that had captured the bird.
After 11-year-old Skylar Capo rescued the bird, she and her mother decided they would nurse it to health for a couple of days and then set it free. They certainly never had any intention of keeping it as a pet.
But a woman who identified herself as being from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spotted them carrying the bird and told them it was illegal to transport the woodpecker. Then, two weeks later, the Fish and Wildlife official and a Virginia state trooper showed up at the family's door and slapped the Capos with a $535 citation -- even though they had long since set the woodpecker free!
Not surprisingly, the family was upset at being fined for trying to do a good deed for the hapless creature.
Later, fortunately, the Fish and Wildlife Service apologized for fining the family.
But considering ridiculous incidents such as these, is it any wonder that many Americans believe that federal wildlife and environmental regulations have gotten entirely out of hand?