Posted on 08/06/2012 2:16:31 PM PDT by ColdOne
Pet kitties and their wild feral relatives kill a shocking 500 million birds and over 3 billion other animals according to new studies, prompting a leading Washington-based bird protection group to demand that local governments order their dog catchers to snag cats too.
One disturbing new study is based on evidence from "KittyCams" strapped on to 60 outdoor pet cats in Athens, Ga. The results: They each averaged 2.1 "kills" a week. Just 13 percent were birds, the rest voles, lizards, chipmunks, frogs and small snakes.
Based on the joint University of Georgia-National Geographic study of pet cats and another of feral cats from the University of Nebraska, the American Bird Conservancy said over 4 billion birds and animals are killed yearly by the felines, four-times the previous estimate. The group blames the extinction of some birds on the killer cats. "Cat predation is one of the reasons why one in three American bird species are in decline," said George Fenwick of the conservancy.
While it would be hard to get cat owners to keep their pets inside, the group wants cat lovers and local governments to stop coddling feral cats and round them up.
"Wildlife are being slaughtered and so often community leaders only seem to express concern for the cats," conservancy spokesman Robert Johns told Secrets.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
Did they count the birds done in by cars? I suspect the number of roadkill birds is not insignificant.
Maybe it is raccoons. I just like to think it’s my rebellious little gray cat who gets up to these tricks.
Washington, D.C. has a horrendous rat problem — and not the kind who walk the halls of the House and Senate. People are ill-advised to take their kids to the parks and people’s yards over overrun, all because several years ago they outlawed cats. They closed down on of the Occupy sites because it was so infested with rats. All that said, my dog says that this is a sound, well thought-out plan to deal with kitties.
Tell that BS to my Cat. Fed 2 times a day, and hunted and ATE everything she hunted including the full grown Rabbit that kicked her in the face.
Took her awhile of laying in wait but she got it, AND she ate it.
Awww! BFFs!
>>>The last time a society tried to exterminate cats (as witches’ familiars) the Black Death visited Europe...>>>
You have it perfectly right. This is more government stupidity.
CUTE! LOL
When I saw it, I knew I had to use it.
Hey, cats gotta eat too... and also play with their prey!
You are right about that.
The mouse lobby may have had an excessive influence in that regulation.
Kitties make great gloves.
The one that caught Mr Flibble, the squirrel that I hand raised from a baby, only left an inch and a half of tail.
Big cats in the wild, no. But bored kittehs, yes. Our kittehs are indoor only, never hungry, and they love to hunt insects. Boy cat used to eat flies but now he just leaves them as a present for me - or squashed against the window. They don't like stink bugs however - they will just sit and monitor it.
~~
WHAT KILLS BIRDS?
Common sense tells you it's Urban Sprawl and pesticides...yet some refuse to believe in common sense. Here's a compilation of what is killing our birds. SO please don't blame the cats:
Curry & Kerlinger has compiled the following information from environmentalorganizations and government agencies.
Glass Windows
Bird Deaths a year: 100 to 900+ million
Dr. Daniel Klem of Muhlenberg College has done studies over a period of 20 years, looking at bird collisions with windows. His conclusion: glass kills more birds than any other human related factor.
Automobiles / Trucks
Bird Deaths a year: 50 to 100 Million
Scientists estimate the number of birds killed by cars and trucks on the nation's highways to be 50 to 100 million a year. Those statistics were cited in reports published by the National Institute for Urban Wildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Electric Transmission Line Collisions
Bird Deaths a year: up to 174 million
Estimates made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service demonstrate millions of birds die each year as a result of colliding with transmission lines.
Agriculture
Bird Deaths a year: 67 million
Pesticides likely poison an estimated 67 million birds per year according to the Smithsonian Institution. Cutting hay may kill up to a million more birds a year.
Land Development
Bird Deaths a year: unknown
Suburban sprawl is a silent but deadly killer. The National Audubon Society says loss of bird habitat is the greatest threat to bird populations.
Communication Towers
Bird Deaths a year: 4 to 10 million
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that bird collisions with tall, lighted communications towers, and their guy wires result in 4 to 10 million bird deaths a year.
Stock Tank Drowning
Bird Deaths a year: unknown
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists and other conservationists believe that large numbers of birds inadvertently drown in livestock water tanks.
Oil and Gas Extraction
Bird Deaths a year: 1 to 2 million
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports that up to 2 million birds died landing in oil pits to bathe and drink in 1997. Fish and Wildlife says netting has improved that situation somewhat. There are no overall estimates for the number of birds affected by oil and gas spills, and oil and gas extractions (and transport.)
Logging and Strip Mining
Bird Deaths a year: unknown
Logging and strip mining destroy bird habitat. According to the National Audubon Society, habitat destruction is the leading cause of bird population declines.
Commercial Fishing
Bird Deaths a year: unknown
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Ornithological Council report that 40 thousand seabirds per year are killed in the Gulf of Alaska by long line fishing operations. These same sources say long lining and gill netting kill large numbers of birds in other parts of the country as well.
Electrocutions
Raptor Deaths a year: more than 1,000
Experts estimate that more than one thousand hawks, eagles, falcons and owls are electrocuted on transmission lines and poles each year.
Hunting
Bird Deaths a year: 100 + million
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, more than 100 million ducks, geese, swans, doves, shorebirds, rails, cranes, among others are harvested legally each year.
~~~~~~ALSO..DDT KILLS BIRDS, BEES.....ETC.p
How cruel, heartless and inhumane. I know that God will get ya tho. :)
The solution is getting all the cats fixed. People leave them behind when they move, dump them or cats get loose and populate neighborhoods. The humane and right solution is to do TNR (what I do) and fine people who breed or don’t get their pets fixed. Then the problem will get under control. Trapping and killing them is inhumane, cruel and will not stop the problem. SPAY AND NEUTER!!! NO BREEDING!
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