Feral Cats = Wildlife Devastation
This is an issue that I don't recall having been raised in the EPJ forum. Since I'm primarily an avian photographer, and also a cat lover, this is an important issue to me. I have 2 cats - who are not allowed outside.I volunteer at both a wildlife rehab program, and a cat rescue organization.
Many people think that the "Trap and Neuter" programs to neuter and return feral cats to the wild is the solution. It is NOT, as many studies show (some cited in the articles).
Outdoor cats in the United States kill more than one million birds every day, and about twice as many other small creatures. At the same time that cat numbers are on the rise, nearly one-third of the bird species in the U.S. are endangered, threatened, or in decline.
Here is a series of great articles from Wildlife Professionals, for those who are interested:
I'd strongly encourage people to learn more, and PLEASE keep your cats inside.
http://www.wildrescue.org/cat_package.pdf
Articles include:
- Cats as Carriers of Disease
- The Trickle-down Effect: How Toxoplasmosis from cats kills Sea Otters
- By Land and By Sea: The Wide-spread threat of feral cats on Hawaiian wildlife
- An Issue with All-Too-Human Dimensions - It is people, not science, at the Heart of the cat debate.
Comments
5 commentsNice shot of the feline BTW, love the way the grasses frame its face
Those are some wild eyes, though they don't quite look sharp. The wild and household cat debate is very interesting, I do believe that people who live where birds are in high concentrations don't think its an issue at all (like here in Alaska) But like you pointed out, many birds are endangered and people think that if they see lots of one common bird then there are plenty of All birds.
Carl
Add to the list of problems from feral cats: the feeding stations well-intentioned folks make for feral cats attack other animals. The high concentrations of raccoons and other critters creates very serious disease vectors.