Cats and Birds
Domestic and Feral Cats Kill Wild Birds, but Vigilante Cat Killers Aren't Welcome
One man's misguided attempt to save endangered birds from death by feral cats reignites a debate about the rights of cats versus the rights of wild birds.
On November 12, 2006, The Galveston County Daily News reported on the arrest of Jim Stevenson, president of the Galveston Ornithological Society. Stevenson is accused of shooting cats and animal cruelty.
Stevenson is caught in the middle of an ethical debate that has probably raged in every part of the Western world – birds versus cats. Cats are ubiquitous in human communities, many of them treasured and pampered with a warm house to sleep in and plenty of food provided. Most of them go outdoors and roam free. Cat lovers energetically defend their beloved pets.
However, because domestic cats have escaped or been abandoned, there are also millions of feral cats that live and multiply in the wild. All cats kill birds, but the damage that feral cats in particular do to bird populations cannot be overstated. Feral cats kill millions of birds. Everywhere. Every day. Bird lovers want something done about the carnage.
The area where Stevenson allegedly shot cats is habitat for threatened and endangered birds. The cats in the area are feral, but are apparently fed by workers at a nearby toll bridge, and there is a suggestion that the cat that was injured on the day that Stevenson was arrested was pregnant. Clearly, if nothing changed, the situation was grim for birds in the area.
We can imagine the frustration of knowing that cats have gone wild because of the carelessness of people, that they continue to multiply and kill countless birds and other wildlife, including endangered species, and that municipalities have no control over the problem. We can’t, however, condone individuals taking matters into their own hands and causing needless suffering to animals and danger to other people.
Read the news story by Scott E. Williams.
What’s to be done? Join the discussion.
Articles about other ways that humans indirectly cause bird deaths:
