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Bay Area Cat-Killer Returns to the Scene of His Crimes

Bay Area Cat-Killer Returns to the Scene of His Crimes

Many of us will never forget the 2020 massacre of community cats that California’s East Bay Regional Park District was responsible for and defended, or its employee, David “Doc Quack” Riensche, whose email about the cats he killed showed his depraved attitude toward them. The wildlife biologist boasted to his colleagues that he had “cleaned up” more than a baker’s dozen of free-roaming cats. 

He referred to the gunned-down cats remains as “party favors” and ended his email with a smiley emoji.

 


The man who spent nights prowling Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline armed with a 12-gauge shotgun returned to that park on the morning of Saturday, January 29. Doc Quack led East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD) Wildlife Volunteers of all ages on an “exciting adventure over land and water.” Participants earned their “Shorebird Sanctuary” patch while improving nesting habitat for migratory birds traveling the Pacific Flyway, including the threatened Western Snowy Plover. 

Beautiful weather, a lovely park, and extraordinary people offering their time and physical labor to make an ecologically vital area safer for wild animals – what could be wrong with this picture? 

For one thing, the program took place at the New Marsh. This was an excellent choice, given that Western Snowy Plovers nest there. Quack claims he killed the Oakport cats to save these birds; however, the cats lived in an industrial complex in Oakland. Even if all of the cats left the area where they had shelter and food and wandered onto EBRPD land, they would have had to swim quite a distance to reach the New Marsh. Cats generally avoid water, let alone water too cold for a human to swim in without a wetsuit.  

Also, there were three park police SUVs at the meeting place. Three park police officers stood outside their vehicles, facing the parking lot’s entrance. Did anyone other than In Defense of Animals’ members know that EBRPD police officers carry firearms? Do all volunteer-program leaders travel with an armed escort, or is this special treatment reserved for the District’s most infamous and despised staff member?

The police left as soon as Doc Quack led his volunteers away. Our members spoke to park visitors, handed out leaflets about Doc Quack, and encouraged people to express their concerns to the EBRPD General Manager and Board of Directors.



At the end of the event, Doc Quack remained in the field, and no police returned. Our team seized the opportunity to speak directly with volunteers as they returned to their cars.

We believe that the Wildlife Volunteers deserve better. They deserve better than a man who says his job is to speak “for those things who can’t speak for themselves” and then mercilessly hunts and kills cats and wild animals with a 12 gauge shotgun. They deserve better than someone who can cup a quail gently in his hand and give children “experiences with wildlife that they can cherish for a lifetime” and then go to a private hunting club to kill quail and other birds “for fun.” The Wildlife Volunteers deserve an instructor who cares about wildlife at least as much as they do!

Please take action on our alert if you have not done so already, and please share it. Tell EBRPD that its Wildlife Volunteers deserve an instructor capable of treating all living beings with respect and compassion!

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