Your original reply indicated you think people are so moronic that they would run after an animal they thought they saw, rather than staying with the people who are keeping them alive. That seems biased to me, too—biased towards assuming most people are complete idiots.
I don’t disagree that there is increased risk in taking in amateurs. The question is how much risk, and if there would be ways to mitigate those risks. I do, for example, wonder why they couldn’t have started this attempt at the point they were getting all the people out. The people were already with them in the first place, so they could be used. The idea that a stranger calling your animal and putting out food would get all the animals seems kinda silly to me. Plus, the sooner they get them out, the less risk for everyone, right?
I also had ideas like recording people’s voices or sharing hiding spaces. The former seems fairly easy to do quickly with modern tech: just have them send them in via text, and then play them all as they walk around. The latter would take a bit of planning to give the rescuers the info when they need it, but I’m not sure they didn’t have time to do that.
Maybe those ideas don’t work, either. I’m no expert. But I have to say that, if I got responses in the tone being used to reply to @Magiver, I would find it hard not to want to defend myself, too. It’s why I don’t think sarcasm is useful in arguments—it tends to make people defensive. For me, at least, the fact that he’s showing compassion means I’m not going to make a big deal out of it.
And, as always, none of this is meant to “lecture.” I’m just seeing something from the outside and hoping to clarify so that all sides come out understanding each other better. And, of course, maybe I’m wrong, too.
I talked earlier about how I think we’re all crankier right now. It occurs to me that the subject matter is also probably a huge part of that. I suspect we’re all imagining what it would be like if we were unable to rescue our beloved pet, and to see actions taken that would likely have killed said pet.
Some take solace in assuring themselves that there was nothing that could be done, while others like Magiver want to propose solutions. But it all presumably comes from the same place: compassion and empathy.