Manatees are not native
To the editor:
I would like to comment on the article that was in the media recently by a Jennifer Kay about these so called Florida manatees. It sickens me that the public and, yes, our ignorant government calls them Florida manatees when the came from the West Indies to feed the workers that built the road going to Key West and, when done, they let them go. Now we have a bunch of bleeding hearts feeling sorry for them thinking they are cute.
They are a nuisance, dirty, but cute they are not.
It is really a shame that something like this is dictating to our state and federal government on what and how we boaters have to live and do our business. In this article the writer said that the Fish & Wildlife Service is going to upgrade them to threatened. But there will not be any changes on the manatee zones we have to travel in.
As far as I am concerned they are being bought and have pockets padded by the bleeding hearts of the so- called manatee organization. Why aren’t these clowns putting their money into something worthwhile like trying to figure out how and what to do to save the Florida panther?
What they should do is upgrade to an open season. The canal I live on use to have all kinds of vegetation, and the water was clear. Now it smells and we have manatee waste floating in it. (There are pictures to this fact.) There is not a boater out in the water that will go out of his way to hurt one but, if one gets in his way, he will not swerve or risk hurting anyone aboard to miss one. (I know I won’t.) It is like driving down the highway and a deer or even a dog runs out and you swerve to miss it and cause a bad accident and/or severely hurt or kill someone in your car to save the animal. Not going to happen.
The so-called executive director of the Manatee Club is doing nothing but causing havoc, and taking a lot of $$$$ from people that know nothing.
This is a joke.
Chuck Presser
Pine Island