Kill unwanted stray cats and keep the rest indoors, says US academic

UK Telegraph ^ | September 20, 2016 | Patrick Sawer

[C19fan]

It is not a suggestion that is likely to go down well with millions of cat lovers. An American academic has recommended that all stray felines should be eradicated unless they can be found a home, because of the huge numbers of birds they kill.

Not only that, but Dr Peter Marra, the director of the Smithsonian migratory bird centre in Washington, says all domestic cats should be kept indoors or on a lead to stop the “devastating impact” they have on wildlife.

[exDemMom]

Perhaps we could just give them birth control. Let them die out on their own. We need to develop highly targeted birth control methods like that. Eradicate wild hogs as well.

There are trap-neuter-release (TNR) programs popping up all over the country, and charities that educate people and help them set up TNR programs in their neighborhoods. TNR is a much more humane option than trying to kill off the stray cats.

Mind you, the TNR programs are only for cats, not feral hogs. I strongly suggest just shooting the hogs.

[exDemMom]

Do you have any recipes for them vermins your cats give you?

I'm afraid not.

I used to tell my cat, when she would put a dead treat on the patio and nudge it towards me, that I was putting it a plastic bag to save for later. Somehow, I never got around to actually eating them.

[who knows what evil?]

Death is ALWAYS the solution to a ‘problem’ in the mind of a progressive.

[AFreeBird]

And who will police the chipmunk population?

[who knows what evil?]

ONE academic is a ‘surplus’.

[exDemMom]

Im going to guess that you dont enjoy feeding and watching the birds or like when they sing in the spring and summer.

One winter, I saw a bird scratching around trying to find food in the snow. I felt sorry for it, so bought a bird feeder. Over the next few years, I kept putting up bird feeders--until I realized that my yard had far more birds (and guano) than was natural. Feeding them is like giving out welfare handouts--it does not really help them, it makes them dependent on handouts, and there is no end of takers. So I stopped feeding them.

[RegulatorCountry]

You put out feeders to attract birds because you enjoy looking at them, not as some form of avian food stamps.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Both the eastern and Mexican whip-poor-wills are still so common as to merit a “least concern” rating for their species. So the problem seems to be a local one.

The best bet is a feral cat sterilization and release program sponsored in the local area. They typically take a few species generations to have impact, but it eliminates the vast majority of feral cats. The remaining domestics have a more limited hunting range, so a Whip-poor-will breed and release program would have maximum effect.

However, reducing the feral population could still result in far more mice and rats in the area.

[exDemMom]

I can watch the birds just fine without putting out feeders which, ultimately, attract many dozens to the yard.

This last spring, without putting out a feeder, I watched a male dove courting a female on my back deck. From my office at work, I observed a goose nesting on a muskrat mound. Then the goose disappeared from the mound, but near the road was a pair of geese and five tiny fluff balls. I watched those fluff balls grow over the next three months until they looked just like adults and went off to join the juvenile goose colony. And so on.

There is no need to set up a bird welfare racket in order to watch birds.

[wardaddy]

My cats are all indoor outdoor cats one who lived till 18

I say eradicate this prick

[bravo whiskey]

i suppose doing this to urban ferals would be insensitive

[fieldmarshaldj]

Capital idea.

[editor-surveyor]

.
>> “The danger of too many cats are the potential diseases they can spread.” <<

I bet you believe in Global Warming too!

The only disease I know of that is spread by cats is toxoplasmosis, and it is rare.

The main reason that we have so many cats is that they are epidemiologically benign.
.

[editor-surveyor]

.
What’s a “DNR” and what can we do to eradicate them?
.

[Surrounded_too]

RE: Deer

I hit one every 125k miles -

It’s been 110K since the last hit.

[stars & stripes forever]

>> “The danger of too many cats are the potential diseases they can spread.” <<

Feline Leukemia went around our neighborhood a few years ago. It started with feral cats and infected the domesticated ones.

[Wilderness Conservative]

If you over fed and put out too many feeders the problem and fault was yours. If you fed out of sypathy the mistake was yours as well. Wrong motivation and application it’s just as well that youre not feeding them anymore.

[exDemMom]

It was one feeder, which I did not even remember to fill up all the time. Yet I ended up with dozens of birds hanging around my yard. The food would be gone within hours of refilling.

I’ve since come to the conclusion that it is not a good idea to feed wild animals, regardless of the motivation.

I saw a warning at Yellowstone not to feed the wild animals because they become dependent on the handouts, it is not as healthy for them, and they lose the ability to forage. The same dynamic applies to birds in the yard.

I admit, I do plant flowers to attract bees. But I am not really doing anything against the nature of bees, because flower nectar is their natural food, and they do have to forage to find the flowers.

[Wilderness Conservative]

Some species can be a problem in some areas. Grackles, starlings, and sparrows being the biggest offenders.

[RegulatorCountry]

Grackles can be a nightmare if they start to roost in your trees. They’re nasty, loud, messy and very persistent. They’re like Starlings on crack.