It's a bloody jungle out there in the ecosystem, with the predator and prey relationship exacting a huge toll. We're not talking about the wilderness but rather a dramatic battle taking place in urban back yards, suburban hedgerows, and the half-acre lots of exurbia. One of the most lethal predators on the planet is kitty the house cat, her friend, Tom, and feline homeless friends out on the prowl. “Feral and free-roaming cats kill hundreds of millions of our nation’s birds each year, putting additional pressure on the populations of many species that are in decline," says Steve Holmer of the
American Bird Conservancy. And Holmer says that's just the impact in the U.S. where there are an estimated 80 million pet cats and another 120 million feral ones.
Birders and professional ornithologists around the world have long recognized the scope of the problem, but what to do about it? In a new video from the conservancy that you can watch here—“Trap, Neuter, and Release: Bad for Cats, Disaster for Birds"— it appears we know what NOT to do. One of the recent experiments involves TNR, or trap, neuter and release.
The premise is that over time, carnivorous feral cats, being unable to reproduce, will decline in numbers. But Holmer says TNR doesn't work.
The conservancy's film examines a gated residential community in South Florida and a public park where an arsenal of resources were expended. In fact, one of the sites and its strategy was hailed as a national model in the U.S. but Holmer says the results are debatable with 500 feral cats there still killing birds every day. Holmer notes: “The truth is that TNR fails to eliminate cat colonies, and instead perpetuates many of the problems these colonies create, including the predation of birds and other wildlife, risks to human and wildlife health, and public nuisance."
Share your stories. We want to hear from you.
Comment on article "Tom and Kittie kill ...."
• We have found the TNR (trap, neuter, release) policy to be extremely effective, which is why it is also officially endorsed many animal-care societies. Although it is true that not every individual cat in a colony is trapped, we have always managed to stabilise the numbers of every colony where we have continued to trap consistently. We have also found that the numbers eventually decline, since the cats in such colonies begin to die of natural causes. It is also effective because our aim is never to wipe out any colony, for the following reason:
Feral cats keep rodents and even snakes at bay. As with most things, balance is the key, and when ferals are removed entirely, rodents and snakes tend to multiply to dangerous levels.
• TNR does not require vast amounts of money, since almost all feral sterilisations are undertaken by volunteers with the help of far-sighted vets who perform the sterilisations at a fraction of their normal prices as a community service.
• Although cats DO kill birds, it has been found that large numbers are also killed by dogs and even by cars. (I have four tame cats at home, and I cannot remember when last any of them killed a bird – certainly not in the past year.) Also keep in mind that, just as there are many more cats in urban areas than in the wild, there are also many more times the bird numbers, because of the high numbers of trees and other food sources found in gardens, parks etc.
• Because many feral cats are fed by cat lovers (our organisation feeds around 900 in the streets every day), their potential impact on the environment is reduced even further.
• Feral cats do not necessarily carry diseases. It has been found that a pedigreed cat is just as likely to carry any of the feline diseases as a feral cat. And none of these are any threat at all to humans. Apart from a rare condition that a pregnant women can catch if handling a cat's droppings with her bare hands, humans can catch nothing more dangerous than ringworm from a cat.
• And as for cats threatening the survival of hundreds of native bird, reptile and mammal species – I am not aware of a single indigenous species whose survival is threatened by cats. It is not the feline that is ravaging the earth and decimating the habitats of thousands of species, but that other species whose numbers have truly become out of control – humankind.
Anneke Brits (for CatPals, South Africa)
new are wildlife
Regards.
http://www.collect-art.com/
Leave your comment
never send spam. Read our privacy policy for details...